Monster Mash
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Warning: Lots of swears in this game.
There's a chill in the air on Halloween night, spirits and demons are out and about, the darkness creeping ever closer.
And, even more importantly you still can't find a date for the Halloween bash. Guess it's time to summon one.
About this game:
A dating simulator that focuses on romancing whoever you summon by combining items. Currently four different characters with three different endings each.
Will you be swept away by a famous pumpkin legend? Learn new roaring 20s lingo with a old gangster? Get advice from one of the lesser known Mythos creatures? Or prove a old urban legend true about a certain goat eater?
Try to see who you will get!
Credits:
Backgrounds: Tabikat
CGs/Sprites : Tabikat
Writing: Tabikat/ HeyMarmalade
Programming: HeyMarmalade
Music:
Halloween Trick or Treat by Shadow6Nothing9
Alone by Aakash Gandhi
Cottonmouth Strut by The Whole Other
Goestories by Noir Et Blanc Vie
Coryphee A La Seconde by NoMBe
Nocturnally by Amulets
Spider Legs by Dyalla
Thinking Machines by TrackTribe
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Monster Mash : Mac fixOct 03, 2020
Comments
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SPOILERS! After I finish talking about the individual characters I then begin to show a guide on how to get these characters through the summoning ritual!!!
Honestly it was a lil nervewracking BECAUSE OF BEPHOMET. OF ALL THE DEMONS I SUMMONED I SUMMONED THE POLAR OPPOSITE OF ME ON THE FIRST TRY. Legit I was spamming that save/load function so much it deserves a good ass medal for putting up with my romantic panic ass. But it was really fun learning through the different combinations of them! And this visual novel actually gave me motivation and inspiration to finally doodle/draw after a long ass time of being burnt out! And I'm really proud of my lil MC's for each of these demons!
Bephomet: Since he was my first experience, I absolutely have mixed feelings for him since I was just getting used to the characters and how the dialogue affects them. So he was pretty intimidating but I somehow stumbled through the interactions and got him to date me! Amazing! I love his accent and his slang, I had to pull up google for help but I found it absolutely humorous, and I like how Bephomet's literally attracted to the more feral MC which my MC wasn't at first but dude was willing to have a date so he stumbled through it, hey, fake it till you make it. Bephomet better be charmed because I feel like my MC was constantly dying of second hand embarrassment from HIMSELF HAHAHA (but also that ending??? Kill me, my legs would give out if he SAID THAT TO ME, IMAGINE THE WIMPY MC OF MINE EXPLODING ON THE SPOT).
Pióg: Absolutely had a grand time with her ngl. When I saw how rebellious she was I was like "Yes, I can appeal to that" and then I imagined a new MC where she grew up in this catholic strict household and looks very put together but secretly she is FERAL, a closet pervert, and wants to rebel and will at the first chance. So now I'm imagining how hilarious it'd be, especially with the last option I chose where MC karate chops a crate with their forehead, if I wasn't charmed by that! And I also love how MC had to hype themselves up like yes bitch! You are THE feral, MOST UNHINGED, motherfucker there is!!! ALSO THAT ENDING SCENE? PLEASE I'M CRYING OF LAUGHTER!
Shoggoth: While I absolutely adore him, from his design and personality, I adore the MC here the most! It's like the poor dude had a severe case of "No Thoughts Head Empty". Like who wouldn't be attracted to that?? And the puns! While some will roll their eyes and groan, I was absolutely delighted by them especially with how earnest MC was in delivering them and thinking they were suave (please, this is so cute, I can understand how Shoggoth could stand this absolute dork). Not gonna lie, this MC gave me some trouble to think of a design but then I thought how hilarious it'd be if an emo dude had golden retriever personality and BAM! it clicked. Wonderful because now I'm absolutely enjoying how Shoggoth is looking at MC internally going like "One more stupid thing from this dude's mouth and we are fucking them up" (both ways can go *wink wonk*) their dynamic was so cute like wtfffff, I want what they have! THAT ENDING AS WELL?? HOW SMOOTH AHAHAHA "... other things" WHAT OTHER SHOGGOTH?? WHAT OTHER THINGS???
