Gamified Election Poll Coverage for the 2024 Mexican Election
With the 2024 Mexican elections approaching Mexican TV Channel, TV Azteca sought to reimagine how it presented election polls. Traditionally, election data is dense, complex, and often quite dull for viewers. The channel was looking to engage a wider audience, particularly younger viewers, by turning this information into a dynamic, visually captivating experience.
TV Azteca chose Mexican-based Malak XR and Evoke Studios, as its partners. By harnessing an international team of highly skilled project managers, illustrators, animators, texturisers and programmers, Evoke Studios created four Super Mario style, multi-level, gamified worlds for the channel. Here avatars of the presidential candidates, created by the Azteca team, competed with one another for poll position.
A key part of the Azteca brief was that the 2024 election coverage was an engaging storytelling experience for audiences. Each environment had to feel cohesive and believable wherever the virtual camera was looking in the animated space. The Evoke Studios team employed many textural and colour references from the real world, adding to the sense that the Avatars inhabited a modern, albeit animated, version of Mexico.
Global Team of Artists
With multiple people working on the project globally, a key challenge was to ensure continuity of style across all the backgrounds and assets. The project’s success relied upon comprehensive prep work, research, and clear and concise communications. The team used several project management software systems that allowed every individual to see the whole of the project in real time.
Both our client and we are very satisfied, and this wouldn't have been possible without your help. We wanted to show you what we achieved thanks to you and take the chance to thank you for all your support
Jonathan Hernandez Moreno from the TV Azteca Team
Each of the animated worlds mimicked popular Mexican landmarks that conjured recognisable cultural and leisure activities. Once the team completed the worlds, Azteca added the competing candidate avatars to the scene. The TV station then controlled the avatar’s movements and the camera angle inside the animated scenes. This demanded that Evoke Studios supplied fully rendered digital worlds that were available in their entirety to the virtual camera.
Creating small clips out of the game engine
Presidential candidate avatars triggered events in those worlds, which would impact their environment, either slowing them down or speeding them up. While the content looked like a game, the weekly broadcast comprised a recorded two-minute video clip, which reflected something that had happening in the real political polls.
When Evoke Studios embarked on the project with Malak XR, the expectation was to have built a fully equipped XR studio for Azteca. This would have allowed the station to bring the presenters into the gamified environment. Although that element of the project was delayed, the outcome delighted the client. The success of the animation element has already opened the door for future collaborations between Evoke Studios and media outlets globally.
Gamification as a new tool
As the digital landscape continues to grow, gamification and interactive storytelling are proving to be powerful tools. They enhance public understanding of current events, from elections to economic updates and beyond. Evoke Studios is part of that growth.
Want to gamify your next broadcast? Contact us at Evoke Studios to learn how we can bring your vision to life.
Client
Malak XR Studios, Mexico City, Mexico
Services
Consulting
Planning
Real time Content
Unreal Programming
The Team
TV Azteca
Project Manager: Alexei Sánchez
Unreal Lead: Jonathan Hernandez Moreno
Evoke Studios
Unreal Team Lead : Karim El Fatatry
Unreal Programming: Maxim Kloster
Unreal Artist: Daniel Fernandez Moya
3D-Modelling: Hieu Lee
Products & Tools
Unreal Engine 5.4