Gifts
A retro video game gift that's never been played before
Retro gaming gifts usually mean a mini console or a cartridge from eBay. Lovely, but it's the same nostalgia everyone else gets. This one is different: a brand-new retro game, in proper 16-bit pixel art, where the main character is them.
If they grew up with the consoles of the early nineties, the style will take them straight back to summer afternoons and corded controllers. If they didn't, pixel art is still charming, readable and funny, especially when it's your own face in 32 pixels.
From 59 € · You get it within 7 days of completing the guide (72 h with Rush).
The demo is the game of Grandad Ray, a made-up grandad turning 70.
How a retro game gift works
Tell us who they are
Our guide asks the right questions, about 10 minutes: who they are, what they love, their friends and their best stories. It saves itself and you can finish another day. Photos if you like, for their pixel portrait.
We write and build their game
We show you the script before building it. It's ready 7 days after we have their full story, or in 72 hours with the rush option.
Give it to them on their birthday, at Christmas or just because
They get a private link. It plays on a phone, a computer or the TV, with nothing to install.
Ideas for what their game could include
A side-scrolling run
A timed run through their city or park, jumping cones, grabbing items and getting a rank at the finish line.
A boss fight they'll recognise
The printer that always jams, the alarm clock, the neighbour's dog: whatever haunts them, as a proper end-of-level boss.
Secrets for completionists
Hidden items and corners with inside jokes, for the person who never leaves a game below 100 %.
A chiptune soundtrack
With the Celebration edition, music in the style they like, the way 16-bit games sounded.
How to give it
Hand them a controller-free surprise: open it on the TV with a laptop and HDMI, or mirror your phone, and let them play while everyone watches.
Scenes their game could have
Their races
Their kilometre 30, turned into a race against the clock with the crowd cheering and water cups to grab.
The bike
The mountain pass they climbed (or almost): pedalling, hopping over cones and the sign at the top.
Why it's different
Not a template with their name on it
Some “personalised” games swap the hero's name and little else. We write a story with chapters, and what really happens in their life becomes what you play. Three examples from the demo:
What we were told“At his niece's wedding in 1998, he took the waiter carrying the four-tier cake for a cha-cha-cha.”
What you playA rhythm minigame: you dance with the waiter to the beat… and the cake ends up on the floor, just like that day.
What we were told“His little dog Biscuit eats whatever she shouldn't.”
What you playA puzzle: Biscuit has the car key. You have to fill her bowl so she drops it.
What we were told“His old Mini hardly ever starts: every Sunday he pushes it down the road with his mate and the neighbours.”
What you playA race against the clock pushing the Mini down the road, collecting cha-cha records on the way.
Every game is directed by a person in the studio: they write the humour for that person, play it all the way through and nothing ships without their OK. 16-bit pixel art and original music, composed for the studio.
Price
Choose their edition
You get it within 7 days of completing the guide (72 h with Rush).
Adventure
59 €
Their personalised game: about 15 minutes to laugh, recognise themselves and be moved.
- 3 chapters with their people and places
- Their stories turned into game mechanics
- A clever moment made only for their game
- Ending with your message
- Private link and digital gift card with a QR code
- 1 round of changes
Recommended
Celebration
89 €
More game, made to share: about 25 minutes.
- Everything in Adventure, plus:
- 4 or 5 chapters
- Party mode on the TV: minigames to pass the controller
- More characters and more secrets
- Soundtrack in their musical style
- 2 rounds of changes
Special commission
from 179 €
For groups and big moments: weddings, retirements with the whole team, farewells.
- Everything in Celebration, plus:
- Several heroes or a longer story
- Custom requests
- 3 rounds of changes
- If your commission needs more, we'll quote it before we start
Rush 72 h · +40 € Adds to any edition: you get it within 72 hours of completing the guide.
You start free: tell us their story with the guide (about 10 minutes) and pay at the end, once you've seen how it looks. Before building it we show you the script: if it doesn't convince you, we refund 100 %.
Your game will stay online for at least 5 years from delivery; if we ever had to take it down, we'll warn you well in advance and give you a way to keep it.
Changes
What changes include
Before building the game we show you the script: you can change anything there. Once the game is built, you get 1 round of changes with Adventure, 2 with Celebration and 3 with the Special commission.
Included in a round
- Texts and lines
- Names
- Appearance details (hair, glasses, clothes…)
- The chosen music
- Small reorderings
Quoted separately
Adding chapters or new mechanics after the script is approved. If you want that, we'll quote it.
Frequently asked questions
What does 16-bit mean?
It's the console generation of the early nineties. Today it describes a look: detailed pixel art, bright limited palettes and chiptune music. Our games follow that style and those simple controls.
Does it run on modern devices?
Yes. It's a web game: it opens from a private link in any modern browser, on a phone, tablet, computer or a TV via HDMI or screen mirroring.
How much is it and how long does it take?
Adventure is 59 €, Celebration 89 € and the Special commission from 179 €, VAT included, charged in euros. It's ready 7 days after we have their full story, or in 72 hours with rush delivery (+40 €). It's digital, so there's no shipping and nothing to get stuck at customs.
Who would yours be for?
From 59 € · You get it within 7 days of completing the guide (72 h with Rush).
The demo is the game of Grandad Ray, a made-up grandad turning 70.
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