Zapak develops augmented reality based advergame for Pepsi

The online game created to drive Pepsi's 'Change the Game' message offers a game play that is a marriage between soccer and cricket.

Gaming portal Zapak.com has launched an augmented reality based advergame for Pepsi to extend its latest campaign, 'Change the Game' to the digital platform. Pepsi's campaign features the rivalry between cricket and soccer, and the idea behind this game was to extend the excitement of this rivalry simultaneously on the digital platform and reach a wider audience. The Pepsi Sokket (derived from soccer and cricket) game is available on the iOS platform and Android devices and tabs.

The game is a marriage of football and cricket. The interface shows a football goal post with Indian skipper M S Dhoni standing with a cricket bat to defend it. Dhoni, with his cricket bat, will hit boundaries and sixers instead of kicking it back. The game needs users to score a goal using the virtual ball created through augmented reality. The phone's camera tracks the user's leg movement. Once the user loads the game onto his device, he/she is prompted to select the speed of the kick and the trajectory of the ball. After the trajectory and speed are selected, the user is prompted to kick the ball and score goals.

Commenting on the game, Rakesh Rao, national sales head, Zapak.com, says, "The Pepsi Sokket Game is an innovation in gaming in the way it combines football and cricket, which is the critical creative route used by Pepsi in its new Change the Game campaign. The augmented reality mode makes it more of a physical experience for the gamer, who is drawn into the quirky game play and thrill of competition."

Zapak has developed advergames (games developed specifically to promote a particular brand) for brands such as Domex, Mahindra, HUL and Pepsi.