Who's That Evil CEO?

An evil retail empire needs an evil CEO. So, let me ask you, who’s that evil CEO? Jeff Sellmore of course! In this development post we wanted to introduce you to Jeff Sellmore and his wild vision for the BuyCorp empire, after all, every player in Drive Buy is an employee of BuyCorp, so you better get to know Jeff in a bit more detail.

the Design of Jeff Sellmore

Now we know the name Jeff Sellmore, I can start to tell you where he comes from. Influences for Jeff come from the CEO of an existing retail giant(s) *cough* but also Hunger Games, Max Headroom and Running Man.

Max Headroom
Scott Rogowsky, HQ Trivia

The Caesar Flickerman character played by Stanley Tucci was among the references with his glistening smile and slick back hair from his role in the Hunger Games films. His look was a perfect basis to create Jeff, our very own CEO for a Drive Buy world. We wanted a character who could be mistaken for a real-world CEO but in the same breath could just as easily host a bizarre game show. A character who represented the worst of the corporate world: oblivious, self-serving and demanding of your attention and the best of game shows: flashy, faux-friendly and stuffed with overly white teeth.

SO WHAT’S THE STORY?

The inherent greed of a psychopathic CEO, Jeff Sellmore, CEO of BuyCorp has pushed BuyCorp to increase profits at the cost of all else. Tracking customer behaviours and encouraging them to buy more through targeted advertising was just not enough. Jeff demanded a technology solution that could persuade customers to buy more stuff regardless of whether they really wanted it. After years of research, Buy Corp have finally introduced brainwashing advertisements: a new way to the guarantee the sales targets Jeff Sellmore has always dreamed about.

Brainwashing advertisements were the brainchild of Dr. Tomorrow, a behavioural scientist that works for Buy Corp. Jeff wields the power to switch any Buy Corp advertisement into a hypnotic video message that will persuade people to BUY. STUFF. IMMEDIATELY. Just look at them around the game map.

Drive Buy emphasises the delivery drivers in this bizarre (not too unrealistic) world, the question that remains is: can you get these packages out fast enough to meet Jeff’s delivery targets? Play Drive Buy and find out.

Variations of Jeff Sellmore in colourful attire

Jeff’s brainwashing glasses

Jeff is the unwavering owner of a chiselled jawline, slick back hair, brilliant white teeth and some dominating brows. He accessorises with BuyCorp glasses that give him a persuasive edge over policy makers, troublesome politicians, angry stakeholders or vocal activists. By pumping out the brainwashing signal to get his way, BuyCorp has been able to grow without interruption by regulation. The glasses are a strong image of the control Jeff holds over the world BuyCorp operates in.

References for the hypnotic circles come from Jungle book and the glasses are pulled from one of our favourite films (with the longest fight scene) – They Live.

They’re uniquely paired with a game show style host such as a Caesar Flickerman, but we also went as far as making them into a Snapchat Lens so you too can join the Sellmore family and persuade all your friends to wishlist Drive Buy on Steam.