Michael Borys and Alex Lieu: Unraveling The World of Interactive Gaming

In today’s episode, 42 Entertainment’s Michael Borys and Alex Lieu reveal the inside scoop behind their mysterious story game, 49Boxes. During the conversation, they unveil what audiences can expect when jumping into their interactive narrative rich...

The post Michael Borys and Alex Lieu: Unraveling The World of Interactive Gaming appeared first on Up Next.

In today’s episode, 42 Entertainment’s Michael Borys and Alex Lieu reveal the inside scoop behind their mysterious story game, 49Boxes. During the conversation, they unveil what audiences can expect when jumping into their interactive narrative rich with history, magic, love, and crime. Michael and Alex also talk about their previous work for Disney, and explore the true value of real and tangible experiences in a world dominated by computers.

Topics include:

Why it’s important to bring audiences back into a physical world
The funding process of interactive gaming (or lack thereof)
Why unique, real-life interaction matters
Differences between the 49Boxes’ experience and other comparable puzzle games
The scalability of games (and whether or not 49Boxes could become a franchise)
Human and real time play (and its role in the digital world)

Michael Borys leads the interactive design team at 42 Entertainment. He is responsible for all online, mobile and real-world puzzles, games and social activities. From scores of casual games found throughout 42E’s projects such as TRON’s ‘Space Paranoids’ and the Dark Knight’s ‘Sitting Ducks’ to amazing real life collaborative scavenger hunts like the one held in the dead of night on Alcatraz Island, Michael always strives to give the audiences new experiences in fun. From 1996 to 2000, he led various teams within the Disney Company and helped in the creation of the original Disney’s Daily Blast online. In 2000, Michael teamed up with Alex Lieu at 3pinmedia to work on major projects for Disney Imagineering and the Disney Theme parks, as well as create animations and games for television and the web.

Pushing the boundaries of traditional entertainment and social gaming while re-defining the rules of digital and real-world play, Alex Lieu serves as both Creative Director and Lead Experience Design Director for 42 Entertainment’s award-winning projects. From sending scores of Batman fans to mysterious locations where mobile phones were buried inside Joker-themed cakes, to leading players through a scary dilapidated warehouse leading to an ultra-secret Nine Inch Nails performance, Alex is constantly searching for new ways to immerse audiences and weave them into fiction. He pioneered immersive storytelling techniques that blend the digital and real to create “events” in fictional worlds that attract massive participation.

Learn more about Michael Borys:

42entertainment.com
49Boxes 
LinkedIn
Twitter 

Learn more about Alex Lieu:

42entertainment.com
49Boxes 
LinkedIn 
Twitter 

The post Michael Borys and Alex Lieu: Unraveling The World of Interactive Gaming appeared first on Up Next.