TechCompenso, a company operating in the Italian tech space, knew its name was often tied to tough conversations such as layoffs, workplace conflicts, and compliance friction. Not exactly the kind of brand people associate with a good time.

But they had an idea: instead of softening their image with a rebranding or PR fluff, they’d make something people actually enjoy. Something weird, fast, and playable. A browser game that lived on their site and did the talking for them.

So they came to us. And we built it with them.

Why a game?

Because most content gets ignored.
Blog posts get skimmed. Ads get closed. White papers gather dust. But games?
Games get played. And if they land, they get passed around.

Branded games average between 5 to 20 minutes of engagement. Compare that to blog posts, if someone makes it past 45 seconds, you’re lucky (Source: Nielsen Norman Group). More importantly, people tend to retain up to 90% of what they interact with through gameplay. Static formats barely hit 10%.

The point wasn’t to advertise. It was to start a conversation. To show people that TechCompenso isn’t afraid to call out the problems they work with, or laugh at themselves in the process.

What we built

A no-download, side-scrolling platformer playable straight in-browser.
You cycle through three characters: the manager, the developer, the designer. Each with their own day to survive, dodging email notifications, oversharing coworkers, “friendly” HR, and bosses with no sense of time or boundaries.

It’s satire, yes. But it hits close enough to home that it stings a little.
We kept it light on load times and heavy on detail: character switching, replayable levels, and randomized end messages to keep it fresh. All made with Fiero game creation platform, no-code. Just drop, test, and play.

"It’s the first time I smiled playing a game." - TechCompenso

The response

The game launched on TechCompenso’s site and socials in early June. In the first four weeks, it pulled in:

• 14,000+ unique players

• 21,600 total game views

• An average session time of 59 seconds, significantly higher than the 30 – 40 second average for standard web content

• A 17% return visit rate, suggesting people didn’t just try it once, they came back

But the real win? The comments. The shares. The DMs.
When TechCompenso posted the game, the community showed up, not just to play, but to vent.
To say, “This is exactly it.”
To name the worst meeting, they’d ever sat through.
To joke, rage, and commiserate.

“What are the biggest risks for developers?” - TechCompenso asked
Replies flooded in:

• “CEOs who think AI can replace everything.”

• “We need it by yesterday.”

• “It’s simple, it’ll only take two minutes…”

• “Requests sent by email or Slack instead of Jira.”

Some people messaged the creators directly:
“Did you seriously just make a game about how bad HR is?”
They did. And it worked.

What it proves

A game won’t fix your brand. But it can shift how people see you.
It can show you're paying attention. That you’ve got a sense of humour, and a sense of self-awareness.

This wasn’t about being fun for fun’s sake. It was about choosing how people experience your brand, and doing it with something they’ll actually stick around for.

No filler. No fakery. Just a message you can play.
That’s what we made together.