PROJECT CASE STUDY
8-Bit Walkabout
Mini Golf.
Reimagining a popular VR title for a popular computer… From the 1980s!
The 8-bit version of Walkabout Mini Golf running in a browser.
OVERVIEW
High concept, simple outcome.
Project: Retro version of popular VR game
Role: Designer / Artist / Programmer
Client: Mighty Coconut
Skills: Spatial design, Engineering, VR previs
This project explores a retro reinterpretation of Walkabout Mini Golf, reimagined as if it had been released on the Commodore 64.
Originally created as an April Fool’s experiment in 2023, the project was developed over a single weekend. The goal was simple: capture the charm and identity of Walkabout in a completely different technical and visual format, while still feeling authentic to the original experience.
Play the game here!
Reimagining the Game
The design focused on translating a fully realised 3D VR experience into a flat, 8-bit format.
The first course of Walkabout Mini Golf was rebuilt with a strict pixel-art approach, reducing the game down to its essential shapes, colours, and interactions.
Careful attention was given to maintaining recognisable layouts and gameplay flow, ensuring that even in a simplified form, the experience still felt familiar and intuitive.
All art, animation, and interaction design were created from scratch, with constraints inspired by the limitations of early home computer systems.
Sound and Technical Constraints
A key challenge of the project was reinterpreting the game’s audio.
The original soundtrack, composed by Chris Reyman, was translated into a format suitable for a Commodore 64-style SID chip.
This required simplifying and restructuring the music while preserving its character, resulting in a version that felt both nostalgic and true to the source material.
The project was developed in Unity, balancing modern tools with intentionally retro design constraints to achieve an authentic aesthetic.
From Experiment to Experience
What began as a playful internal project quickly evolved into something more substantial.
The 8-bit version of Walkabout Mini Golf became part of the 8-Bit Lair tie-in, where the game was placed inside a virtual arcade cabinet.
Developed in collaboration with Arcade Legend VR, this allowed players to step into a fully realised virtual arcade, approach the cabinet, and play the game as though it were part of a physical arcade space.
This extended the project beyond a simple homage, embedding it directly within the broader Walkabout universe.
Outcome
What started as a weekend experiment became a fully realised and integrated experience.
The project demonstrates how reinterpreting an existing design through new constraints can lead to unexpected and engaging outcomes. By exploring a simple “what if?” scenario, the result became both a celebration of retro game design and a meaningful addition to an existing world.
