Talk to any child in the early 90s and 90s who absolutely sucked! There was a hole in the ozone layer, there was war all over the world, they had lost the voice of our generation in Kurt Cobain, and the parents were just the worst.
But talk to the 90s now, and the decade rocked! Blossom, Pogs, Ren & Stimpy – it has never been improved before or after. Many of the bad things go away and all boring in-between times are gone from memories. Nostalgia, this painful longing for the past, was once treated as a disease, but now we wear it as a badge of honor triggered by a song, a film, or a toy.
With our latest game, Cardpocalypse, it wasn’t enough just poking around at the nostalgia of the people, we wanted to grab them on the Hypercolor T-shirt and, like Kris Kross before us, make them jump, jump. We wanted to remind players what it was like to be a kid in the 90s, more than any Buzzfeed article could. Do you remember the time when your favorite game was banned at school or when that one child called mom? Back when you could not search for cheats and tips online, but had to wait until the latest game magazine came out (or made an expensive call to the tip line).
We filled the game with all the vibes that made it so fun to be a ten-year-old in those years before youthful cynicism and clothing became blacker. Our theme song is based on cartoons like TMNT and Pokémon and each champion has his spotlight time with super fun intro music – some of the pieces are whining absolutely. We have packed the game’s artwork with as many Easter eggs as possible to give eagle-eyed players a wealth of warm “Oh my god, remember” moments. The in-game Mega Mutant Power Pets is our homage to the trading card games we grew up with. Many of them have inspired us to develop games in the first place. And the stories and quests are like a time capsule of our collective memories of the school, all told in Jess’ first week at Dudsdale Elementary.
There was an abundance of retro motifs from the 80s, and the timing seems right when the 90s remember the day in the sun Cardpocalypse as part of it. It was a great time to relive the game. Hopefully there will be a lot more before we read the article “You were a child of the 20s when .” or until “OK, Millennial” becomes a catchphrase. But one thing is certain: nostalgia never grows old.
