The story of EASTPIXEL

What happened first

The logo of EASTPIXEL Software | »EASTPIXEL. We make videogames for old hardware.«

The logo of EASTPIXEL Software | »EASTPIXEL. We make videogames for old hardware.«

In 1990, a Schneider CPC 464 came into our house, originally as a workstation for my older sister. She used it quite sporadically, mostly as a typewriter replacement.

I (nine years old at the time) fell in love with this machine quite quickly and, in addition to playing numerous games that we got as cassettes from friends, started to try out the BASIC commands printed in the manual. It took a while to understand what was happening on the screen, but studying various CPC print magazines, including the printed source code, also helped me to test ever crazier things.

We also happened to own a Dk’tronics Lightpen, so the inhibition threshold for getting graphics into the computer was low. My experimentation later turned into my first own game project called Singh’s Revenge. Similar in structure to Roberta and Ken Williams’ game Mystery House.

The day after Christmas 1992, I took my savings and bought a Nintendo® Entertainment System together with Super Mario Bros. 3. In 1993, a Commodore 64 and in 1994 an Intel PC came to our home.

Today, thirty years later, I’m designing pixel graphics in three colors to bring them to life on the Nintendo® Famicom and NES®, using Assembler 6502. That’s how it is to be a nerd.

It’s me, Christian, founder of EASTPIXEL.


Making analogue and digital art?

It's me, Christian from EASTPIXEL - with Alpaca Bruno, who really wanted to be in the picture

It’s me with Alpaca Bruno, who really wanted to be in the picture

I’ve always been more interested in making things myself than consuming them. That’s why I started writing in 1996. After four books, I founded my own book publishing company “EASTWORD” in 2019 and simply published my fifth book, as well as others, myself.

It’s the same with video games. I was born in 1981 and grew up in the ideal time when it comes to video games. Many of the foundations of today’s modern games were conceived and invented during this time.

Me with Goetz, playing Arkanoid on the CPC 464

Me with Goetz (in front), playing Arkanoid on the CPC 464

My first own computer was a Schneider (Amstrad) CPC 464, initially only in its original state with a cassette drive, later supplemented by a 3″ and 5 1/4″ floppy disk drive, a dot matrix printer and a light pen for drawing, directly on the monitor.

I started developing my own first video game “Singh’s Revenge” in the early 1990s, but didn’t get very far. The reason for the distraction was a lot of new input from the Commodore 64, my first console, the Atari 2600 Junior, the first console that I bought myself, the Nintendo Entertainment System and my first PC.

Game development took a back seat, and writing and other projects became more important.


Would it be possible to merge poetry with games?

Lyrik des Jahres 2021, publisher: EASTWORD

Lyrik des Jahres 2021, publisher: EASTWORD

On March 21, 2022, the anthology “Poetry of the Year 2021” was published by EASTWORD-Verlag, a collaboration with a total of 60 authors. In order to connect two worlds (poetry and computer games), although they have no direct connection, the idea was born to publish the book not only in printed form and as an e-book, but also as a version for the Nintendo Gameboy.

Anna in Time's a thief (GB demo)

Anna in Time’s a thief (GB demo)

The simple mechanics consist of controlling the character Anna through levels and collecting scrolls. The opponent is a countdown that constantly counts from 10 to 0. As soon as it reaches 0, the game ends. With every scroll the player collects, the countdown is reset to 10 seconds so that there is enough time to progress further in the game.

The number of scrolls collected determines how many texts (from the real book) will be readable at the end of the game.

A demo of the game was well received by the testers, but the technical limitations of the Game Boy (colors, physics, memory) prompted me to rethink the game idea and develop it for the NES instead.


Anna: The Magic of Words

Anna: The Magic of Words (a hard to beat 1980s like platformer for NES/Famicom with a serious story)

Anna: The Magic of Words

EASTPIXEL’s first official project is Anna: The Magic of Words.

The name of the game and the concept has changed.

Anna: The Magic of Words (a hard to beat 1980s like platformer for NES/Famicom with a serious story).

The game is more than a typical 1980s platformer. It’s just a shell. The shell for a process of self-discovery, healing, motivation and the strong will not to give up. The character embarks on an arduous journey and search for Anna.

Even if you’ve already guessed it, Anna doesn’t have to be human or animal. Anna can just as well be representative of a favourite place, a feeling, family, being at home, feeling good or the satisfaction of a completed task or with yourself, but of course also a single person.

There is no right or wrong answer to the meaning of the game title. You decide. You are also welcome to simply ignore the psychological aspect and concentrate fully on playing this challenging platforming title. Just pay attention to the little hearts and the ticking clock. ;-P


The Green Ribbon

EASTPIXEL supports the Green Ribbon and projects that support people and integration. The author of the video game Anna: The Magic of Words is one of these people himself. A long time ago, he set out on his own quest for happiness and well-being. The project development helps him to focus on his goals. The motivation to keep going despite setbacks should also help other people. And by the way, the author has already found his Anna.


The green ribbon is the international symbol of mental health awareness.

The green ribbon is the international symbol of mental health awareness.

https://www.seelischegesundheit.net/

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/