How Fi & OgilvyOne Brought an Ancient Epic to Life and Launched Chrome in Asia

Beyond a digital retelling of this classic tale, the challenge was focused on staying true to the narrative as told in both the Indonesian and Thai cultures, in the context of a rich and immersive interactive experience. Building on the power and capabilities of the Chrome browser, along with a bevy of other Google services, we knew our tools were up to the task.

The inherent beauty and visual pageantry of art and culture from the Indian diaspora presented a fertile canvas for lush design. We sought to strike a balance with bright colors and muted tones to evoke a visual theme deeply rooted in a historical context.

Ultimately, the technological components of the experience are most successful when they fade into the background and just simply work. In other words, a well-built digital experience really sings when the stuff that makes it work just gets out of the way.

Multiple Chrome Windows

Working Separately and Together

Slaying Deer & Demons

Pop-up windows can only be spawned by, or focused on, a user interaction (e.g. a click), for security reasons. So in order to maintain a smooth story flow, we had to spawn all the windows needed by each of the five chapters at the beginning, when the user clicks ‘Start’, then store them for later on. We ended up hiding the pool of windows behind the main narration window so they wouldn’t crowd or confuse the user experience. A separate narration window ensured that the story didn’t get lost or overpowered by the stunning visuals.

Digital physics played a big part in many of the gamification elements, including particle systems for fire, smoke, and forest ambiance. We built some spring-based tail physics for the burning scene, 3D ray casting and collision detection for the shooter in the forest, and inverse kinematics for the arm and bow in the penultimate scene.

Talented partners, top-notch tools, and a timeless tale all came together to create an immersive and emotionally captivating experience in the digital space. In the end, the real star of the story is the Chrome browser, and the endless possibilities it offers to users, developers and creatives alike.

CASE STUDY

Google's Ramayana

A large, focused team of creative partners came together to support Google with the landmark launch of the Chrome browser in Asia. This is the story behind the execution of a core concept: An interactive digital retelling of a classic work of Asian literature.

The end result included handcrafted artwork, layered visual storytelling, digital physics, and seamless Google product integration. This was the third case study I wrote and produced for Fi, and it felt like we were hitting our stride here.

My Role

I wrote, edited and produced the Case Study you see here. Some copy suggestions made it into the actual product.

CASE STUDY

Google's Ramayana

My Role

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Process

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