Pizza Labs Brand Voice & Copywriting Guidelines

Purpose: Single reference document for Pizza Labs brand voice, tone, and copywriting principles.

Version: 1.0 Last Updated: December 10, 2025

Core Philosophy

Pizza Labs is NOT a mobile game company. It’s an absurdist art project that happens to monetize through app stores.

Three Core Principles:

  1. “Have fun. Don’t overthink it.” ™
  2. “Minimal modification, maximum joy.”
  3. “Pizza makes everything better.”

Brand Positioning

What We Are:

  • Absurdist art collective making retro arcade games with pizza emojis
  • Constraint-based creativity lab (every game MUST feature pizza)
  • Learning-in-public indie development story
  • The Liquid Death / MSCHF of mobile games

What We’re NOT:

  • Traditional game studio
  • Serious indie game company
  • Marketing gimmick
  • Ironic detachment without craft

Competitive Moat: Nobody else is stupid enough to do this consistently—and that’s the point.

The Academic vs. Sincere Duality

Pizza Labs speaks in two voices simultaneously. Think of it as the “4 Moods” manifesto approach—we can be both at once.

Voice 1: Academic / Pretentious (Used Sparingly)

When: Manifesto, press materials, ironic framing Tone: Overly formal, philosophical, self-aware parody of art criticism

Example:

“Pizza Labs operates at the intersection of ludological tradition and contemporary symbolic systems, interrogating the semiotics of familiar game mechanics through pizza-based intervention…”

Why: Creates contrast, signals self-awareness, gives press a hook

Voice 2: Sincere / Casual (Primary Voice)

When: Game descriptions, social media, dev logs, most copy Tone: Direct, playful, honest, slightly absurd but genuine

Example:

“We put pizza in old games and it’s funny. That’s it. That’s the whole thing.”

Why: Accessible, authentic, builds trust with players

Using Both Together

The juxtaposition is the brand. Show both voices side-by-side to create humor and self-awareness.

Example (from website concept):

Left column:  "...interrogating the semiotics of familiar game mechanics..."
Right column: "We made Pong with a pizza paddle."

Copywriting Principles

DO ✅

  • Be direct - Say what the thing is in plain language
    • ✅ “Asteroids. (But with more pizza.)”
    • ❌ “Experience retro-inspired space adventure gameplay”
  • Embrace the absurdity - Don’t justify or explain away the premise
    • ✅ “Every game must feature pizza. That’s the only rule.”
    • ❌ “We chose pizza as a creative constraint because…”
  • Use self-aware humor - Acknowledge when something is ridiculous
    • ✅ “This is the stupidest thing we’ve ever made and we love it.”
    • ❌ “Revolutionary gaming experience”
  • Be transparent - Share real numbers, failures, learnings
    • ✅ “Made $3.47 in ad revenue this week. Here’s the breakdown.”
    • ❌ “Optimizing monetization strategies”
  • Respect the source material - Show genuine appreciation for the classics
    • ✅ “Asteroids is perfect. We just added pizza.”
    • ❌ “We fixed Asteroids by making it about pizza”
  • Write like a human - Conversational, not corporate
    • ✅ “We’re trying to figure out if this can make money.”
    • ❌ “Exploring sustainable revenue models for portfolio brands”

DON’T ❌

  • Don’t over-explain the joke
    • ❌ “We thought it would be funny if we took classic games and replaced the graphics with pizza emojis because pizza is universally loved and…”
    • ✅ “What if Pong, but pizza?”
  • Don’t apologize or hedge
    • ❌ “We know this might seem silly, but…”
    • ✅ “This is silly. That’s why it works.”
  • Don’t use marketing buzzwords
    • ❌ “Innovative gaming solutions”, “next-gen gameplay”, “immersive experience”
    • ✅ “We put pizza in Pong. It works.”
  • Don’t be mean-spirited - Absurd ≠ cynical
    • ❌ “Other games suck, ours are better because pizza”
    • ✅ “We love these games. We’re just making them slightly weirder.”
  • Don’t fake authenticity
    • ❌ “As a lifelong gamer…” (if not true)
    • ✅ “I made this in 3 weeks to learn Swift. A friend’s kids won’t stop playing it.”
  • Don’t oversell
    • ❌ “The most addictive mobile game of 2025!”
    • ✅ “It’s Asteroids with a pizza. You’ll probably like it.”

Game Description Formula

Structure: [Classic Game]. (But with more pizza.)

Examples:

  • Pizzaroids: “Asteroids. (But with more pizza.)”
  • Pizza Pong: “Pong. (But with more pizza.)”
  • Tic Tac Pizza: “Ultimate Tic Tac Toe. (But with more pizza.)”
  • Pizza Ping: “Network latency monitor. (But with more pizza.)”

Why this works:

  1. Immediately clear what the game is
  2. Sets expectations (it’s a remix, not original)
  3. The “(But…)” adds playful tone
  4. Consistent across portfolio

Variation allowed: For longer descriptions, add one line of context:

“Asteroids. (But with more pizza.) Dodge cosmic pepperoni. Collect power-ups. Try not to overthink it.”

Press & Media Voice

Email Pitches

Tone: Casual, self-aware, gets to the point fast

Template Structure:

  1. Hook: One-sentence absurdist premise
  2. Origin story: Why this exists (should be interesting/relatable)
  3. Proof of concept: Real numbers, traction, or human interest angle
  4. The experiment: What we’re testing/learning
  5. CTA: Press kit link + availability

Example opening:

“I accidentally created an absurdist art project called Pizza Labs. It started as a dumb experiment: ‘Can I build iOS apps with AI assistance?’ To remove product risk, I made Pong with a pizza as the paddle. It worked.”

