Eat Bit Arcade Packaging Series
Logo for Eat Bit Arcade
Overview
This college packaging project was a series of works for a fictional fast food restaurant/retro arcade called Eat Bit Arcade. Themed around 1980’s style pixel art and the popular outer space theme of arcade games at the time, the restaurant is fictionally located in Austin, Texas. Many of the pixel art illustrations center around a central hero character named Ace, who is often seen fighting monsters in space. The project had many deliverables, including food boxes, drink cups, a token cup, carrying bag, interactive tray liner, trifold menu, and even a shirt design.
Software(s) Used
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Aesprite
The Process
The concept for this Austin-based restaurant originated in my own personal life. At the time, a group of friends and I would attend weekly video game tournaments at a local card game shop called Gamer’s Den. Aside from a competitive tournament, it was a chance to socialize with others in the competitive scene for our game (Smash Bros) and all go get some good, greasy fast food. The only problem was that you couldn’t leave for more than a few minutes otherwise you could miss your round in the tournament. I had personally seen many disqualifications because the person had left to go get food. The convenience of available fast food, on top of the fun novelty of an arcade/gaming venue, became the seed of what would be Eat Bit Arcade.
Overall, the restaurant brand would be themed around 80’s arcade space games. There is a great deal of 80’s nostalgia in millenial/Gen Z culture right now, so hitting that nostalgic angle would be perfect for the target demographic. Despite the popularity of arcade/bar hybrids in the United States, Eat Bit Arcade had a clear intention of being a fast food restaurant, not a bar. There is a section of young gamers in the fighting game community who are below the age of 21, and it would be best to be inclusive to them as well.
Existing fast food packaging and video game merchandise were important parts of research. Target personas were created to really understand the minds of the young adult gamer demographic. Dielines were collected and sometimes edited to suit the needs of the project. An in-depth research document and process book are available for download to really see the details of how this project was forged.
Burger Box
This burger box has a fairly standard dieline, but has a fun pixel art illustrated scene where the hero Ace runs from a large dragon.
Carrying Bag
Other restaurants may simply use plastic or brown paper bags, but Eat Bit Arcade has its own branded carrying bags. While being a nicer addition that elevates the care put into the brand, it also serves a purpose of advertising the restaurant to the public world when carried about.
Drink Cups
The cups here are named according to their size, Subspace, Outer Space, and Deep Space for Small, Medium, and Large drinks. Chasm Fiends are an included reference for the rare Sanderson/Cosmere fans out there.
French Fry Box
Dungeons and Dragons players will certainly recognize the monster here.
Another scene where Ace is tangling with a monster.
Shirt Design
Similar to how Whataburger or In-N-Out will sometimes have little merch gift shops, this shirt would be available for sale in Eat Bit Arcade’s own little gift counter.
Token Cup
Separate from the drink cup, this metal cup serves as a way to hold tokens. Being made of tin allows for a satisfying clink when tokens are dropped inside. The mountains of gold exaggerate and parallel the feelings of wealth from having lots of tokens, as anyone who’s been in an arcade can tell you.
Tray Liner
Intended to be more interactive than just a simple disposable tray liner, this packaging piece has areas where customers can draw in their own little monsters with provided crayons or pens. It also contains advertisements for other products and upcoming events. The November 11th date is a reference to the famous “Skyrim Day” date of 11-11-11.
Trifold Menu
Simply placed on the table, this standalone menu has a variety of food items with themed names. Customers can also just buy tokens if they just came to play, but there are also food/token combos.