WHO AM I

Pixel-art portrait of Benoît, creator of The Castle — BENOÎT

My name is Benoît and I am a French guy born in the 80s and working in Health. I've always been a bit of a geek. Not the type of geek that codes complex programs at night and hacks softwares, just the kind to be interested enough in computer to have fun with them when they started arriving in our homes in the 90s. I remember my first steps on AOL at the very start of internet, and cherish my Megadrive and PlayStation gaming childhood.

Pixel-art scene of young Benoît playing his Sega Megadrive in the 90s — THE 90s

When I was in high school we had to buy programmable calculators for Maths and Physics classes. We could code little programs in these, and I created a game: The Castle. Very straightforward: you wake up in a castle with no memory, and try to get out. No pictures, just text. Each room gives you two options, and each time the right answer to move on is determined arbitrarily. Each wrong choice sends you back to the beginning and you have to start over again. A very silly little game yet somehow it had some success! Because it was so hard to get to the end, the feeling of joy when you were lucky enough to get through was quite something.

Pixel-art scene of teenage Benoît coding The Castle on a programmable calculator — HIGH SCHOOL — THE FIRST CASTLE

This game was so popular amongst my friends that I made a sequel: The Garden. Once you are out of the castle, try and escape through The Garden. Like a never ending, difficult to fulfill adventure. And then life went on and all of this was forgotten in the meanders of growing up and living. I never learned how to code, and apart from playing video games and reading sci-fi and Tolkien, I did not get any geeker…

And now, in 2026, there are wondrous tools to build and create websites, games and apps. An idea worked its way into my head… why not remake The Castle, but as a proper little browser game, with collectibles, graphics, music and maybe… a little storyline? No crappy email to put in and get spammed, no complex login, just enter a gamer tag and a password and off you go!

Pixel-art scene of Benoît in 2026 conjuring The Castle and The Garden from a laptop — 2026 — CONJURING WORLDS

So here it is (thanks to Lovable), you can try to escape The Castle, The Garden, and who knows what else lies beyond that… Along the way you might discover objects that will give you some clues on who you are, you that are reading this, you that woke up in that dark cell and are trying to get out of… The Castle.

Have fun, despair, try to find all the clues and collectibles. I warn you, it will take patience and time… I sincerely hope you enjoy the adventure!

This project is solely funded by passion (and a little of my personal finances) so don't hesitate to support with a few euros. It might help me fund some other projects in the future…

Benoît