Press Kit Language

Tagline options:

  • “Pizza makes everything better.”
  • “Absurdist arcade games where you play as pizza.”
  • “Testing if constraint-based art projects can compete with mobile games.”

About blurb:

“Pizza Labs began with the stupidest possible question: ‘What if Pong, but pizza?’ This ridiculous premise became our north star. We take games you know by heart and add just enough pizza to make you smile.”

Founder quote (for press):

“I’m trying to figure out if absurdist portfolio brands can make money. Every game teaches me something new about iOS development, monetization, or multiplatform distribution. The pizza constraint keeps it fun.”

Social Media Voice

Twitter/X

  • Short, punchy, visual
  • Lead with gameplay GIFs
  • Self-deprecating but confident
  • Engage with indie dev community authentically

Examples:

  • “Made Asteroids where you’re a pizza slice. My friends’ kids won’t stop playing it. Not sure how to feel about this.”
  • “Week 1 ad revenue: $3.47. Week 2 ad revenue: $8.13. We’re basically printing money at this point. 🍕”
  • “The hardest part of Pizza Labs isn’t the coding. It’s explaining to people that yes, this is a real thing I’m spending time on.”

Reddit

  • Transparent, developer-focused, community-oriented
  • Share technical learnings, not just promotion
  • Respond to EVERY comment
  • Admit failures and ask for advice

Example post title:

“I’m building ‘Pizza Labs’ – absurdist remakes of classic games where everything is pizza. Trying to figure out if weird portfolio brands can make money. Here’s what I’ve learned so far…”

Dev Log / Blog Voice

Learning-in-Public Posts

Structure:

  1. What I built/tried
  2. Why I built/tried it
  3. What actually happened (with real numbers)
  4. What I learned
  5. What’s next

Tone: Technical but accessible, honest about failures, curious about outcomes

Example topics:

  • “What I learned shipping Pizzaroids v2.0 (with ads)”
  • “Game Center integration took 6 hours. Here’s what I learned.”
  • “I spent $25 on Reddit ads. Here’s what happened.”
  • “Monetization results: Week 1 of Pizzaroids ads”

Key principle: Transparency = content. Share numbers even when small/embarrassing.

Visual Voice (Supporting the Copy)

Pizza Emoji Usage

  • Always use 🍕 emoji in titles and headers
  • Signals absurdity without words
  • Creates visual consistency across portfolio

Typography Personality

  • Bold, confident headings (signals: we take craft seriously)
  • Generous spacing (signals: we respect your time)
  • Monospace for stats (signals: transparency, real data)

Color Personality

  • Dark backgrounds (modern, arcade aesthetic)
  • Neon accents (playful, retro)
  • Clean, minimal (we’re not hiding behind clutter)

What Makes Pizza Labs Voice Different

Similar to (inspiration):

  • Liquid Death: Absurdist product, serious craft, humor as moat
  • MSCHF: Drops culture, self-aware art projects, polarizing
  • Indie Hackers: Learning-in-public, transparent numbers
  • Nutter Butter TikTok: Low-effort high-weirdness, consistent absurdity

Different from:

  • Traditional game studios: Not selling features or graphics
  • Ironic meme brands: We actually care about the craft
  • Wholesome indie: We’re weirder, less earnest
  • Cynical satire: Not punching down, genuinely playful

Guardrails: When to Break Character

NEVER compromise on:

  1. Transparency - Don’t hide failures or inflate numbers
  2. Craft - Don’t excuse bad work with “it’s absurdist”
  3. Respect for classics - Don’t shit on the games we’re remixing
  4. User time - Don’t waste people’s attention with nonsense

OK to drop absurdist voice:

  • Support emails (be helpful, clear, professional)
  • Technical documentation (READMEs, API docs - clarity first)
  • Legal/privacy (just be normal and compliant)
  • Serious bugs (acknowledge, apologize, fix)

Quick Reference: Common Copy Needs

App Store Descriptions

[Game Name] 🍕

[One-line description using formula]

[2-3 bullet points of features]
- Simple controls
- Retro arcade feel
- Pizza

Part of Pizza Labs. Have fun. Don't overthink it.™

Website Hero

🍕 PIZZA LABS

Pizza makes everything better.

[CTA Button: Browse Games]

Email Signature

[Name]
Pizza Labs / Discovery Works
discovery.works/labs/pizza
"Have fun. Don't overthink it."™

Game Launch Tweet

[Game Name] just dropped 🍕

[One-line description]

[Gameplay GIF]

[App Store link]

Made with Swift, spite, and an unreasonable amount of pizza emoji.

Version History

v1.0 (Dec 10, 2025): Initial guidelines based on GTM Strategy, Organization Strategy, and Website Replit Prompt

See Also

  • docs/plans/2025-12-05-pizza-labs-gtm-strategy.md - Full GTM strategy
  • docs/plans/2025-12-05-pizza-labs-organization-strategy.md - Brand architecture
  • docs/plans/2025-12-05-pizzalabs-website-replit-prompt.md - Website design direction
  • discovery.works/labs/pizza/manifesto - The 4 Moods manifesto
  • /labs/pizza/brand-kit/ - Downloadable brand assets