Brand New School Invites You to Play Its New Charming and Nostalgic 8-Bit Video Game

Anyone who has redesigned a website knows the last mile is the longest; putting on the finishing touches and throwing the switch to replace the old site with the new one are among the more stressful aspects of the process. Bi-coastal creative company Brand New School has designed a novel solution to the risk of website downtime by launching an original browser-based video game, ‘Brand New Game’, in conjunction with the rollout of its redesigned website.

“We know that there are usually a few kinks to be worked out once a new site is live. But no one wants to see a ‘Pardon Our Dust’ page,” said BNS creative director Chloë Greene. “Rather than cross our fingers and hope for zero disruptions, we decided we’d build a fun diversion into the process.”

BNS executive creative director and director Chris Dooley added: “Reframing a roadblock as an opportunity to have fun or discover something new felt like a very New School-thinking approach to a lifeless ‘Coming Soon’ page. ‘Brand New Game’ is an expression of that impulse. So instead of saying, “Come back later,” ‘Brand New Game’ is literally saying, “Stay and play!””

The result is a nostalgic 8-bit video game that is as charming in its simplicity as it is addictive. ‘Brand New Game’ opens with a scroll down through a pixelated 8-bit sky to a cityscape where we meet our avatars, Johnny Applesauce and his pet worm Linus Wormser, as they prepare to enter Brand New School (flying the BNS flag, of course.) Grounded in the "school" theme, the game's objective is to collect as many red apples as possible. Once inside the school, ‘Brand New Game’ is a fast-paced side-scrolling affair where our one ability is to jump in pursuit of apples and to avoid game-over by colliding with textbooks, puddles, backpacks, and an array of obstacles that grow increasingly hilarious as we advance further into the level, all to an upbeat chiptune soundtrack.

Players with a sharp eye may notice Easter eggs that pay homage to the game’s origins, which include a tribute to the 8-bit era cult classic film, ‘The Warriors’, as well as a possible cousin of Google Chrome’s T-Rex, from their offline scrolling survival game, Dino T-Rex Runner. The ultimate goal is to beat your own score and maybe even wind up on the game’s High Scores page, which motivates you to beat the top players and offers a chance to be a part of BNS’ online community.

‘Brand New Game’ will be the sole feature available on the studio’s landing page during the week they’re transitioning to their redesigned website, beginning Monday April 24th, but it will become a permanent fixture and available on the site’s 404 page after its launch on Monday May 1st, 2023.