State of Survival is a popular RTS game developed by FunPlus International. The game is based on a post-apocalyptic world where people are grouped to survive after a zombie outbreak took over everything and everyone in sight barring a handful of people. However, our main point of discussion is how State of Survival has kickstarted its unique way of advertising the app through the episodes of a live action series released on YouTube with the official licensing.
Battle against the zombies and reclaim the lost land while protecting the existing base
State of Survival is an survival strategy game where the player takes control of specific characters in the post-zombie outbreak environment. The player has to build their base and upgrade various facilities such as the Headquarters, and Barracks among others. And also increase their strength over time.
The objective is to reclaim the land lost to the zombies while also protecting the existing base from the zombies by keeping them in check. There are also missions where one has to fight a boss or fight to unlock a specific element in the game.
State of Survival: The live-action series features a squad of survivors coming together to uncover the mystery behind the outbreak
The series is a currently ongoing set of episodes that are created as ads of the original game. The said project has already been in place for nearly a year with the first episode of the series having been released eleven months prior.
It features a squad of survivors of the zombie apocalypse who band together to uncover a greater mystery surrounding the outbreak. The cast comprises Matt Matson as Rusty, Ethan Guzman as Ghost, Weixin Le as Eva, Lucy White as Maddie, Christian Busath as Chef, Adam Hightower as Sarge, and Christian Jensen as the White Wolf.
The series went viral and gained widespread appraisal and positive reviews owing to the effort put into what is supposed to just be an ad. The acting is decent, and even stands out considering the purpose of it. The overall effects and settings are impressive, to say the least. The story also consists of a driving plot which does leave one yearning to know how the plot will progress and the next episode will turn out.
The series with the intent of marketing has attracted the audience with entertainment and creativity
The series has well-directed shots. The effort and passion put into the work are visible despite the production not being done by any A-list company. The character of Ghost played by Ethan Guzman is without a doubt the most well-choreographed given the extremely sophisticated display of parkour . This also highlights the overall extreme fitness of the actor, or maybe the stunt double who portrayed Ghost.
What sets this marketing project different is the sheer display of the intention to attract the audience through entertainment and creativity rather than completely focusing on traditional marketing ideas such as collabs or commentaries. The benchmark is thus put high up and the series achieved its goal of marketing the game while also keeping the idea of making entertainment a priority original and unique.
Questions and Answers with the State of Survival series production team
We, the GamingonPhone team asked some burning questions the production team of State of Survival about the live-action series and the game’s upcoming future goals.
What was the motivation for the team to create such a unique ad instead of a generic animated one?
Generic ads have their purpose and place. With the type of content we create, it’s about hitting a brand new audience that traditional media can’t hit as well. Creating an emotional experience that connects the audience with the characters, so when they play the game or look into getting the game, they can connect it with what they’ve experienced from our videos.
Are the episodes all filmed and released after breaks or are they filmed before release?
They’re released after several months. We had only originally planned on creating one project. After the first one, we got brought on to do more projects, Parts 2 and 3. So those were filmed the following year, even in a different location too.
So we had to figure out how to pull that off logistically to make it work. Parts 2 and 3 were filmed at the same time, and released several months apart from each other, to hit a different audience again, and to constantly remind people about the game instead of releasing them all at once.
If filmed individually, doesn’t it ruin the flow of filming and require extra effort to pick up where it was left off?
We filmed part 1 and part 2 a while from each other. One was filmed in Hawaii, the others were filmed in Utah. That isn’t ideal by any means. We would have filmed them all at once had we known they were going to be so successful. It’s a lot of extra work though picking up, and getting all the cast back together, so that’s why we filmed parts 2 and 3 together.
Owing to the vastly positive criticism of the 3 episodes, is there any chance that we get to see a short film or movie if the budget allows so?
Only time will tell.
Is the storyline in the ads going to be added to the game anytime soon?
We’ve heard talks that potentially the zombie van we had created for our video would be added, but once again, that’s not a decision we can make, and only time will tell where that goes.
What are your thoughts about the live-action series of State of Survival? Let us know in the comment section below!
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