n the video-game industry, the fastest way to the hearts of gamers is to immerse them in an experience so realistic that the forces of evil could jump out of the screen. Capcom USA Inc. has done just that with its "Dead Rising" video games that turn players into slayers in a zombie-infested town. But to bring its fear factor to attendees at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Capcom made its zombies jump off the screen – literally – by planting them right on the show floor in all their staggering glory.

Capcom's "Dead Rising 3" display was the Wrench-O-Rama garage, a setting plucked right from the game and meticulously recreated. Encompassing an area of 365 square feet, the triangular space had two aisle-facing sides, each with 27 feet of frontage, and was caged by a tall chain-link fence along the perimeter. Inside, zombies lurched and snarled, reaching through and thrashing against the chain link in an effort to get at passersby.

Designers at Pinnacle Exhibits Inc. made the stability of the fence appear sketchy, causing attendees to jump back in fear when the creatures threw themselves against it and seemed as if they might break free.

For authenticity, Pinnacle poured its design time into finding objects rather than fabricating them. Old oil drums, broken pallets, and mounds of garbage came from local junk yards, while the bloody body parts strewn about were borrowed from another king of zombie entertainment – the TV show "The Walking Dead." The back wall was the sole custom-fabricated element, and the only break from character was the 7-by-13-foot screen promoting "Dead Rising" hanging high above the display.

Show goers loved the concept, crowding just out of arm's reach to gawk at the spectacle. And as one judge observed, "Attendees got more of an experience walking by this booth than they do within many exhibitors' spaces."