CONCEPT/ART DIRECTION/DESIGN – 2022
Daymare 1994: Sandcastle
Digital Wishlist Campaign
Daymare 1994: Sandcastle is a survival horror game that mixes the excitement and adventure of the survival horror genre with the familiar nostalgia of the mid-1990s. This campaign aimed to drive viewers to the Daymare Steam page to invite them to wishlist the game through their Steam account in anticipation of the game’s 2023 release.
My goal was to help immerse the viewer into the setting of the 1990s so that playing the game would feel more personal. To convey this feeling graphically I used commonly found objects from the 1990s, gave them some wear and tear in Photoshop, and used them as centerpieces as if they were left behind and never retrieved. In-game images were provided by the developer company and thus used as backgrounds in the compositions to remind the audience of the game’s tone.
To extend the audience reach, Aquatik hosted a site takeover in which a new header image and icons were implemented fitting the 1990s nostalgia theme with CTAs encouraging site users to wishlist the game on Steam.
IMAGES & VIDEO BELOW
Daymare 1994: Sandcastle Advertisements
Aquatik x Daymare Site Takeover Assets
Animated Site Header
Brand-Aligned Icons
How can we drive traffic toward the DM1994 Steam page and subsequently gain wishlists?
PROBLEM TO SOLVE
Craft a series of ads tapping into the 90s nostalgia prevalent within the game as well the game’s target demographic: survival horror & sandcastle gamers.
SOLUTION
Play on the 90’s nostalgia of Daymare’s target audience, - survival horror gamers, typically late teens into mid-thirties - many of whom were born in or grew up influenced by the designs of the 1990s. Using common everyday items from the 1990s and “grungeifying” them to look as though they’d been abandoned in the hurry to escape the game’s biggest threat: zombies.
Showcasing these dirtied items as the focal point of the advertisements does a few things: 1. Immediately identifies this game as being a part of a world set in the 1990s; 2. Demonstrates a sense of urgency that is frequently present in survival horror, as they are all splattered with blood and caked in dust from a long time of being without use; 3. Mimics a visual similar to how many survival horror games treat picking up a new or key item.