To help celebrate the upcoming launch of the Splatoon video game for the Wii U console, Nintendo messed things up—in a good way.
At Splatoon Mess Fest, which was held May 15 at the Santa Monica Pier in California, teams of celebrities, including James Marsden and Nolan Gould from Modern Family, navigated a massive ink-filled obstacle course inspired by the game.
In the video game, players take on the role of squid-like characters called Inklings, competing in teams of four to cover more turf with colorful ink than their opponents. Players are also able to swim through the ink or use it to take cover and hide from enemies. The game launches on May 29.
The outdoor course featured an array of Splatoon-worthy challenges, including shooting obstacles and messy tire runs—a sort of tamer, brighter version of Tough Mudder.
The good (not-so-clean) fun offered some challenges though, like cleanup. The water-based, biodegradable paint was kept completely contained within the course using an eight-foot barrier and was removed by an environmental solutions company to be disposed of properly. "One main concern was to make sure that we did nothing to harm our guests or the environment," explained David Young, assistant manager of public relations for Nintendo of America Inc.
Building life-size versions of its video games isn't new for the Japanese company. Back in November 2011, Nintendo took over Times Square's Military Island to mark the release of Super Mario 3D Land, recreating the game's visuals and challenges with interactive elements like trampolines and slides. And for the March 2014 launch of Yoshi’s New Island, guests were able to lob paint-filled balloons at real-life Mega Eggdozers—weapons that players use to smash through walls in the game.
