Nordine Ghachi

But why « Tonton Studio » ?

« Tonton » (uncle, in French), because in a child’s eyes, an uncle is someone who’s nice, who knows how to do all sorts of things, and who you feel like confiding in. « Studio », because I’ve always worked in studios, and deep down, I am one all by myself: design, code, sound, ideas, all coexist in the same hyperactive head.

It all started on an Amstrad, when I was about 8. I didn’t know yet what a game designer was, but I was already spending my weekends coding little games and applications, line by line. At the same time, I was playing music. A lot. Sound became an obsession that has never let go. Then came the Amiga, and that’s when things got serious (well, as serious as it can get when you’re 10 and dreaming of making the next Double Dragon ^^).

That passion never left me. After studies in computer science, I joined Tanukis studio as lead developer, before moving on to project manager, game designer, then account director. That’s where I cut my teeth on online game and web app productions of international scale. And that’s where I understood that what drove me wasn’t just the technique: it was designing experiences that provoke something in people.

In 2013, I co-founded DOWiNO in Lyon, a studio dedicated to games and experiences with social impact. Within this beautiful cooperative, I directed creative work on around thirty projects in just a few years: serious games on health, disability, the environment, international solidarity... including A Blind Legend, the first mobile action-adventure game with no images at all, co-produced with France Culture. A game built entirely on 3D binaural sound (no coincidence when you’ve carried a love of sound your whole life). And to this day, it’s the project I’m most proud of.

Those years confirmed one thing: video games and interactive experiences can be tremendous vehicles for awareness and inclusion. And it’s that conviction that has guided everything I do since.

Every project I take on, whether it’s a serious game, a learning platform or a consulting mission, carries an intention to make an impact. I don’t design digital products « just for fun » (even when they are fun): I aim for every experience to change something, however modestly, in the understanding or behaviour of those who go through it.

Over the years, I’ve worked with very different organisations (EDF, Air Liquide, the French Red Cross, Roche, the Lyon Metropolis, Pix...) on equally varied subjects: gamification of health prevention, learning through play, design of professional tools, strategic support in innovation. What doesn’t change from one project to another is the demand for excellence. I systematically aim to exceed expectations, not just check the boxes of the brief. Whether it’s a small consulting mission or an ambitious production, I put the same energy into finding the idea that will make the difference, the detail that turns a correct deliverable into something the client is proud of.

In 2020, I left DOWiNO to found Tonton Studio. Not a break, an evolution. After years of proving that video games could serve more than entertainment, I wanted to broaden the field: explore interactivity in all its forms, mix consulting and production, no longer define myself by a single format. By the way, I still compose music and sound design for some client projects today. Some passions can’t be delegated.

Today, I integrate generative AI into my creative processes. Not out of fascination, out of pragmatism: ignoring this revolution means being condemned to suffer it. So I use it, sparingly, always at the service of projects that aim to put humans back at the centre. But I keep my eyes open on all those professions that are wavering, on the resources it devours... and on the world it’s shaping. Creative vision, listening to needs and human sensitivity can’t be delegated to a machine. And between you and me, I hope we’ll remember that.

The rest of the time, I invent. Improbable prototypes, concepts that don’t yet have a market, things nobody asked me for. It’s my way of staying sharp and never repeating myself. And I teach, a lot: gamification, prospective design, creative AI, in schools like Gobelins, Gaming Campus, Gamagora or INP Toulouse, and in conferences pretty much anywhere I’m invited. Because passing on what has driven me since childhood is also a way to make an impact.

I work as an independent from Lyon (and sometimes Paris), with a network of solid and talented partners I mobilise depending on the project. No heavy structure, no salesperson: a single, senior point of contact, involved from A to Z.

If you’ve made it this far, we probably have things to discuss, right? :-)
So get in touch !