December 12, 2022
This year has been tricky for everyone. And we mean everyone.
You don’t really need us to tell you about how international supply chains, energy prices, inflation and more have been impacted thanks to a number global factors all colliding at once.
Back in January, changes were afoot at TAKEOFF because of the continued uncertainty around Covid. We wrote then about changes to our lead times – who could have predicted that, shortly after we posted that, an international conflict would hammer delivery routes even harder?
Don’t worry, we’re not going to bring you down with tales of woe. This is a happy post; and a great marker for us to lead into 2023 in a positive way.
This isn’t just a post not just to showcase our best works this year, but to say a big thank-you to our studios, teams, partners, suppliers and clients worldwide.
Everyone across the globe has had to dig deep this year. TAKEOFF has been no different.
The flexibility, adaptability, togetherness and heart our teams, partners and clients have shown to work through such a challenging year to support each other has been nothing short of astounding to witness.
The projects we’ve worked on this year, and the support we’ve received over the course of 2022, has helped our teams to go beyond the brief and deliver fresh, exciting works of art for our partners and their audiences.
More than anything, this year has also reiterated how important creativity and imagination is to human resilience and the soul. We’re looking forward to 2023, and better times ahead for everyone.
We make it happen! Here’s our best-in-show for 2022:
STREAM WITH THE DREAM TEAM
TAKEOFF was on-hand to help Ubisoft livestream the announcement of open-world pirate sim, Skull and Bones, which included the world premiere of the game’s trailer and interviews with the game’s creative teams.
TAKEOFF designed and activated the highly-decorative pirate-ship-style set and waiting-room concept for guests, as well as motion graphics and slates throughout the video presentation.
TAKEOFF organised, directed, filmed and managed the entire live show on location in Singapore. It was a hit, with the stream attracting 300,000 viewers (and counting) on YouTube and Twitch.
TAKE ME TO YOUR INFLUENCER
Influencer kits are always fun to make, but our work on the Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction kit is the perfect example of how our creative teams go beyond the brief.
Extraction is an online multiplayer tactical shooter with teams working together to stop an alien invasion. ‘Alien invasion’ instantly sparked our imaginations, and we produced an amazing kit concept that really stood out.
Our favourite bit: sourcing the materials for and creating the destructible parasitic-like black alien webbing that covered the biohazard-like box. Recipients had to rip it off to get to the goodies inside.
A BRAND-NEW NOD
Since 2008, French studio Dontnod Entertainment has told some of the best video game stories in history, creating modern classics such as Life is Strange, Vampyr and Twin Mirror.
Dontnod Entertainment felt that it was time for a rebrand this year. Meet DON’T NOD; we helped the studio create its bold new identity, and produced key internal assets and brand guidelines for all staff to access.
The apostrophe makes a huge difference to their brand, which was a significant step for DON’T NOD to take. We also created a short introduction video too, to announce DON’T NOD to the world.
HOLY BATCYCLE, BATMAN!
Gotham Knights has been one of the standout games of 2022, and our supporting act to help promote it at gamescom in August was one of the best experiential concepts we’ve ever created.
Partnering with French concept automobile manufacturers, Lazareth, we were able to design, manufacture and deliver a life-size replica of Gotham Knights’ in-game Batcycle.
Our Batcycle was fully-functional and brought the house down (and not just because of its twin-power 150hp engine). It also commanded attention beyond Gamescom, winning praise online.
RUNE SERVICE
Elden Ring’s release this year surpassed the extremely high expectations that had been set for it. It truly was a pleasure for us to help with the Collector’s Editions and ads for Bandai Namco.
We led on the packaging for the Collector’s Editions, which included Great Rune key art and slipcases for all versions of the game. We also created four different covers for the included vinyl records.
We also produced the certificates of authentication; TAKEOFF produced beauty shots and online ads for each Collector’s Edition, and localised them for 15 different international territories.
ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Creating custom consoles and skins lets us show off our design skills, but this custom PC build to help promote Age of Empires IV was one of our most ambitious custom projects ever.
Designed and executed by our North-American team, a black monolith-style PC tower sits on the back of an extremely-detailed and grandiose replica of an in-game war elephant cavalry unit.
It was finished with a bronze sheen to make it look like an intimidating statue. Commissioned for Microsoft Rewards, this one-of-a-kind custom tower now sits on one lucky gamer’s shelf.