Kiwi gamers unite for epic boss battle at Spark Game Arena Live

AUCKLAND, Today: Gaming is booming worldwide, yet New Zealand often gets left out of the global gaming spotlight. Despite this, the nation is ready to step up and make a mark.

To put gaming in the spotlight here, Spark teamed up with Colenso BBDO to launch Spark Game Arena Live, a groundbreaking gaming festival for Kiwi gamers. The highlight? KILLABYTE, an immersive experience where every attendee became a player in a massive, real-life boss battle.

Upon entering the festival, players joined D.A.R.T. (Data Anomaly Response Team) and faced off against Byte, a giant digital snake set on taking gaming back to the days of snake on brick phones. The mission? Defeat Byte and save the gaming world.

Gamers could deal damage to Byte by watching tournaments, attending talks, playing games, and even eating. Scanning their unique RFID ‘weapons’ at different touchpoints earned players XP and helped weaken Byte. They could track their progress through a mobile Mission Hub.

“Gamers are a pretty discerning audience, so we wanted to create something they’ve never experienced before and then make it unavoidable.” – Kimberley Ragan

Ally Young, Spark Brand Partner, explains, “The New Zealand gaming community & industry is largely overlooked by the big global gaming festivals. So when creating NZ’s first ever fully dedicated gaming festival, we didn’t want to just replicate what happens overseas. We wanted to raise the benchmark for gaming festivals altogether.”

Kimberley Ragan, Colenso BBDO Group Creative Director, adds, “Gamers are a pretty discerning audience, so we wanted to create something they’ve never experienced before and then make it unavoidable. A gaming festival that doubles as a game, where everyone is fighting together to take down a 20-metre, devious snake is definitely both those things.”

The Killabyte experience was brought to life with the help of BUCK, Franklin Rd Music & Sound, Spur, and Satellite Media. It captivated thousands of players, who collectively dealt over 4.5 million damage points to Byte.

Top scorers JOYNZ and Bravemage4676 were crowned victors, walking away with $ 1750 worth of gaming gear. Bravemage4676 summed it up perfectly: “I haven’t been a part of anything like that. Ever.”