Hall Thirteen Orientation Camp (HTOC) is a welcoming rite of passage for university freshmen posted into NTU Hall 13. The 5-day student-led camp is the result of a year of planning, along with three months of preparation and execution. For the 2015 edition, I was part of the Main Committee as Publicity & Publications Secretary. Along with the Chairman and Co-Chairs, we conceptualised the theme for HTOC ’15. After weeks of discussions and exploring various themes, we decided to go with 8-Bit Games which we felt could be depicted throughout the camp – naming the year’s camp as HTOC ’15: Press Start.

HTOC ’15: Press Start Promotional Video

For HTOC ’15: Press Start, I proposed to create teaser videos to create hype and promotional awareness for incoming Freshmen to our hall. I felt that pre-camp hype for camps among universities were generally missing, and the videos aimed to create greater excitement and a compelling storyline for our camp. We used the Main Committee members in the teaser videos, along with a photo album introducing the members. The photos and videos were all uploaded to our Facebook page.

HTOC ’15: Press Start Main Committee Video

HTOC ’15: Press Start Business Managers Video (Backstory)

HTOC ’15: Press Start features arcade-shop owner Kevin (Chairman) facing financial difficulties and considering selling his arcade to Game Freaks (Business Managers). Hearing this, the Game Masters (Co-Chairs) decided to step in to save Kevin and his arcade.

HTOC ’15: Press Start Intro Video

There were 4 Orientation Groups (OG), each choosing a different game character to represent their OG. The Game Masters recruited these characters in order to save Kevin’s arcade.

Unlike previous camps, we decided to feature greater emphasis on the Head Programmers (HPs), as they were primarily responsible for the planning and execution for camp activities. Freshmen participants tend to not know the “Proggies”, as they mainly interact with Group Leaders in their OG. We wanted to ensure freshmen are aware of other seniors in the camp. Thus, each HP selected a character and had their own feature video which was played before their respective programmes during camp. The HPs are depicted as “Bosses” the OGs have to defeat at each level.

BOSS 1a Field Games

BOSS 1b TBTL

BOSS 2a Pool Games

BOSS 2b Round School

BOSS 3a Beach Games

BOSS 3b Escape Room

FINAL BOSS Amazing Race

Plot twist: Game Masters Betrayal

Unique to HTOC ’15: Press Start, we devised a plot twist to the storyline. After the Amazing Race, it appears that the camp has ended, only to be betrayed by the Game Masters that were seeking help in the first place. The OGs now have to challenge the Game Masters themselves, and the camp culminates with a return to Hall 13 for the final showdown.

HTOC ’15: Press Start Closing Video

Overall, HTOC ’15: Press Start was an eye-opening challenge for me, where I learnt videography and working with extremely tight deadlines. Looking back, I am thankful for the trust and freedom the Main Committee has entrusted me and my partner with, enabling us to create photoshoots and videos at our will in order to create a memorable experience for the freshmen.

Definitely, this experience served as an introduction to understanding the technical challenges designers and videographers face as part of a Marketing team.