EA Games – Media Player Skins

Waltham Media Ltd

Overview
During the promotional campaigns for EA Games newly released games, they were looking to offer fans a range of assets for download from the official game websites to help with promotional actiivities across the target fan-base. Apart from the usual downloadable wallpapers and screensavers, we wanted to offer something that fans would ‘virally’ pass to their friends via e-mail. We created a series of media player skins (themes) for a range of playstation and X-box games.

Requirements

• The programming and packaging of game-themed media player skins with an attactive interface
• All media player themes to be available for Microsoft Media Player.
• All media player themes to also be available for Nullsoft Win-Amp
• Small installation packages aimed to be attached to e-mails easily and passed between fans.

Creative
Since the games had been years in development, we had a wide choice of pre-existing arts and graphics in which to base the media player skins from the companies arts department.

Technical
The media player themes for Windows Media Player and Nullsoft Winamp were each packaged in a single-file download for release on the companies official game websites. We produced the media player skins for Def Jam Vendetta, Soul Calibur II and Freedom Fighters.

Project Outcome
When the X-Box and Playstation ames were launched via TV and magazine publicity, the website saw thousands of media player theme downloads which were them seen to spread across the internet via chat forums and even fan-made websites which the company encouraged. The games have since developed into a franchise with a number of further releases across multiple gaming platforms.