Chuvela: I will be honest, I actually struggled to find her combination quite a lot but I was really glad when I did! Also the art for it was really yummy and I should not have been thinking about that at literally 11:50pm. But I also like how she was a Chupacabra because I genuinely thought she was a Werewolf even though I've already heard about Chupacabras before. But I also like how contradictory she is, when we think of anything resembling a wolf we often think they're outgoing and active, but I like how despite her rough appearance she's actually a huge nerd! And I love talking to her about video games even though I'm not at all that knowledgeable, it's also hilarious how quickly I thought of an MC for her and I just enjoyed the scene where we just chilling and having fun. Like out of all the monsters, I genuinely feel like Chuvela wouldn't like threaten to off us as quickly as like Bephomet and Pióg while Shoggoth is like a loose cannon. But truly did enjoy how laidback her convo was!
Wrapping that all up, character wise I gotta go down with Bephomet, but my favorite Character and MC dynamic is with Shoggoth, and the one where I enjoy the conversation the most is with Chuvela (Pióg is there for when I'm ready to bounce off my gremlin energy ehehehe~!). Genuinely had so much fun with this visual novel! I adore the humorous and quick wit of it!!
NOW IT'S FOR THE SUMMONING RITUAL!!!
Bephomet: Goat, Chalk, Candle
Pióg: Knife, Pumpkin, Candle
Shoggoth: Quill, Blood Vial, Questionable Meat
Chuvela: Goat, Blood Vial, Knife
I'm not sure if there is a correct order or if you can do it randomly but either way these combination worked for me to summon the monsters! Hope you have fun and enjoy yourself and ALSO THANKS A LOT TO THE TEAM OF DEVELOPERS WHO WORKED HARD FOR THIS VISUAL NOVELLLL!
Cute little experience with some nice dialogue puzzles. Having to pick the summoning items in the exact right order might be a little off-putting for some ppl, so if you expand I'd keep an eye on the difficulty curve.
I managed to figure out all 4 and get them to take me to the date tho.
I really loved Shoggoth and their little blush!
It was worth it downloading it manually as you haven't marked the files with which OS they work on, which means the app doesn't let you download :oP
(I often never get around to playing the games that can't download in the app bc I forget I have them, so I'm happy I remembered to play this)
Hello! First off, thank you for playing our game and we're glad you enjoyed the routes! It makes us happy when people enjoy what we do!
Second, I'm sorry if the puzzle was a bit confusing but the correct items do not have to be in any order. We actually designed it that way so people wouldn't get frustrated with finding the correct order. All you need is the correct three items for each character and it works! I play tested that feature myself and have watched several streamers play through it! If anything, I could write a quick walkthrough if some people are finding it challenging!
The game was made on renpy and was made to be downloadable! I'll have to ask Marmalade about that other bit but we wanted everyone to be able to play, even people not signed up to itch.io!
Thank you again for playing!
I was actually in the middle of commenting when Tabikat did, haha.
We were debating over whether you meant the correct order, or the correct items. If it ends up it is making you do the correct order, do you mind if I ask which file you downloaded to double check?
For the correct items, we've been talking about what we can do now, and after the GameJam ends. For right now, we'll do the walkthrough to help out. But, as you said, the difficulty curve is something to worry about especially because we want to add more monsters. I'm thinking of seeing if we can change the whole item puzzle to more visual, drag n' drop sort of thing to make things easier for the player. Also include hints.
I'm so glad to hear you like Shoggoth, they definitely became a player favorite. They were written and designed by Tabikat, so I know from hearing her right now that she is over the moon.
I'll be honest, this is the first time we heard of the app, rofl. I will devote some time to reading about it, but do you mind if I ask if marking the file is in Edit Game? If so, that should be a easy fix.
Thanks again for commenting and playing!
Yes, if you go to edit game and the uploads, each file needs to be marked with which OS they belong to for it to work in the app.
The itch app is basically a launcher like steam is. You have access to your library of installed games and any keys that are connected to your account.
Hmm, if it is any order, then both my friend and I had weird experiences with it. She swore she tried chalk, candle, goat and got nothing, while I tried flesh, blood, quill several times before trying quill, blood, flesh and got a result. I guess we might both be remembering wrong.
