Slide 'N' Sneak

Objective

Universal Pictures, LAIKA, and Focus Features developed this companion game to drive theatrical ticket sales and engagement for the stop-motion animated film The Boxtrolls. The mobile game aimed to extend the film's IP onto smartphones while providing fans with an interactive experience that reinforced the movie's unique visual aesthetic and narrative universe.

Solution

A free-to-download side-scrolling platformer for iOS (and Android) where players control Boxtrolls to rescue their captured friends from the Red Hat factory. The game featured over 30 levels of increasing difficulty, up to three playable Boxtrolls per mission with roster unlocks via in-app currency, collectible gears and cogs for progression, special power-ups, and original music from the film. The distinctive technical approach used 2D photographs of the actual stop-motion mockettes from production, animated with traditional techniques to authentically recreate LAIKA's visual style on mobile devices.