Dimension 20, hosted by Brennan Lee Mulligan, is a popular American Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) show on the Dropout streaming platform. After 24 seasons the team took a live show to New York City’s iconic Madison Square Garden for a sold-out event. Gauntlet at the Garden united 20,000 fans in a groundbreaking interactive experience and Corporation Pop’s work formed an integral part.
Dimension 20 commissioned Pop to design and develop an interactive element for the live show. And what is more synonymous with D&D than the D20, twenty sided dice? We set about developing an audience participation tool on steroids, capable of handling thousands of users concurrently.
Dimension 20 event branding
How it worked
We provided an admin area to the Dimension 20 production team, allowing them to invite the audience to take part in a collective dice roll. The modal result of everyone’s dice roll decided which D&D character would next enter the game.
The admin area allowed the production team to initiate a variety of dice roll options whenever they wanted. This helped to generate a strong connection between the show hosts and the audience.
To take part all audience members had to do was scan a QR code featured on the venue’s ‘Jumbotron’ screens. This directed them to an ultra lightweight mobile site providing a frictionless way of connecting with the game, no bulky native app downloads here! Meanwhile, the production team monitored the number of connected users in the admin panel.
We sprinkled clever, snappy messaging throughout the dice roll application. Prompts were also triggered to devices at key stages in the user journey. This provided the audience enough information to remain engaged throughout the performance.
The production team opened a dice roll moment via the admin panel. Users then tapped their ‘Let’s Roll’ button on their devices and were presented with branded D20 dice, modelled on the show’s very own ‘Box of Doom’, in glorious 3D with added physics for realistic dice rolls.
Behind the scenes
As the players were rolling their dice, our servers were primed to interpret each and every individual dice roll across the entire participating audience.
Our admin panel provided the production team with visibility on user interaction velocity and all dice roll results as they landed. The modal result jostling for position was played out in real time on the Jumbotron screens for all to witness.
Each dice roll resulted in a deeper audience connection. The audience felt like a key part in shaping the outcome of the performance. In keeping with the D20 theme, we rewarded those who rolled a D20 with a ‘Hell Yeah’ message. Those who rolled a D1 received a cheeky middle finger emoji.
The last roll of the night was a 2xD20 and resulted in a natural D20 modal. The probability of this happening was around 12%-15%, meaning the audience had struck D&D gold at the perfect time. This brought the house down and the audience erupted rocking Madison Square Garden.
This was a fitting end to the evening and our debut dice roll tech which helped connect the audience with their on stage D&D Heroes.
Can I get a 'hell yeah!'
Oh no, you got a 'booo!'
3D customised dice with built in physics
Added features
We built an admin panel for the production team to manage dice rolls during the show. The team could control when the audience rolled, the type of roll (double dice advantage and disadvantage variants) and even flash every device for special moments based on the users individual result.
Technology behind the event
Ensuring a minimum of 20,000 players could roll dice simultaneously and view live results took careful planning.
No app needed:
Scanning the QR code opened a browser window, keeping things simple. Web based and platform agnostic lowered any barriers.
One roll per device:
We restricted rolling to one tab per browser where possible to limit any troublesome attendees trying a double roll.
Efficient design:
At around 2.5MB, the initial web-app package was as lightweight as possible to allow for heavily contended bandwidth in the arena.
Smooth data handling:
Dice rolls occurred on users’ devices before sending a tiny packet of data containing the results back to the server, massively reducing network data load.
Dimension 20 cast on stage after an incredible show
Event success
The D20 roll feature ran flawlessly, transferring data quickly and enhancing the live experience. Fans and critics alike hailed it as one of the most memorable Dungeons & Dragons events ever.
Future applications
This application isn’t limited to Dungeons & Dragons. This large-scale real time technology can bring new life to games, competitions, and tournaments. It could also transform exit polls, surveys, and ballots for events needing fast and accurate audience input.
Want to create something interactive for your audience?
Contact Corporation Pop today to discuss how this tech could enhance your event.
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