Stranger Games

For my recent Netflix Hack Day project, I had a strong desire to create something based on Stranger Things, a Netflix Original that debuted last year and quickly quenched my thirst of 80's nostalgia.

Having seen a few fan-based video games following its popular release, I felt equally inspired to make some kind of video game homage as well. It also interested me to design something in the process that was more era-appropriate. Since our Stranger Things story begins in 1983, it seemed logical to aim for an Atari 2600 aesthetic. Even the show itself referenced Atari, so that was all the convincing I needed :)

In the end I decided to borrow game-play elements from Frogger and Pacman ( though the demon slugs were loosely inspired by the Brain enemy's cruise missiles from Robotron ) Projecting the game screen onto the various TV sets was a bit of an afterthought ( I had recently noticed that the television set makes numerous appearances throughout the episodes, so I figured including them would improve the immersion and effect. )

This project was an absolute joy to work on. And I'm very grateful for the recent attention it's received.

Click here if you'd like to play Stranger Games.