Canadian DJ and producer Sleepy Tom has released his latest six-track EP, Amateurs, with the lead track also featuring fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Lights. But rather than just throw it up on SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple Music (and other DSPs), they have created a retro video game to go along with it.

Players can compete as either Sleepy Tom or Lights as they roll through a street scene on a skateboard and have to face off with some kind of flying skeleton creature with a chained-up heart. The aim is to deflect attacks from it in order to rack up points and compete with other gamers to top the leaderboard.

Throughout the game, the full ‘Amateurs’ track plays but there is also the option to follow Sleepy Tom on the itch.io gaming platform (which suggests that other games linked to future releases may be planned) and also test out itch.io’s range of games.

It is not a remotely complex game, but that is absolutely in keeping with the retro feel – making it a very simple platform gaming experience. Interestingly the game was also made possible by the Canadian government, Ontario Creates Is… (an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Sport) and FACTOR (the non-profit organisation that helps grow the Canadian music industry).

This is something that Iron Maiden have done in recent years, where each new album campaign comes with a tie-in retro game. For these kinds of things, it’s less about feeling that the marketing envelope has to be pushed further and further each time and more about understanding what your audience wants and will actually use.

Marketing campaigns don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time; they just need to find ways to make the wheel they already have spin that little bit faster.