7 ms·

What I find perhaps most fascinating about this is that it's almost certainly an advertisement (note the iTunes link at the end of the game, and the tagline at

What I find perhaps most fascinating about this is that it's almost certainly an advertisement (note the iTunes link at the end of the game, and the tagline at the bottom that the creator makes 'advergames'). If it is, in fact, an advergame, it's awesome to see folks like Skrillex (and/or Skrillex's marketing folks) willing to build something so cool and of legitimate artistic value to try to build up viral buzz.

redthrowaway 14y ago
I was going to say that Skrillex is signed to deadmau5's (of Something Awful fame) label mau5trap, but that appears to no longer be the case. Skrillex is now with Atlantic, which is doubly impressive if they had anything to do with it.
- leviathant 14y ago
  I noticed (c) 2012 Atlantic Records on the intro screen on my second time playing the game. At the very least, Atlantic helped bankroll this effort.
- deco 14y ago
  Skrillex has a longstanding deal w/ Atlantic leftover from his earlier band From First to Last. His label OWSLA is an imprint on Big Beat, which itself is a subsidiary of Atlantic. The cost of this was probably shared between Big Beat / OWSLA, Atlantic, and the artist himself (or his management team Blood Company). These sorts of deals get pretty convoluted when major labels are involved. Either way, a very cool interactive experience. The only criticism I have is that they completely ignored mobile/tablet/non-Flash -- it's a Flash-based game, but if you visit the site on a non-Flash device you don't even get an alternate "Sorry, your device is not supported" message.
- jarin 14y ago
  Wait, what did deadmau5 have to do with Something Awful?
  - redthrowaway 14y ago
    He was a longtime goon. The name "deadmau5" actually came from the SA IRC chatrooms, where he posted pictures of a dead mouse he found in his computer and was referred to as "that dead mouse guy". The chatroom had an 8 character max for nicks, so "dead mouse" became "deadmau5". I brought it up because I'd have an easier time seeing a label run by an ex-goon engaging in this kind of marketing, as opposed to one like Atlantic.
redthrowaway 14y ago
It is indeed an advergame. The page source refers to http://jasonoda.com/ http://jasonoda.com/ . The author, Jason Oda, claims to be in the advergaming business and lists various viral games, like perfect strangers, as well as facebook games and the like in his credits. The about section lists a pretty impressive client portfolio, actually.
stinky613 14y ago
Yeah, this definitely puts the Avoid the Noid games to shame
derleth 14y ago
Reminds me of the fact there are people who still care about Chex Quest: http://chexquest.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page http://chexquest.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page http://chexquest.wikia.com/wiki/Chex_Quest http://chexquest.wikia.com/wiki/Chex_Quest > Chex Quest, made by Digital Café, is a total conversion of The Ultimate Doom. It was released in boxes of Chex Cereal in 1996, becoming the first game to be included in a cereal box. When it was released, it increased sales by over 200%. It then went on to win both the Golden Reggie Award for Promotional Achievement, and the Silver EFFIE Award for Advertising Effectiveness.
- simcop2387 14y ago
  I had not heard about this as a kid growing up but it would have definitely made me buy the cereal. In fact I'm off to see if I can find the game now somewhere.
- whimsy 14y ago
  Wow; I remember this game. This game was pretty awesome when I was 7. I'm not surprised to hear that it was a full conversion of another game.
ontheotherhand 14y ago
Artistic value? The fuck? "Here's the deal, folks. You do a commercial - you're off the artistic roll call, forever. End of story. Okay? You're another whore at the capitalist gang bang and if you do a commercial, there's a price on your head. Everything you say is suspect and every word that comes out of your mouth is now like a turd falling into my drink." - Bill Hicks
- jacoblyles 14y ago
  Fuck Bill Hicks. This is cool.
  - ontheotherhand 14y ago
    Nah, you're just infected ^^
  - d23 14y ago
    Bill Hicks wasn't talking about this. I doubt he would have any disagreement with an artist promoting their own work.
- leoedin 14y ago
  For those of us who aren't raging anti capitalists, it's fairly obvious that something can have artistic merit and be designed to promote something. If you have an actual argument to the contrary that extends beyond "The fuck?", it'd be great to hear it. Quoting a comedian is not really an argument.
  - ontheotherhand 14y ago
    "it's fairly obvious that something can have artistic merit and be designed to promote something" doesn't constitute an argument either, does it. So there's not really anything there to argue against; just an assertion. Meanwhile, to me it's "fairly obvious" that this ain't art, and therefore "the fuck" is perfectly sufficient. "Quoting a comedian is not really an argument." Oh yeah, because a comedian is by definition funny, and not ever insightful. Good thing people don't react in a butthurt, predictable fashion, or anything. Haha.

redthrowaway 14y ago

I was going to say that Skrillex is signed to deadmau5's (of Something Awful fame) label mau5trap, but that appears to no longer be the case. Skrillex is now with Atlantic, which is doubly impressive if they had anything to do with it.

leviathant 14y ago
I noticed (c) 2012 Atlantic Records on the intro screen on my second time playing the game. At the very least, Atlantic helped bankroll this effort.
deco 14y ago
Skrillex has a longstanding deal w/ Atlantic leftover from his earlier band From First to Last. His label OWSLA is an imprint on Big Beat, which itself is a subsidiary of Atlantic. The cost of this was probably shared between Big Beat / OWSLA, Atlantic, and the artist himself (or his management team Blood Company). These sorts of deals get pretty convoluted when major labels are involved. Either way, a very cool interactive experience. The only criticism I have is that they completely ignored mobile/tablet/non-Flash -- it's a Flash-based game, but if you visit the site on a non-Flash device you don't even get an alternate "Sorry, your device is not supported" message.
jarin 14y ago
Wait, what did deadmau5 have to do with Something Awful?
- redthrowaway 14y ago
  He was a longtime goon. The name "deadmau5" actually came from the SA IRC chatrooms, where he posted pictures of a dead mouse he found in his computer and was referred to as "that dead mouse guy". The chatroom had an 8 character max for nicks, so "dead mouse" became "deadmau5". I brought it up because I'd have an easier time seeing a label run by an ex-goon engaging in this kind of marketing, as opposed to one like Atlantic.

redthrowaway 14y ago

It is indeed an advergame. The page source refers to http://jasonoda.com/ http://jasonoda.com/ . The author, Jason Oda, claims to be in the advergaming business and lists various viral games, like perfect strangers, as well as facebook games and the like in his credits. The about section lists a pretty impressive client portfolio, actually.

stinky613 14y ago

Yeah, this definitely puts the Avoid the Noid games to shame

derleth 14y ago

Reminds me of the fact there are people who still care about Chex Quest: http://chexquest.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page http://chexquest.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page http://chexquest.wikia.com/wiki/Chex_Quest http://chexquest.wikia.com/wiki/Chex_Quest > Chex Quest, made by Digital Café, is a total conversion of The Ultimate Doom. It was released in boxes of Chex Cereal in 1996, becoming the first game to be included in a cereal box. When it was released, it increased sales by over 200%. It then went on to win both the Golden Reggie Award for Promotional Achievement, and the Silver EFFIE Award for Advertising Effectiveness.

simcop2387 14y ago
I had not heard about this as a kid growing up but it would have definitely made me buy the cereal. In fact I'm off to see if I can find the game now somewhere.
whimsy 14y ago
Wow; I remember this game. This game was pretty awesome when I was 7. I'm not surprised to hear that it was a full conversion of another game.

ontheotherhand 14y ago

Artistic value? The fuck? "Here's the deal, folks. You do a commercial - you're off the artistic roll call, forever. End of story. Okay? You're another whore at the capitalist gang bang and if you do a commercial, there's a price on your head. Everything you say is suspect and every word that comes out of your mouth is now like a turd falling into my drink." - Bill Hicks

jacoblyles 14y ago
Fuck Bill Hicks. This is cool.
- ontheotherhand 14y ago
  Nah, you're just infected ^^
- d23 14y ago
  Bill Hicks wasn't talking about this. I doubt he would have any disagreement with an artist promoting their own work.
leoedin 14y ago
For those of us who aren't raging anti capitalists, it's fairly obvious that something can have artistic merit and be designed to promote something. If you have an actual argument to the contrary that extends beyond "The fuck?", it'd be great to hear it. Quoting a comedian is not really an argument.
- ontheotherhand 14y ago
  "it's fairly obvious that something can have artistic merit and be designed to promote something" doesn't constitute an argument either, does it. So there's not really anything there to argue against; just an assertion. Meanwhile, to me it's "fairly obvious" that this ain't art, and therefore "the fuck" is perfectly sufficient. "Quoting a comedian is not really an argument." Oh yeah, because a comedian is by definition funny, and not ever insightful. Good thing people don't react in a butthurt, predictable fashion, or anything. Haha.