Last year, on October 29th, we introduced the world to a mouse, a hat and a little windy trouble brought to life by immersive storytelling technology. That was the first Spotlight Story. It was called Windy Day.

Ready for another story? It might be the same forest, but things are definitely different once the sun goes down.


Continuing our work with award-winning storytellers, Buggy Night was directed by veteran animator Mark Oftedal along with much of the Windy Day team, including Caldecott winning illustrator and writer Jon Klassen and Academy award-winning producer Karen Dufilho-Rosen.

With each Spotlight Story we’re uncovering more ground -- both technologically and creatively. We’re continuing to explore novel storytelling possibilities for mobile. Possibilities that are revealed when mobile is considered a true medium, rather than just a smaller screen. We’re finding out what happens at the intersection of hardware, software, and content.

Technologically, Buggy Night takes interactivity and immersiveness to the next level. For this story, we created seamless interactivity by leveraging Android 4.4 KitKat graphics capabilities applied to a true 360-degree environment. Creatively, this meant that we had to tell a story that unfolds where you choose to look -- and where you don’t.
Keep an eye on your Moto X and see what happens when your phone catches the latest Spotlight bug going around.

If you missed our first Spotlight Story, Windy Day, you can check it out in the new Library section of Spotlight Player. And to keep up to date on all things Spotlight Stories, follow our Tumblr or join our Google+ Community.

Posted by Rachid El-Guerrab, Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP)