Ember Knight — 12-frame idle cycle
Melbourne game studio · est. 2013
We forge retro-soul games with modern power
RetroHeroForge is a pixel-first game studio on Hardware Lane. We craft sprites, chiptune, and full playable worlds for indie teams and publishers across Australia — hand-tuned, frame by frame.
— forged on Hardware Lane, Melbourne
Trusted by makers
A decade of shipping playable magic
48
Titles shipped
11
Years on Hardware Lane
6M+
Player downloads
4.9/5
Client rating
How we work
From napkin sketch to launch build
Every forge follows the same five stages. You get fixed milestones, a shared Trello board, and a build you can play at the end of each sprint.
- 01
Discovery call
A free 45-minute call to map your vision, scope, and budget. We leave with a one-page brief and a rough sprint plan.
- 02
Concept & pre-production
Mood boards, a pixel style guide, and a vertical slice prototype so you can feel the game before we commit to full production.
- 03
Build sprints
Two-week sprints with a playable build every Friday. Art, code, and audio move together so the game stays cohesive throughout.
- 04
Playtest & polish
We run moderated playtests at our Melbourne studio, tune game feel, squash bugs, and lock frame-perfect animation.
- 05
Launch & support
Store assets, platform certification, and a 90-day post-launch patch window so your release stays smooth.
Selected work
Pixels we are proud of
A slice of recent forges — filter by discipline to see how the pieces fit together across our shipped titles.
Mossglen — parallax forest tileset
Vault Diver — chunky HUD & inventory
Cinder Wyrm — 48px boss animation
Nightcircuit — neon skyline backdrop
Arcade Reforge — title & menu system
What we forge
Services built for the whole pipeline
Book a single discipline or the full build. Prices are in AUD and exclude GST; every engagement starts with a free discovery call.
Pixel art & sprite design
from A$3,200
Character sheets, tilesets, and frame-by-frame animation in your chosen resolution. 2–4 week turnaround per set.
Game design & prototyping
from A$8,500
Core loop design, level pacing, and a playable vertical slice in Godot or Unity to validate the fun early.
Chiptune & SFX audio
from A$1,900
Original 8-bit and 16-bit soundtracks plus a full effects library, delivered as loop-ready stems.
Full game development
from A$45,000
End-to-end production for PC and console — design, art, code, and audio under one roof on Hardware Lane.
Porting & remastering
from A$12,000
Bring a legacy title to modern platforms with widescreen support, rebindable input, and 4K-ready pixels.
Playtesting & QA
from A$2,400 / sprint
Moderated sessions at the studio, structured bug reports, and game-feel tuning notes you can action fast.
Kind words
What studios say after launch
Real feedback from teams we have forged games with across Australia and beyond.
The RetroHeroForge team animated our entire boss roster in six weeks. Ember Knight hit the front page of itch.io within days of launch — the frame timing they nailed is a huge reason why.
Priya N.
Creative Director, Lanternlight Games · Fitzroy · March 2025
Get in touch
Tell us about your game
Drop by the studio on Hardware Lane or send a brief. We reply to every enquiry within one business day.
Phone+61 3 9639 8145Email[email protected]
Studio67 Hardware Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000
Studio hoursMon–Fri, 9:00am – 6:00pm AEST