What Happens When Gaming Meets Art?
The Destiny Art Show, opened in London on November 6 at Gallery Different, offering fans of the Destiny universe a chance to immerse themselves in over 30 curated art pieces, ranging from paintings to Ghost sculptures and exclusive merchandise.
The exhibition celebrated the vibrant storytelling and visuals of Destiny 2, one of the world’s most popular action MMOs developed by Bungie. Attendees had the opportunity to explore how a diverse group of artists have interpreted the game’s expansive world, with select pieces available for sale, and could participate in exciting fan experiences such as giveaways and a opening night signing event.
The exciting event was produced by Bits and Pixels, a boutique agency founded by Sandra Arcan and Su-Yina Farmer, known for their expertise in event production, brand collaborations and more. With over 35 years of combined experience, Bits and Pixels has established itself at the intersection of gaming and culture, connecting brands with passionate audiences.
One of their latest projects, managed on behalf of Bungie, the iconic video game company behind legendary franchises like Halo, is the Destiny Art Show. In this Debrief, we speak with Bits and Pixels about the show’s creation, the fusion of art and gaming, and how to best engage with a passionate fanbase.
What was the hope for visitors to take away from this event?
Our client, Bungie, wanted to give the fans a way of celebrating the Destiny franchise by experiencing the IP through a completely different lens. Destiny has become part of our cultural landscape and arranging for some of the top pop culture artists to reimagine the brand through their style would be exciting and fresh.
The artists brought their own styles to the world of Destiny. Can you tell us about the selection process and how their perspectives added new dimensions to the game’s visual universe?
Bungie sought to bring together a unique intersection of artists, including artists from the Bungie studio, community artists that have passionately grown with the IP, as well as popular and up and coming pop culture artists, to bring a new perspective to the Destiny franchise. Artists selected from DesignerCon, the player community, and the Bungie Studio all contributed a look and feel that players don’t experience in game, to the art show.
From an industry perspective, how do events like the Destiny Art Show bridge the gap between gaming and art, and what trends do you see evolving in this space?
To the masses, Destiny is just a video game, but for the players and fans, The Destiny game franchise is ART. There is so much design and consideration that goes into the game and allowing fans to see a completely new facet of Destiny after 10 years is exciting and refreshing. We are seeing so many major IP owners in the toy and collectible space celebrate games and pop culture through the artists’ lens. This keeps the brands fresh and culturally relevant. Mainstream entertainment companies are allowing their top IPs to be reimagined by well known pop culture artists and showcased at major conventions like San Diego Comic Con.
Limited edition screen printed posters created by popular illustrators, and collectible art toys are ways of taking well known IPs and creating refreshing new art, and the fans love it! We will continue to see more of these exciting collaborations from top IP owners and well known artists moving forward. It is important to stay fresh and continue giving the fans something new.
What role does immersive fan engagement play in the future of game culture, and how do you see Bits and Pixels shaping these experiences moving forward?
More and more people are connecting with their friends and making new ones via gaming platforms. Interacting and chatting through gameplay or on platforms such as Twitch and Discord grew hugely popular during the pandemic and has set a new normal. That said, gamers still long for a physical and tangible gaming experience, to connect with their fellow gaming friends in the real world and to interact with their favourite gaming brands in a more analogue way.
We love to find out what really draws fans into the game and bring that unique experience to life through themed events. Sometimes that means creating a themed and interactive space where fans can gather and socialise, sometimes it means taking a popular in-game mechanic and turning it into a real life adaption. When concocting themed events, we really get into the detail of the game world environment to create as much immersion as possible — blurring the lines between real and fantasy, delighting the fans and forging a deeper connection to the brand through real world memorable moments!
How did Bits and Pixels collaborate with Bungie to bring this creative vision to life? What makes Bits and Pixels the perfect agency to support this project?
We’ve been working with Bungie for over 6 years now and feel very much like an extension of their team. We are gamers ourselves with a background in working in the gaming industry, but we’re also HUGE Destiny fans, so we really know what the fans love about the game and what we would like to experience as fans ourselves.
We’ve put on several community events for Bungie now, ranging from tournaments to big venue, fully immersive parties, with a pop-up shop, themed food and drink, games and areas where fans can take photos. Bungie had the idea of celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Destiny with an art show and we were brought on board to bring this over to the UK, with an added pop-up shop (as there is an excellent range of merchandise for the game, which fans are always keen to get their hands on).
As an agency, we’re creative and detail-oriented and always try to make our events that little bit ‘extra’. We want fans to feel like the event was made especially for them, with deep immersion and a few surprises thrown in.
Photography by Amy Hunter
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