Grip
- Brand
- Gucci
- Year
- 2019
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Fashion & Beauty
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- AQuest
Objective
Gucci built the game to support the launch of Gucci Grip, its first line of watches designed by Alessandro Michele, whose grip-tape design nodded to late-1970s skate culture. A retro arcade look let the wider Grip campaign — skate-community shoots across seven cities and a mural on London's Brick Lane — reach a younger audience through an interactive channel, and placing the game inside the Gucci Arcade section of the Gucci app gave people a reason to keep coming back to the brand's app.
Solution
Players control a skater who rolls forward down the street on their own, picking up speed the longer the run goes. Swiping between lanes (or tapping arrow keys on desktop) dodges oncoming obstacles, while jumping clears them and scoops up power-ups along the way: stars for a burst of speed, a helmet for temporary invincibility, and badges that push the skater straight to top speed. The faster the run, the faster the score climbs — and once at top speed, a crash no longer ends things, it just knocks the speed back down. The setting cycles between beach, desert, and city streets, with the skater's outfit changing to match, until an eventual wipeout ends the session.
- 1
The game opens already in motion: a pixel-art skater rides forward down a street on their own, gradually gaining speed, with no start button and no acceleration input from the player.
- 2
Movement is lane-based: arrow keys switch the skater between lanes and jump on desktop, while taps and swipes do the same on touchscreens.
- 3
A heads-up display tracks progress throughout the run: a score counter top-left, a speedometer bottom-center, and a badge counter top-right.
- 4
Cones, barriers, and potholes approach from ahead; the player dodges by switching lanes or jumping over them.
- 5
Below top speed, hitting any obstacle ends the run in a game over.
- 6
Pickups scattered along the route are reached by jumping to them: stars give an immediate burst of speed, and a helmet grants temporary invincibility that lets the skater pass through obstacles unharmed.
- 7
Badges are the key collectible, instantly pushing the skater to maximum speed on pickup and incrementing the badge counter in the HUD.
- 8
Score accrues faster at higher speed, so the player is rewarded for pushing toward max speed rather than playing it safe.
- 9
Once at maximum speed, the rules soften: a collision no longer ends the run, only knocking the skater out of top speed so the run continues.
- 10
The skater's outfit changes each time max speed is reached and again as the backdrop shifts between beach, desert, and city settings, with the run's overall goal being to collect all four badges as the course grows progressively harder.
