Bethesda E3 showcase | 2018
The world we built
Following the massively immersive theme park that was “Bethesdaland” In 2017, Bethesda Softworks wanted to go back to basics a bit for the 2018 year.
With a limited release schedule set for games in 2018, the goal for this year was to maintain that “wow” factor for all the fans in attendance, but without breaking the bank for a relatively quiet game calendar.
What started as a video game spin on the popular “29 Rooms” craze in 2018 ended up being the genesis point for a black and white, 8-bit themed E3 Showcase.
Using imagery from comic books, fan-made games, and the ‘90s love for 8-bit creations, we built a massive event in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, just a jump, skip, and hop away from E3.
Concept and ideation
Rage 2, Fallout 76, Doom Eternal, The Elder Scrolls VI, Prey: Mooncrash, Wolfenstein II, Quake. These were the properties Bethesda entrusted us to build our black and white event around.
With 125,000 sq.ft. of space, The LA Event Deck, right across the street from Staples Center, was a huge canvast o paint on.
The 300’L x 100’W x 50’H permanent installed Losberger tent was the first big question mark. With a space that has so much flat, open, and tall space…how can we build this to create a sense of density and dimension?
We found the answer mainly in activating the floor and ceiling in wide strokes. We hung black banners from the tent ceiling at staggered heights and depths, and ran 400’ of white and black carpet straight to the tent entry.
To add a big moment down the carpet, we used white truss and white uplighting flanking the exterior of the runners.
How magic is made
With over 125,000 square feet of space to activate in, we spent about 12 days straight during the extensive load-in at the LA Event Deck. As usual, we were tasked with building 3 separate “acts” for the client: pre-show, show, and post-show. Check out the video to see how the whole day went.
Fabrication and scenic
Due to the size of the venue, everything we fabricated had to be on an unusually large scale.
The biggest banner we hung was 18’ in length, and the smallest was only 6’ in length. The entry walls had to be built around truss, weighed down with 5 tons of weight for wind factor, and finally covered in perfectly seamed fabric. Ultimately, the entry walls covered over 250 linear feet of space.
The welcome letters were all made with an aluminum skeleton, filled in with semi-transparent plexi, and then internally lit with adjustable LED tape.
All of the game stations were custom built, each one to evoke the imagery of the game being played on them. For instance, the “Quake” gameplay station was circular (like a Q), and had a layer of sanded concrete on the bottom.
The “Prey” stations were all blacklight-friendly, and was surrounded by glowing blue globes to evoke outer space.
Finally, we had 8’W x 4’H internally lit acrylic signs for the most popular games. They were either hung with grip chain, or mounted to concrete blocks.
end result
With over 6,000 guests attending in-person, and nearly 2 million people joining the livestream, the 2018 E3 Showcase was a massive success for both the company and the event team.
Guests were invited into the showcase, hosted by Pete Heinz and Todd Howard, treated to a surprise performance by Andrew W.K., who sang the opening theme song for “Rage”.
After the show, fans were also granted access to a few secret areas to promote the just-announced games“Fallout 76” and “Rage 2”, “Elder Scrolls: Legends”, and “The Elder Scrolls: Blades”.
With another great E3 Showcase in the books, the only thing we could do after that was…start planning for next year!
render
reality
Creative Design: Paladin Creative | Event Production: Best Events | Digital Design: iam8bit | Venue: LA Event Deck