The menu, as is the case with many of The Games Company’s games, isn’t laid out as plainly as it is in other games, because clicking the unlabelled buttons to the side can access many of the game’s functions.
The design of the background almost looks as though it came out of a kids’ TV show – we’re largely referring to the simple, playful 3D designs that don’t make an overuse of detail and visual stimuli.
Another video slots series that also makes use of colourful, anthropomorphised renditions of letters, objects and other non-human entities. The designs of the characters themselves are reminiscent of the “Freaky” series of slot games by CTMX/GamesOS. Monster Mash looks to be a visually appealing and is a potentially fun game, so how does the game itself measure up to its appearance? Spooks and Shocks What this game actually features is a bunch of funny monster characters within the reels, which in itself is set on top of a bright blue-sky background. Honestly, upon first view we were a bit surprised at the palette choice, as we were actually expecting something along the lines of a night time/Halloween theme.
From the UK-based software company The Games Company comes this bright and colourful video slots game. Edutainment.If you’re feeling a little bit spooky tonight and craving some thrills, Monster Mash looks to be your best bet as far as slot games go. "Spare The Rod" - Work information into your game about your monsters to inform the player about their origin. "Keeping It In The Phantom-ily" - Include a monster in your game from the mythology of a culture other than your own. "Misunderstood" - Use art, dialog or sound effects to make a normally horrific monster adorable. "What a Hoof" - Design your game so that it can be played by unwieldy hands - or hooves. "Hissssstory Shapes The World" - Make a game where everything that goes on, was somehow influenced by (fictional / nonfictional) events in the past - why are there monsters? Why are they acting like they do? "Fairytale" - Make a game in the style of your own original fairy tale - the real gnarly Brothers Grimm style. "Eros" - Work a romance - accepted, forbidden or otherwise - into your game between monsters.
What if Lara Croft was a spectre? What if the Mario Brothers were djinns? How would the game change?
"Deja Boo" - Remake a game - yours, or a demake - with monster characters instead of humans. "From The Crypt" - Base your monster off of cryptozoology research, whether they're a creature on the run from humanity or just a character in your game. Here's a list of 'multipliers' for the jam - try to add as many of these into your game as possible if you're up for a challenge! For each multiplier you earn, you will get the corresponding badge on your game's page so people can see what a beast you are. Let's face it - we use humans a LOT in our games, so why not explore outside Earth for a little while? Why shouldn't we creep in the crypt, or dance in the den? We have so much folklore, legends, urban myths and stories at our fingertips, I think we can afford to take a break from hoo-mans for a while and focus on some freaky fabulous protagonists for a week. All entries also get raffled to win a one-year subscription to Loom SDK Turbo! As soon as the jam starts, the submission button will be available to you on the site to submit.
The jam will start at midnight CET on Monday, June 30th and go until midnight CET on July 7th. Monster Mash! is a week long game jam between June 30 and July 7 that challenges you to create a game with monster protagonists! Sometimes it's nice to be different, sometimes there are advantages to being different. Whether it's centaur dudes, naga gals or anything in between, let's face it - we all have a soft spot for monster people inside us. Why aren't you all ogre this yet? #monstermash2014