Pixel Ripped 1978 is the third in a trilogy of game-within-a-game series from indie development shop ARVORE based in São Paulo, Brazil. It taps into some deep nostalgia by recreating the environmental and contextual aspects of computing through the ages. Pixel Ripped has continued their fusion of mixing 2D platformer games with embodied gameplay mechanics in VR, but also adding a whole new level of multi-dimensional puzzles and time travel storytelling.

Ana Ribeiro is the creator and creative director of Pixel Ripped, and she's been working on this series for over a decade now, and I had a chance to catch up with her and the two co-founders of ARVORE Rodrigo Terra and Ricardo Justus (CEO) at Tribeca Immersive. They talk about the history and evolution of the Pixel Ripped series, the evolution of ARVORE, and how they serendipitously connected with Atari, who came on as a publisher. Ethan Sterns is VP of Games at Atari running publishing and gaming side of business, and he was also on-hand to talk about why Atari came onboard to help produce and publish Pixel Ripped 1978.

Pixel Ripped 1978 released on June 14th, 2023 and is available on Steam, Meta Quest, and PSVR, and I very much enjoyed my full playthrough after Tribeca Immersive. There's some innovative 2D + embodied gameplay mechanics, a light-hearted and playful narrative, and some awesome music with nostalgic environments along the time travel narrative.

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Music: Fatality