Proposing to someone, asking them to commit to a life with you, is a pretty big deal. That’s why this game designer put an inordinate amount of effort into his.
Game designer Aaron (Pikaaroon) today showcased how he built a game to propose to his partner. Having previously worked on Sea of Thieves and Warcraft III: Reforged, he’s no stranger to creating colossal playable experiences. For this incredibly important moment in his life, though, he chose to work with the Playdate. Which I think is the perfect console for this sort of question.
The Playdate helped this game designer secure his future
Aaron shared his story earlier today on Twitter, where hundreds of people are congratulating him and his future wife on not only the cutest proposal story in video game history but also that they found each other and get to spend every day of the rest of their lives together.
Aaron’s partner and love of his life, of course, said yes after playing his game Love Letter and seeing the months of work he’d put into it. As he explains in the thread on Twitter, he created the title using the free Pulp coding system over the course of several iterations and six months of development time.
“It started as a series of simple platforming levels. But after some playtests I decided to pivot toward a more hi-score-based arcade experience.” The gameplay actually looks really enjoyable. The main level consists of four letterboxes with tubes that drop letters onto them. the player must use the D-pad to select the correct letterbox, indicated by a letter of the alphabet, before using the crank to deliver said letter to it.
However, the high score was a ruse. Every letter delivered to a letterbox recorded one letter of the alphabet. Together, these spelled out “Will You Marry Me” at the game’s conclusion. I would have loved to see the realization on Aaron’s partner’s face when she got this message and said yes. The happiness on their faces in the picture he shared is more than enough, though.
In a twist that I think shows exactly the kind of forethought a good game designer has, answering no to the final question would have caused an infinite loop. Instead of ending the game, the user would be asked, “Are You Sure?” before having the first question presented to them again.
I think the Playdate is the perfect platform for Aaron to use because it’s built for small experiences, like Love Letter. It’s also an incredibly personable machine. It is a tiny device you hold in the palm of your hand and can curl up with while playing unique indie games like Mars After Midnight. It wouldn’t make for a story that’s even half as cute if a big old Xbox Series X or PS5 was used.
