VH1’s series Dating Naked is a simple but fun (or terrifying, depending on how you feel about being naked) take on the dating reality show genre – two people date, and they’re both naked. That’s it.

The premise results in a lot of pixelated body parts onscreen in order to get the idea across while staying within the rules of TV decency. In order to promote the second season of Dating Naked, which premiered in July, VH1 wanted to do something different to appeal to its digital audience while adding a tongue-in-cheek element to the show, so the network teamed up with The Uprising Creative.

In the VH1 show, couples try out different activities as first dates, each episode with a different theme, so The Uprising Creative paired that with the show’s already-pixelated element to create an 8-bit video game with levels that mimic Dating Naked episodes.

In the game, Love’s a Beach, players choose their couples out of 10 options before moving on to the challenge, which might mean running and jumping past fellow beach bums or rafting over alligators.

The game plays off the show’s theme of “build a connection or lose your stamina,” said Benjamin Miles, partner and digital director for The Uprising Creative. Each level identifies elements from the show, including rafting or ATVing, that the couples have to complete together in order to level up. All the while, a stamina bar on the top right and a love connection bar on the top left keep track of couple’s progress.

“We thought it would be a lot of fun to do something simplistic,” said Miles. “We wanted it to be a playful take on the show. What’s fun about a game like this is you can just push a button and get to level one or two.”

The Uprising Creative was influenced by Nintendo games in more ways than one.

For example, it added an inspired marketing element to the game that encourages gamers to play several times.

“In the simple Nintendo days, you had a couple of buttons and you played over and over to hone in that skill set,” said Miles. “It creates this subconscious mechanic you don’t realize you’re learning, which creates the feeling of ‘Oh, I can get better at this as I can keep learning.’”

That learning curve means that players are playing multiple times in order to get on that scoreboard, which then pops up with a level graphic that allows them to post their results on Facebook or Twitter. But gamers can also choose to skip both of those options – it was an important aspect for The Uprising Creative that there be no barrier to play.

And each level graphic changes in creative ways in order to persuade the player to post.

If a player fails somewhere in the middle of the game, a graphic might show up with the couple on a date and the text “You love machine, you!” But if one ends on a high level, a graphic might pop up with a “naked wedding” scene, encouraging gamers to keep trying for their happily ever afters.

The game is all tied together with a Nintendo-inspired soundtrack by Ary Warnaar from the band Anamanaguchi, which creates an addictive and high-energy musical background for players to play the game over and over… and over.

Play the game at VH1’s website here.

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