The Ask:
Create a 2D pixel art video game that creates awareness around the Hulu original film Bad Hair while articulating the feeling and vibe of the characters, the settings, and activities that take place.
PARTICIPATING ROLES
Momoland Studios:
Momo Pixel
Tuxic
​
Hulu:
Senior Social Media Manager:
Tracey Lincoln
Associate Social Media Manager:
Chase Torrence
Copywriter: Cat Samarista
Creative Technology:
Alyssa Saucedo
Senior Project Manager:
Mariam Fatah
The Approach:
Bad Hair is a film set in 1989 about an ambitious young woman who gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. However, she realizes that her new hair may have a mind of its own.
Immersing myself in the film, I looked at the story and the feeling it invoked. The game needed to allow players to become familiar with aspects of the film and it's folklore.
Idea!: Getting your hair done is easy. Keeping it maintained is the hard even scary part. Let's create a true 80s style game where players fight against time to keep it together as their hair is repeatedly messed up due to unfortunate circumstances.
The Execution:
With a month deadline to create the game, I immediately created a detailed plan with clear mockups ups and identifiable check points. My goal was to make the process as seamless as possible for both myself and the client. Doing this left no surprises and streamlined the feedback.
As I planned out the ux/ui
and designed the game assets, my developer simultaneously coded the game with my instruction.
It was a very intense sprint but we are overjoyed with the results.
The transitional scenes and backgrounds were all directly inspired by the Bad Hair film. This level 3 background is from the Cult Live set design.
The Results
The game debuted with Hulu's social media launch for Bad Hair and was received with rave reviews, players often asked for the chiptune version of the soundtrack song "I Get It" we modified for the game. Organic media coverage that came from my initial twitter announcement appeared on Gamerant and the game went on to win 2 awards: A 2021 Shorty Award Winner for best in game app and a Faxies 2021 Audience Engagement & Experience Winner for Online game/Gamifcation.
