HELL-O, ADVENTURER!
I usually love Halloween, but it’s been difficult for me to get into it this year. I’m writing spooky snacks like Gremlins Invasion, and watching spoopy movies like Mr. Boogedy – and it’s helping, but I miss going to a party with a costume I scrapped together last minute from my closet of forgotten props and costumes.
Are you struggling to keep the Halloween spirit alive, too? What are you doing to spook-ibrate?
Maybe this haunted tale will put you in the mood for frights. This one’s special, because it features our first guest ending by Ajinkya Goyal, who writes the dark and twisted fiction newsletter Innocently Macabre! See if you can find Ajinkya’s ending.
It’s midnight in the middle of nowhere. Or, to be more precise, 11:51 pm SNT (Standard Nowhere Time). You responded to an ad in the classifieds looking for someone who can “perform an interesting service without asking nosy questions.” The ad offered “some pay!”
You’re currently standing in Stumper’s Clunkers, a used car lot with only two vehicles. One is a blood red 1969 Camaro covered in rust and violent scratch marks. The other is a beige and brown trailer with a door that’s creaking open. Out comes a sweaty, smiling middle-aged car salesman in a loose checkered necktie and messy gray hair. He extends his hand, either for a handshake or to murder you.
“Shecky Stumper, Stumper’s Clunkers,” he says to you. “Our cars are so good, your jaw will drop to the ground and make a ‘clunk’ sound, hence the name. Anyway, how would you like to destroy a car for a certain amount of money?”
Shecky takes an envelope out of his tattered sports coat and hands it to you. Inside you count $12 and an expired TJ Maxx coupon.
“I don’t care how you do it,” Shecky explains. “Just destroy that car. Is it stolen? Is it cursed? Let’s just say a little of column A, and a whole lot of column B. We never had this conversation. Good luck, sucker! I mean, my new friend!”
Shecky tosses you the keys and runs back inside his trailer. You can see his shifty eyes peering out from a set of window blinds.
The Camaro’s headlights come on, as though it’s staring at you.
What would you like to do?
If you want to drive the Camaro, when was the last time you drove?
BONUS: Leave a comment on the game, then click here for a boost. I really want to hear about what you’re doing for Halloween!
I Brought a Killer Robot to IndieCade
Last week, I was invited to present at IndieCade’s Anywhere and Everything Festival! IndieCade is a wonderful independent games event, and I was super excited to share a game I made with my friend Jordan Robbins at the show.
Facts About the Robot Uprising is the first new game for the Tiger 2-XL in over 25 years! The quiz game teaches human players about the robot apocalypse and all the horrors to come. Learning how to “hack” the old hardware to make a weird new audio interactive fiction experience was a fun process. A hearty welcome to the IndieCade audience who joined Adventure Snack!
I was thinking about hosting a private demo for Adventure Snack players. If y’all would be interested, hit the “Reply” button on your console.
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Geoffrey Golden is a narrative designer for video games. He’s written for Capcom, Ubisoft, Square Enix, and indie studios around the world!
I'm gonna dress up as a quarantine-depressed person in a robe for the Zoom Halloween party at work!!!
My partner and I have been watching dumb made-for-TV / DVD Halloween movies like...
Mr. Boogedy
Bride of Boogedy
Double, Double Toil and Trouble
Twitches
Spooky Buddies
...and tonight it's Monster Mutt!