East Side Mario’s AR Game

East Side Mario's is a Canadian chain of casual dining restaurants. The restaurant specializes in Italian-American cuisine and has mascot chef named ‘Mario’.

First Descent Studio created an in-restaurant augmented reality (AR) game for East Side Mario's. The game, triggered off the kids' menu, allowed children to build their own virtual pizzas while waiting for their meals. This interactive experience aimed to entertain young diners and enhance their overall dining experience.

An Augmented Reality game that is narrated by the chain’s loveable spokesperson ‘Mario’. The game uses a type of AR called world effects. It allows us to build an AR game experience around the user, inside the restaurant. Mario appears on the table and goes on to explain how the game is played through a series of instruction and examples. Users are asked to build their own pizza from a menu list they are presented with. They need to add the exact number of ingredients to the pizza to complete it. The user is surrounded by the topping and with their smartphone, search them out to add to the pizza. There are three levels that increase in difficulty by creating larger menu item lists. Users are given an opportunity at the end of the game to sign up for the very popular ‘Mini Mario’s club’.

Telling a brand story, while entertaining customers in-restaurant and occupying time while they wait for their food orders is a win-win-win.

To date the experience has over 20,000 views