We both played the standard windows version, tho she gave up after not getting any result. It depends how puzzly you want it to be really. I didn't mind having to figure out the correct solutions and the resulting dialogue puzzles, while she doesn't like puzzles. You can't appeal to everyone. Some ppl would be upset if it was too easy.
If you manage to pull off a drag-and-drop interface, that'd be a very fluid way of doing it tho, less clicking.
I think it is a very neat idea and great work for a proof of concept!
Perfect. I got them tagged now, so hopefully it should be easier for people who use the app now. Thank you!
Unfortunately, I've tried replicating the problem with two computers, with Tab and a few other players. I haven't been able to get it to repeat, so I'm at a lost of what you and your friend encountered. My only guesses are, something went wrong in extraction, computer wise, or maybe .. Did you guys just get nothing or did the dud end play?
If you guys are up to it, I would love to see a recording to see if I'm missing something. I'll keep my eyes out either way, so don't worry if you don't want to do it. I am still sorry regardless that it happened to you two, I can understand how that could be frustrating.
Thanks to you guys though, I did find something I can fix even if I can't figure out the other thing.
One of the testers for the bug, actually typed in 300 characters. So, yeah, that's a definite fix, haha!
True, we'll have to find that perfect balance of difficulty in future updates. Especially with the addition of new monsters and items, which will make it harder to keep up. That's why Itch.io has been great with keeping up comments and playthroughs, so I can hopefully see what's working and what needs more refinement. Speaking of which,
Thanks so much for answering the questions! I know its probably not what you signed up for, but we appreciate the time taken out for it.
This is a super fun game with a very cool concept! I really love the writing, it's so fun to experience the story, the art and music is fantastic. Overall a very polished and excellent game. Nice work!!
Thanks so much for playing and commenting! We're so glad the idea came across as good as it did in our heads. Tab did a wonderful job with the music and art, and we both kept pushing each other with the writing.
It takes a load off my shoulders that you didn't run into any issues as well, I never used this program or language before and that was my biggest worry once it released. We are planning to add more once the contest concludes, in case you want to play again.
Either way, thanks again for the comment, it really lifts our heads!
Monster Mash was a fun game perfect for spooky season!
Loved the ritual summoning scene and it made me want to see this concept get expanded!
Read my full review here!
Wow, thank you so much!
I read your full review, and I kind of wish you wrote the description of the game now, that was wonderful to read. We also both got a kick out of the clip, the face you made was great!
There are talks in the works of adding more along the road. More items, voice acting, a more interactive summoning ritual and more monsters, including: you didn't hear it from me, a certain creature from Chinese folklore.
Thank you again from the both of us!
Wow, that sounds so exciting! You guys got it in for Spooktober though and that in itself is a huge accomplishment! The fact that you're interested in extending the game is great considering you all all the time you want without crazy deadlines now~
Seriously, that summoning sequence is a gem and inspires me so much since I love supernatural elements in my games!
Also I knew I wanted to summon the headless pumkinhead from the very moment I saw her (;
I am trying to review all the Spooktober games btw, and can link it on twitter if you don't mind? (:
Of course!! We'd love for you to link it on twitter!! And so glad you enjoyed it, that makes us very happy!
Marmalade had a great idea with that summoning sequence and I'm glad we rode that train. Piog was one of my first designs so I'm happy to hear that, haha!
You guys sound like a perfect team!
I just think this game has amazing potential and I'm so glad you went that way!
Linking it now!
Oh, thank you so much! Again!
We worked with each other before on small ideas here and there in other games, but as soon as one of us spotted the contest we wanted to try and sit down to make a game together. The summoning sequence was definitely both my joy and fear in the programming side, it was my first time with Python and Ren'py, so my biggest worry was it would break or not be fun for players. To hear you talk about it lifts a huge weight off my shoulders.
As Tabikat said, Piog was the first one Tab made for the game, and was programmed in, so it's exciting to hear people liked her so much. I half didn't want to put her in screenshots to keep the mystery, but I thought she would be the best to show off the game.
We can't thank you enough for the review and the twitter post.