FG|PG spent the week at the Boston Convention Center for PAX East with our client, 2K, installing two extraordinary 50’x50’ and one 30’x50’ trade show exhibits. This year, 2K will launch two highly anticipated games, Borderlands 2 and Spec Ops: The Line. They also wanted to give gamers an advanced peek at the upcoming XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Sid Meier’s Civilization V: Gods & Kings Expansion Pack. While working closely with 2K to fully understand their vision and goals, FG|PG took the video game publisher’s concept and created an exceptional gaming experience.
Our design challenge was to create three exhibits, true to the nature and distinct storyline of each game, while retaining the cohesive 2K branding. For the main event, the FG|PG designers formulated a plan to use 2 quadrants of large game-specific branded fabric backdrops, which when in adjacent booths created a wide semicircle. Floating above the walkway that separated the two booth spaces, of course, hung the red and white 2K logo.
Borderlands 2 Sculptures
Highlighting the Borderlands 2 exhibit were four larger-than-life-sized sculptures. The characters were sculpted by The Shop @ Show Ready, who used a combination of beaded and high density foam to create the incredibly detailed and realistic 3-D representations of the main characters. Following The Shop’s hard coat treatment, their expert painters brought the characters to life with meticulous paint detailing, providing each character with a distinct personality. Throughout the three day show, players continually lined up at the 32 gaming stations for the first tastes of the Borderlands 2 co-op gameplay.
Spec Ops: The Line
Just across the aisle, a post-apocalyptic style city bus sat in the center of the exhibit, the remnants of the sandstorm ravaged desert city, which is the location of Spec Ops: The Line. Also a project of The Shop @ Show Ready, the bus was themed with bullet holes, burn marks, deterioration, and of course, shattered glass. The bomb damaged suitcases left you wondering what happened to the owners of the luggage. All of the theming set the scene for players to be immersed in their first experience with Spec Ops: The Line, while playing on the exhibit’s gaming stations.
With a big year of highly anticipated releases for 2K, FG|PG was thrilled to tailor their custom exhibits to create a presence at PAX East that was truly unforgettable.
