When McDonald's wanted to extend the Happy Meal experience beyond the toy that came in the box, an online virtual world would become the perfect way to do that. So we built McWorld! A place where kids could explore cool destinations, meet whacky characters, play crazy games, go on fun quests and interact with other kids. I was part of a small creative team that got to come up with the fun ideas and then lovingly create the art you see here. It was truly a dream project to work on, and our client gave us a ton of creative license to have fun and engage with kids. Over a five year period we were constantly expanding McWorld with monthly refreshes of new content, and by the end of it's run McWorld had grown into a robust environment with over 40 games and 20 destinations. Below is just a small sampling of the art of McWorld. I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as we enjoyed creating it!
Below is the McWorld Map, the entry point into the site. Click on a destination and WHOOOOSH...you were transported to a city in the clouds, a prehistoric island, an amusement park...or who knows where else!
Kids could choose who they wanted to be in McWorld. Maybe a Robot or a Panda or an Alien?! Or maybe just a kid who kind of looked like them. Below are the mPals they could become in McWorld.
Below is Petsylvania, one of the many destinations kids could explore in McWorld. Kids could adopt a pet, play games or just chat with other kids.
Who wouldn't want to walk amongst dinosaurs?! You could in Dinostralia! In this destination kids could ride a Pterodactyl, play dinosaur games and even fall in a tar pit if they weren't careful!
Haunted Hideout could be a scary place, but no one was more frightened than it's host, Sir Ivan the Scareable! McWorld was full of these fun characters that would greet kids and send them on quests.
Below is the Pumpkin Room, a player's personal space. Kids could play games to earn points and then use the points at the Uptown Mall to buy furniture and accessories to customize their space.
Every Happy Meal box came with a paper insert that carried an "mCode". Kids could enter the code in McWorld to unlock rewards like furniture, vehicles and accessories and outfits for their mPal.
Every destination in McWorld had games that were themed to the environment. Here's one from the Kid's Coliseum, You be the QB. Score points for completing passes before the clock runs out, or pay the price!
Who doesn't love puppies? Kid's learned how to train them in this adorable Train-a-Pup game in Petsylvania.
McWorld had more than just games, it featured many cool activities as well. Climb aboard the Viking ship and you can have fun creating your very own Viking shield!
Below are some more of those fun hosts and non-player characters that were created for McWorld.
Fun Fact: To celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the Happy Meal, McDonald's teamed up with Ty to create a collection of 30 plush Beanie Babies. Three of my McWorld characters were actually turned into plush and became part of that special collection.
