2-Bit Bub
- Brand
- ParaNorman
- Year
- 2012
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Mechanic
- Puzzle
- Platform
- App
- Agency
- GRL Games
- With
- Wieden + Kennedy
Objective
LAIKA and Wieden+Kennedy Portland needed a mobile touchpoint to build anticipation for "ParaNorman" ahead of its August 2012 theatrical release. Rather than retell the film's plot, the game expanded its world through Bub, a minor character, giving mobile audiences a point of contact with the franchise before opening weekend.
Solution
Players tilt the device to roll Bub, a headless ghost dog torn in two, across the ground, then swipe down to launch him flying. Mid-air, Bub bites onto floating ghostly rings and hangs there until fired again, using them as stepping stones toward a hovering zombie bone at the top of each level — collecting it is what clears the stage. The game launched with 30 levels and grew to 60 across 15 locations in Blithe Hollow by the film's release, all built from the movie's actual character art and set to an original score by Jon Brion. Between levels, players unlock collectible Norman "zombie posters" to share and earn Game Center achievements in the form of dog tags.
- 1
The player downloads "ParaNorman: 2-BIT BUB" for free on iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and launches it.
- 2
An intro frames the premise: Bub, a ghost dog split into two halves, dragged bones out of an old cemetery, and the zombies they belonged to want them back. The player's goal is to recover every lost bone.
- 3
From a menu, the player picks a location and a level; 30 stages are available at launch, growing to 60 stages across 15 locations after a later update.
- 4
Each level is built from scenery lifted from the source film's frames, with Bub placed below and a floating zombie bone marking the level's goal, set to an original score.
- 5
The player tilts the device left or right to walk Bub across a surface, then swipes down the screen in the direction of a jump to slingshot him into the air.
- 6
Ghostly rings hanging in the air let Bub grab on and hold until launched again, chaining jumps into a ladder upward; rings behave differently from one another, so the player has to read each level's pattern and plan a route rather than jump blindly, and a later update adds teleporting rings that warp Bub to another point in the level.
- 7
Three stars are scattered on each level as an optional collectible that boosts the level's score.
- 8
A pause menu lets the player reset the level and retry from the start if stuck.
- 9
Reaching the zombie bone completes the level, triggering an end screen before the player moves on to the next stage.
- 10
Across levels, players collect shareable zombie-poster images of the film's protagonist and earn Game Center achievements in the form of collectible dog tags.
