Let me just say that I get this is all in effort to get you to buy a purple milkshake, but for the GB Studio community, this is a big win.
McDonald’s launched a multi-faceted media campaign this week to coincide with the birthday of their purple mascot. Social media platforms were “taken over” by the large fingered figure (complete with typos), a limited time clothing line was made available, and they also offered a purple shake to entice people to participate in the event. Hammering home their draw on nostalgia, the golden arches also commissioned Gumpy Function, Pearacidic and Krool Toys to create a retro game to mark the occasion. And wouldn’t you know it, they used GB Studio to bring it to life.
We’re no stranger to this team’s work having seen them team up before to release In The Dark. Gumpy and Pear also both contribute to this site. This game is packed with lots of great art and really polished game play. You play as Grimace trying to find his friends to celebrate his birthday. The first two levels sees Grimace grab a skateboard and grind his way through, while the last two levels have him on foot and eventually find a “bubble” mechanic that allows him to float. While four levels might seem short, there’s a lot of replayability with collectables and a score counter. There’s also a Score Attack and Free Skate mode that offers up their own level layouts and fun ways to try and up your game.
This game not only shows what a well executed GB Studio game can be (seriously commendable work considering the short 7 week turnaround), but how GB Studio could be used beyond the current norm of independent “niche” releases. We’ve seen at least one other larger brand use a GB Studio for their purposes, with Crunchyroll’s Hime’s Quest – but that game was more akin to a licensed IP, and not a direct marketing tool. If this brings more opportunities for GB Studio devs to get paid for their work, and more exposure for them along the way, then we’ll gladly consume those shakes.
You can play the game yourself at https://grimacesbirthday.com/
Audio Engineer, Mac Technologist and Video Game Developer. Managing Editor of GBStudio Central. (he/him)
