ForIONOS,aleadingproviderofhostingandcloudservices,webringtheWordPressmascot"Wapuu"tolifeanddevelopawebgameasanincentiveforthecommunity:“MissionIonosphere”—Wapuu'sjourneythroughallfivespheresoftheuniverse.

Client

IONOS

Industry

Technology, SaaS & Infrastructure

Services

Technical ConsultingUX DesignVisual DesignSoftware DevelopmentDevOpsProducing

Mission Ionosphere: Wapuu takes off and connects the community with playful experiences.

Through play, IONOS strengthens the connection to the WordPress community.

IONOS sought a low-threshold, privacy-friendly experience for events and online that creates visibility and fosters community engagement. Important were easy sharing, low barriers without registration, and measurable interaction at events and on the web.

The result is 'Mission Ionosphere', a web-based high score game with five levels, a public top 100 ranking, and a share function that operates without registration and has also been adapted as an interactive trade fair installation with specialized controllers.

A shareable web game and an interactive trade fair installation connect the online community and live experience.

For trade fairs, we adapted the game for large displays and replaced the mouse and keyboard with a balance board as a controller, allowing visitors to actively control and making the experience a crowd puller.

The game is technically simple, visually impressive, and brand-compliant.

In four phases from Discover to Launch, we combined hand-drawn character design with procedural level building blocks, spritesheet animations for performance, and custom-composed synth sounds. Phaser ensured broad browser compatibility and stable performance on desktop and mobile.

UI and level screenshots in portrait format, keyframes of Wapuu, power-ups, and example modules of the procedural level structure.

Design series: Wapuu character and gadget variants as spritesheet and animation frames.

The final Wapuu was created in collaboration with a concept artist and features a transforming IONOS gadget in each level. Power-ups like shields and tornadoes create dynamic moments and strengthen players' emotional connection to the mascot.

The combination of low entry barriers, nostalgic design, and instant shareability had the greatest impact: players stay longer, share their results more often, and trade fair visitors remember the brand. The modular system allows for quick adjustments for different events and formats.

Low-threshold accessibility creates lasting brand loyalty.