MTV’s ‘Scream’ Is Killing Off Its Viewers in an Interactive Promo Game

When MTV decided the movie Scream needed to be turned into a television series, we were admittedly skeptical. But then they unleashed a slew of promo that allayed our, uh, fears a bit, as the network seems dedicated to making the series as good as the original.

After a series trailer that saw a bunch of prominent MTV actors get killed off, promo efforts turned to an interactive approach. The channel unveiled an online game that eventually ends with the player getting murdered -- death is its literal endgame. It's a spin on the classic Choose Your Own Adventure, and while you wind up dead either way, your choices dictate exactly how long it takes to get caught. It's equal parts sadistic and creepy, yet addictive in a bizarre kind of way, and an it's interesting look at how social media has influenced the way media is promoted these days.

Jack Daley, the vice president of digital content strategy and production said (quote via Ad Week), "When we look at digital and social, we think, are there ways to create experiences that we think fit the thematic tone of the franchise but also take advantage of what those platforms do well beyond just highlighting video content to create an experience that people are going to want to spend time with and share?"

He continued, saying, "We wanted something that's interactive and re-playable, but it doesn't feel like you have to spend 45 minutes to do it."

It's a short game, and depending on the option chosen it can take less than a minute for the player to die — the perfect amount of time to keep a viewer interested without losing their focus.

Scream airs on MTV on Tuesday, June 30 at 10PM EST. In the meantime, you can check out the game above.