Olympus Arcade: Childhood Games, Reimagined
An interactive arcade of Greek mythology twists on the games I grew up with, from Pac-Man and Tapper to Flappy Bird, Super Stacker 2, Rockstar's Bully, and Paper Toss.
See it in action
The Challenge
I wanted to make something that felt personal rather than simply assembling a collection of generic browser games. The starting point was a set of games I remember playing at different stages of growing up: big arcade cabinet games like Pac-Man and Tapper, Flappy Bird and Paper Toss, Bully’s Art class, and Super Stacker 2 during secondary school when I should probably have been studying for my Leaving Certificate. The challenge was finding Greek myths that did more than decorate those mechanics. Each pairing needed to make the player think, “Oh, that's clever”
The Solution
Where the idea came from The collection pairs familiar games with mythological figures and stories: Theseus × Pac-Man Icarus × Flappy Bird Hermes × Tapper Arachne × Bully’s Art class Atlas × Super Stacker 2 Artemis × Paper Toss Prometheus × QWOP Charon × Frogger The games are deliberately recognisable. The mythology changes the meaning of the mechanic. The Solution I built Olympus Arcade as a shared interactive cabinet system, with each game running directly on the site and using the same visual language for controls, sound, pause, reset, help, and background context. The games are small and focused, but each has its own mechanic and atmosphere. Arachne claims sections of a woven canvas. Theseus navigates a Pac-Man-like labyrinth. Hermes serves messages across crowded lanes. Artemis flicks arrows through the wind to free her sacred hind. Atlas builds a precarious stack while holding up the sky. Each game also includes a short background panel explaining the myth, the original game inspiration, why the pairing works, and my personal connection to the idea. A key decision Keep every game immediately playable. The player should understand the reference within seconds, then discover the Greek twist through the interaction, visuals, and optional background panel. The trade-off The collection favours depth of feeling over breadth of content. Each game has a compact loop rather than a large campaign, which leaves room to improve the character design, animation, sound, and physical feel of each experience.
A closer look
The Outcome
Olympus Arcade is live as an interactive section of the portfolio. It currently contains eight playable Greek mythology parodies, with responsive controls for desktop and mobile, shared arcade UI, sound, pause and reset states, and story explainers that connect each game back to its myth and childhood reference. The next stage is visual and audio polish: more beautiful myth-specific art, stronger character animation, richer Tapper-like depth for Hermes, and sound design that gives each game its own identity.
Tech Stack
- Next.js
- React
- TypeScript
- Matter.js
- Game Design