State Street
Maze
- Immersive Experiences
- Original Content
In collaboration with McCann Erickson New York, Preymaker transformed the abstract concept of financial liquidity into a thrilling, neon-lit VR experience. Designed in Unreal Engine and unveiled at a major financial trade show in Miami, The Liquidity Maze invited players to navigate a glowing, gamified universe that visualized State Street’s unique flexibility and innovation. Blending vaporwave aesthetics with intuitive gameplay, the activation turned complex financial ideas into an accessible, high-energy adventure—complete with leaderboards, charity rewards, and a steady stream of repeat players. The result was a standout experience that redefined how financial brands connect with audiences: through immersion, interaction, and pure creative play.
It was a bold ask. The kind of unconventional creative challenge where Preymaker thrives as a partner. Having recently created the animated short Blue in Unreal Engine—a tool originally built for game design, Preymaker was perfectly positioned to bring McCann’s gamified concept to life.
Making Financial Products Matter
Financial services are rarely associated with excitement—let alone wonder. But the team at McCann Erickson, New York, wanted to change that. Their challenge to Preymaker was clear: make people experience financial liquidity in a way that’s unforgettable—and get everybody talking about State Street.
The idea? A virtual reality (VR) maze, set inside a gamified universe, unveiled at a major financial trade show in Miami. At the trade show, State Street aimed to clearly stand apart from its competitors. Among traditional ETF (exchange-traded fund) booths—overflowing with pamphlets and pie charts—an immersive VR game would steal the spotlight.
McCann’s early concept was metaphorical: a liquidity maze. Unlike other ETFs, State Street’s products are built for flexibility. The maze would mirror that—fun to navigate, guided by glowing liquidity orbs, without trapping players in financial complexity.
Designing a Maze with Meaning
Users would find it fun to navigate the maze of investment, thanks to State Street’s liquidity.
It needed to clearly communicate liquidity as State Street’s edge in a competitive market: the ability to move in and out of investments quickly and easily. The State Street differentiator.
Designing for Everyone
Preymaker zeroed in on the end user from the start. At a financial trade show with a broad range of guests, the team couldn’t assume players had ever picked up a controller—let alone worn a VR headset. So the experience had to be intuitive: zero intimidation, minimal onboarding, maximum immersion.
They began with questions. What does movement through the maze look and feel like? How can the game appeal to both a complete beginner and a leaderboard racer? How do you scale a virtual world to a physical conference footprint (given that a step in VR is equal to a step in the real world), and keep play time within 2–3 minutes?
The answers came through prototyping, testing, and tight creative collaboration with McCann every step of the way.
Instead of one giant labyrinth, Preymaker designed a series of “rooms”—each with its own visual theme and gameplay complexity. Think of the Liquidity Maze as a journey through interconnected escape rooms, all operating on the same maze-navigation logic.
Building the World: Escape Rooms, Not Just Mazes
Built in Unreal Engine, the game leveraged Preymaker’s deep experience in real-time 3D design and their relationship with Epic Games— invaluable assets for this project.
Each space became its own mini-universe: circular rooms with shifting walls, neon hallways evoking vintage Miami lobbies, giant Tetris blocks locking into place, vacuum-sealed doors opening onto space station corridors. And of course, State Street liquidity signals—glowing spheres pulsing with light and sound to guide the player forward.
From the moment the headset went on, subtle cues led the way: ambient binaural audio, glowing arrows, floating prompts like “State Street advisors will guide you.” Within seconds, players were confidently moving through the maze—the modes of interaction differing from level to level, to keep the experience dynamic. Players move through the maze choosing between neon-marble doors, riding elevators, and soaring across dreamlike Miami skylines.
No menus. No difficulty settings. Just pure, immersive play—made for everyone.
A Visual Wonderland
Visually, the Liquidity Maze leaned hard into its Miami setting. Creative Director Rob Petrie and the team embraced a vivid art direction inspired by vaporwave, synthwave, and retro arcade culture.
Flamingo sculptures built from neon tubes lingered in pink-and-blue dreamscapes. Light tubes pulsed like candy. A rooftop view revealed an endless neon maze stretching to the horizon—equal parts Tron Legacy and vintage Nintendo.
Liquidity Maze isn’t just a finance game. It’s a visually stunning, expectation-defying fever dream. Financial literacy wrapped in electric fantasy.
Gamifying Liquidity
Preymaker and McCann knew that the high achievers attending this event would respond to a sense of competition. So the experience became a time trial—players raced to complete the maze as fast as possible, with top scores displayed on a live leaderboard at the State Street booth.
The average completion time hovered around 2–3 minutes—long enough to be satisfying, short enough to keep the queue flowing. Top scorers returned throughout the day to beat their times and climb the rankings.
There was a deeper incentive, too. For every person who played, State Street donated $500 toward a collective charity fund—also tracked on the leaderboard. At the end of the event, the top scorer got to choose which charity the donation would go to.
Linking the speed and accessibility of the game to real-world giving, the experience reinforced State Street’s message: liquidity is about freedom, speed, and impact.
The Liquidity Maze was a hit—not just because it looked incredible or played smoothly, but because it sparked conversation. In a sea of static booths and forgettable handouts, this neon VR maze became the talk of the floor. People compared times, came back for another run, and snapped selfies at the futuristic State Street pop-up.
It wasn’t just an activation. It was a signal:
That State Street sees things differently. That McCann knows how to bring bold ideas to life.
And that the Preymaker team—equal parts designers, animators, technologists, and storytellers—turns complex ideas into unforgettable experiences.