Custom retro RPGs · Made to order
A one-of-a-kind pixel adventure starring the people you love. Your faces become the heroes, your places become the map, your inside jokes become the quests, and it all comes with an original soundtrack.
Likeness card. You approve every hero, kid and pet before the build begins.
How it works
Order, then fill out a guided questionnaire: who's in it, a few photos, the places that matter and the jokes only you would get.
You get a likeness card with every hero, kid and pet drawn in pixels. Nothing gets built until you sign off.
Maps, music, battles and dialogue, all original. Every route to every ending is played through before it ships.
A private play link, the game file, a 30-second trailer and a printed reveal card to hand over. Add a real cartridge for something to unwrap.
What's inside
Heroes drawn from your photos, down to the glasses, the curls and the dog.
Your street, your first apartment, that one trip. Real places become the world.
Running gags become items, side quests and the occasional boss fight.
A stereo score with a theme written for your story, reprised when it counts.
Choices change the finale, and the final button press belongs to the person you're celebrating.
Phone, browser, retro handheld, or original hardware with the cartridge add-on.
Try it
Rosa and Theo's story is a free Short Story edition you can play right in your browser. It's exactly what your own game will feel like, just starring someone else.
Pricing
Every game is made from scratch for one couple, family or crew. US orders include a printed reveal card to hand over.
A sweet, focused story.
$349
Ready in 2 to 3 weeks. Best for proposals, announcements and birthdays.
Start a Short StoryA full quest for your crew.
$749
Ready in 3 to 4 weeks. Best for anniversaries, couples and new parents.
Start an AdventureA world of your own.
from $1,500
Ready in 5 to 6 weeks. Best for weddings, milestone birthdays and retirements.
Plan an EpicHoliday commissions
Only five slots this season.
Order by Nov 4 for an Epic, Nov 18 for an Adventure or Nov 25 for a Short Story to have it before Christmas.
Why I make these
Hi, I'm Ernest, a new dad in New York City. Small Epics started as gifts for close friends who had just become parents: a quest about a new dad searching the city for his son, and a party adventure for a family, their baby and their dog.
Seeing yourself as the hero hits differently. Now I'm opening a few commissions each season so you can give that feeling to someone you love.
FAQ
No. Every game comes with a private link that plays in any phone or computer browser. It also runs in free emulator apps, on retro handhelds, and on original Game Boy Advance hardware with the cartridge add-on.
After you order, a guided questionnaire asks for names, a few clear photos of each person and pet, and your story: trips, rituals, inside jokes and the places that matter.
No. Every character, creature, sprite and song is original, which keeps your game entirely yours. I can capture the feel of the classic handheld RPGs you grew up with, never their characters.
Two to three weeks for a Short Story, three to four for an Adventure and five to six for an Epic, counted from your order. Rush takes about half the time.
You approve every character's look before I build, and every game includes two revision rounds. Because each game is one of a kind, the deposit is nonrefundable once art begins.
A 50% deposit reserves your slot, and the balance is due before delivery. Prefer Etsy? The same three editions are in my Etsy shop.
Partly, and I'm upfront about it. I design and direct every game, from the story outline to the final playtest, and build it with AI-assisted tools (code, pixel art and music) on a custom engine made for these games. Every screen is reviewed and every ending is playtested before delivery.
Yes. Your photos and stories are used only to make your game, and nothing is shared or featured without your permission.
Tell me who it's for, and I'll take it from there.
Prefer Etsy? Find the same editions in my Etsy shop.
Questions? Email hello@smallepics.io.