8-bit game and animated video for NYC band

Black Light Dinner Party has released a new animated video for their single We Are Golden, which is accompanied by an 8-bit platform game – both feature an adventuring Laura Croft-esque character and her polar bear sidekick, battling through a psychedelic world of flying pirates and magical teapots... We caught up with the game designer Rhete to find out more:

Computer Arts [CA]: Tell me about the project, the ideas behind it and how you got involved...

Rhete [R]: "The band contacted me out of the blue, last year, about making a game to go alongside their new music video. I'd never gotten a request like that before, so I decided to accept. The only real difficulty in making the game was making something that felt like an appropriate companion to the video (seen below), even though it wasn't finished at the time."

CA: How was the game (seen below) was made?

R: "I actually use Macromedia Flash 4, which is a very old version of Flash, from 1999. I started using it in high school, got comfortable with it and have never felt the need to jump to the newer versions and relearn everything from scratch. The sound effects were made with FamiTracker, which is a program that can create authentic NES sounds and music."

CA: 8-bit games – and design – seem to be really popular at the moment. Why do you think that is?

R: "It's a comforting and familiar visual cliche for older games from simpler times, creating instant nostalgic association."

CA: If you could be any 8 bit character for a day, who would you be and why?

R: "Miria from The Guardian Legend, because she can turn into a spaceship."

Subscribe to Computer Arts for your monthly fix of the world's best inspirational design work. Available on iPad, in print or on other digital devices.