Project Overview

Cinema attendance has been steadily declining as streaming services reshape audience habits. Cinemas have struggled to attract younger, socially driven crowds seeking fresh, interactive forms of entertainment. GameCim was created to transform the cinema into a competitive arena — where every audience member becomes a player. Using only their smartphones as controllers and displays, players engage in massive in-person multiplayer games while the cinema screen acts as a shared world view and spectator experience.

The mission was twofold:

1. Help cinemas unlock new revenue streams and boost audience engagement
2. Bring people together for real-world social connection, excitement, and collective energy

GameCim was built using Unity’s Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS), enabling ambitious high-player-count gameplay on modest consumer hardware. The project was solo-founded and selected for the Plus Eight Accelerator Program 2025, gaining mentorship, guidance, and a pre-seed investment opportunity. We successfully ran a 50+ player live test event at a school — the energy in the room rivaled a live sporting event, with players describing it as “an experience like no other.”

Our Approach

We set out to design a scalable entertainment platform that could be deployed rapidly in cinemas without technical modifications. The digital experience had to be thrilling, social, and effortless — giving players instant onboarding and high-stakes interaction from the moment the game begins.

At the heart of GameCim is a synchronized dual-screen experience:

• Personal device: input + individual gameplay feedback
• Cinema screen: world view, leaderboard, hype-driving visuals

This multi-display gameplay is built to turn an audience into competitors, allies, and fans of each other — amplifying the social buzz that streaming simply can’t offer.

Our priorities included:

• Mass-Participation Gameplay
  Real-time multiplayer designed for 50–100+ players using Unity DOTS for high performance and low latency.
• Plug-and-Play Deployment
  A portable, offline network kit requiring zero infrastructure changes to cinemas.
• Social-Driven Experience
  Game mechanics built for cheering, rivalry, and collective excitement — turning strangers into teammates or opponents.
• Accessible Interaction
  No controllers required. Players use their smartphones, lowering the barrier to participation and maximizing reach.
• Cinematic Presentation
  The big screen becomes a spectator stage — showcasing live game states, highlights, and dramatic moments.

Key Challenges & Solutions

Declining Cinema Engagement

Cinemas needed more than another movie — they needed new reasons for audiences to show up.
→ We introduced a live event format combining gaming, competition, and social presence to reignite excitement and foot traffic.

High-Player Multiplayer Complexity

Building a real-time experience for dozens of simultaneous players is notoriously challenging.
→ Unity DOTS enabled massive concurrency, making smooth gameplay possible even on modest hardware.

Network Infrastructure Limitations

Most cinemas lack reliable guest Wi-Fi or gaming-capable networking.
→ We built a fully portable local network that can be deployed in minutes, ensuring stable performance anywhere.