Monday, January 5, 2009

Hotel 626 - A game that sticks to you

In my opinion, Hotel 626 is easily the best flash advergame out there on the internet right now. Created by Doritos, it was launched during the Halloween of '08. The brand thinking behind is probably producing something of genuine entertainment to enhance your Doritos snacking experience - I read this in an article but couldn't locate the link. Most probably though, it was just to create buzz, and if you measure success by the buzz it is successful! A great feat, considering that this site is only up 50% of the time. You have to visit the site between 6PM-6AM to be able to "check in to Hotel 626." But of course, smart people have learned to adjust the system clock to be able to play anytime.

People are raving about this game, calling it the scariest game/site on the internet. I say it's infectious, and really engages you to spread the word. The plot of the game is after you check in, you wake up in the middle of the night due to some disturbance, and you're sucked into a series of challenges to make it out of the Hotel alive.

The great thing is that one part of the game is randomized! Meaning you can't beat the game completely by relying on some walkthrough. It also has personalization, if you choose to have your picture taken via webcam. It will be used in the latter part of the game...

Why do I mention the URL only now? Because it is really scary. Go to http://www.hotel626.com

Here is a youtube video about it.