Universal fans already love the park's worlds. The challenge was giving them a reason to explore the park differently on a long, packed day.
The design problem
We had two audiences: superfans who have already invested years into these worlds and casual visitors with a packed day ahead of them. The design had to respect the first and win over the second without slowing anyone down.
The answer was urgency tied to place: something happening here, right now, that you wouldn't want to miss.
The system
Backlot Club is built from a few simple pieces: physical check-ins at the park, quests, leaderboards and collectible sets. A quest can be trivia or another digital or physical activity. My main contribution was designing how those pieces fit together: what you can earn, when you can earn it and what pulls you to the next stop.
Guests earn points by checking in at kiosks around the park. Each check-in unlocks new quests, like trivia or a scavenger hunt, that pay out more points and collectibles. The more someone plays, across a day or over repeat visits, the closer they get to a full medallion set, and to unlocking physical cards or mystery packs.
In the park
The goal was to keep the park at the center, with the phone as an optional layer on top. Fitting Backlot Club into the flow of a park day was one of our biggest challenges, so we leaned on existing behavior wherever we could. Check-in points went where fans already go, like haunted houses, and on-screen time lined up with moments when people have their phones out anyway, like waiting for a ride.
Once someone was playing, the app offered several ways forward: find the next check-in point on the interactive map, finish trivia to unlock a medallion or head to a location-based moment, like a character meet-and-greet or the pick-up spot for a physical card.
The launch
Backlot Club debuted at Halloween Horror Nights 2025 in Orlando and Hollywood at the same time. New collectibles dropped weekly through the season. The system has since stretched to new rides and to Fan Fest quests.
Fans ran with it. Full card sets resold for $3,200, and players started filming their own guides to the hunt.
Forward Studio delivered the experience design, wireframes, UI and art direction; ustwo built and shipped the product.