Splatoon, Nintendo’s hotly anticipated game of squid war, will arrive at American stores in only a month. On May 29th Wii U owners can become one of the Inklings, customizable characters that can transform into squids at the touch of a button. You’ll be shooting down opponents and creating a giant mass of ink, which you can then swim through in squid form to gain a tactical advantage.
What would be the best way to publicly promote a game like this? Have people shoot each other with ink in real life! Nintendo has announced the Splatoon Mess Fest, a special event on Santa Monica Pier, the traditional end of historic Route 66.
The Splatoon Mess Fest will be a public competition in the spirit of Nickelodeon’s 80’s game show Double Dare. Teams of celebrities will divide into two groups and navigate an ink-filled obstacle course inspired by the game. Various events will be held similar to events in Splatoon, with one major requirement: all must be covered in colorful ink! It’ll be madness, I tell you, madness!
Nintendo has not specified which celebrities will make up the teams, but they did mention somebody from Disney Channel’s Liv and Maddie would be attending, so presumably the definition of “star” here will be in the tween sense. As satisfying as it would be to have Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Walken shooting ink at each other, it is not to be.
The Splatoon Mess Fest will commence May 15th on Santa Monica Pier, from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m. If you’re nowhere near Santa Monica, you can still follow the event via Nintendo’s social media channels.