Mr. Right
An Interactive Film, Powered by Verizon
Verizon’s Next-Gen Entertainment team wanted to engage customers in a unique storytelling experience that would show off their network’s 5G streaming capabilities. Through a mix of augmented reality (AR), game-like interactions, and unique design we created a cross-platform app that engaged thousands of users by putting the story in their hands.
Mr. Right, a romantic comedy for the Tik tok generation, gives players the power to influence the personality of Rob (played by Sam Asghari), the robot who needs a personality, while helping Sophia (Aimee Carrero) navigate her messy love life. In collaboration with Paul Fieg’s digital production company, Powderkeg Media, Type/Code took the story from concept to design to launch, crafting an experience that allows the player to interact with characters, make decisions, and ultimately affect the outcome of the story.
Interactive Storytelling
The user experience is a mix of passive viewing as the player watches compelling scenes play out, and active decision making through the lens of the protagonist's phone as she texts, video chats, snaps photos of, and even creates a social media profile for Rob the robot. This linear narrative experience gives users an idea of time and setting through the use of playful "chapter screens," while game-like elements such as an hourly countdown and dashboard give users a sense of progression through the story.
Mapping Decision Moments
Through the user’s interactions, they engage in both minor story decisions that play out in real-time, and major character decisions that add up to shape Rob’s personality. In the end, users will get one of five personality types and one of 17 unique endings to the story.
Social
We embedded the app with opportunities for users to share their experience with friends, inviting them to create their own Mr. Right.
Branding + Identity
Drawing on inspiration from Japanese dating sims, vaporwave, and retro gaming interfaces, our goal was to create a look that is both fresh and nostalgic at the same time. Brutalist type and lo-fi iconography that act as subtle nods to 8-bit computer graphics are balanced with softer elements like gradients and neon pastels, lending an air of vibrancy and approachability for the post-social media generation. The UI system feels both realistic and fantastical for a story placed in the near-future where much of the action unfolds through a simulation of the protagonist's phone.
Technology
Built on Google's Flutter framework and integrated with Unity, our tech stack allowed us to cross-publish to iOS and Android while infusing the story with engaging character interactions through augmented reality. Sam Asghari (AKA “Rob the Robot”) was captured on a volumetric stage and rendered in 3D by Evercoast and streamed through the Mr. Right app to the user’s device, where they influence the story outcomes by manipulating him in their own environment.
Modular Design + Development Approach
Architecting each of these moments into predictable, modular units - both in the way the app was designed and in how it was built - we were able to create a game framework in which we could reuse, shuffle, repurpose, and build upon each moment. This approach allowed us to stay nimble as changes occurred to the script and production plan, and to evaluate and adapt the user experience as needed to find the right rhythm, pacing, and scaffolding for the story and game play.
Great storyline and top notch casting~ obsessed with Rob!!! 10/10 😍🥰😻— App Store Review
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