#pumpkin days

We're restarting development for the next game, Mangato. Due to our budget constraints and the time it would take to develop a 3D game, we decided to switch to a 2D game instead. We'll also be switching engines from Unreal to potentially Gamemaker. We'll have to start development from scratch this year and revise our design doc to better suit it being a 2D game. We'll be partially pausing development on Mangato as we plan and figure out how to move forward with development and redesign the game to take advantage of being in 2D. We hope to return to development later in the year.

Not everything will be scrapped as we start over. Our 2D game assets, like the icons and GUI, can be re-used. However, sadly, our 3D models will need to be abandoned.

Thank you for understanding as we take some time to recharge so we can approach the game's development with refreshed enthusiasm. We'll be shifting our focus to different social media. We are returning home to Tumblr, which helped spread the word about Pumpkin Days in the early days. We will be moving over from Twitter to Bluesky. Our Twitter will still be up, and we will post updates, but we will no longer have our messages open on Twitter and we will be less active on Twitter in general. We are also closing our Instagram and Tik Tok account. Bluesky and Tumblr will be the main social media platforms we will be active on, so add us there if you wish to follow. https://bsky.app/profile/pumpkininteractive.bsky.social

The streets of Arx were shimmering with lanterns and crawling with people that night thanks to the The Pumpkin Days celebrations taking place across the kingdom, though they weren’t as lively as she remembered them being on the night of the Moonlight Festival. It could have been nostalgia coloring her memory, but as she walked past a group of children carrying sparklers and candied apples, laughing and drugged with sugar, she couldn’t help but remember a time only a few months ago when things had seemed simpler. Her gaze traveled lazily like a fluttering bird from the vendors selling hot cider to the stalls that offered pumpkins for carving. Thalra was only moments from deciding to go over to a shop open later and selling sea-salt caramel chocolates when she spotted something strange. 

A light? It wasn’t like the lanterns which were hung from the buildings and lampposts and made from flickering candles. This light bobbed just on the edge of the crowd, dancing at the end of the street which lead off down towards the docks. Curious, Thalra stepped forward, and the light moved away, as if it were beckoning her to follow. 

Thalra was no fool. She knew a trap when she saw one, and her eyesight had always been much better in the darkness than it ever was in broad daylight. Still she found herself moving towards the dancing light which twirled and swayed down the street like a marionette on a string. It glowed an odd blue-white color, fuzzy around the edges so that Thalra couldn’t make out the shape. She squinted and picked up her pace to try and see the light better, but in an instant-- it was gone. Thalra blinked and looked around at her surroundings and found that she’d walked all the way to the docks where the old ships creaked and groaned in the black water. It felt like she had only been walking for a matter of moments, and yet here she was, so far away from the main street of Arx. 

A sharp groan of wood-- a foot falling on a rotting board in the dock behind her made Thalra whirl around with a gasp, hand falling to the dagger on her belt. “Who’s there?” she demanded.

Tobi: Nö. Ich hab keine Hühner.

Gronkh: Werden die noch als lebendig angezeigt?

Toni: Nein, aber die stehen da noch. Aber wenn ich auf mein Journal gehe, klicke auf meine Tiere, steht da "You don't have any animals!"

Gronkh: Hm, ok.

Tobi: Das macht mich bei all dem Reichtum wirklich traurig.

Gronkh: *lacht* Oh du armer, betroffener, geschlagener Mann. Kann ich dir irgendwie helfen in deiner Trauer?

Tobi: Ein paar Chicken Wings wären jetzt nice.

Gronkh: *lacht* Er ist in seiner Bewältigungsphase.

Time: Evening

Status: Open

Mareona glared up at the towering house before her as if she could make it vanish by sheer force of will alone. It must have been a truly magnificent dwelling once, its tiered balconies once overflowing with flowering vines, its ornate window panes catching the light from a hundred lanterns inside. There must have been fine parties thrown there, with wine and sweets and music that lasted into the small hours of the night. It was to imagine what it had once been, but those glory days were clearly long gone. 

Now the house was full of noises of a different kind, poorly imitated howls and groan filtered down through the bustling night air, and small pops of magical light filled the dark opening of the doorway before her with the approximation of lightening. In the upper windows she should see glimpses of shadowed forms lurking. One of them seemed to be having a smoke. 

“This is ridiculous.”  She muttered to herself, watching a young man shuffle past in what was clearly supposed to be guise of an undead thrall. Anyone with eyes could see it was nothing more than paint and charcoal. To her left a group of girls came running scurrying by. The young man made a pitiful lunge in their direction, sending the girls scattering in all directions, shrieking and giggling, like brightly colored petals blown about in a breeze. Mareona shifted uncomfortably. All around her people were having a pleasant evening, eating sweet treats, laughing at their own folly as they exited the house before her, breathless and clutching the arms of the people they loved. It was a time of celebration and all Mare wanted to do was slink back to her little room and hide like a child. Maybe there was real terror at this so called ‘Haunted House’ after all. 

With a little snort of derision at her own foolishness she straightened her shoulders and narrowed her eyes. She was here to get to know this city and its people and if that meant she had to endure a little fun, well, so be it. She gazed around the front lawn of garish decorations and colorful lanterns until her gaze landed on a potential target. Striding over she began to speak.

“Good evening. Would you care to take in this...” She made a face. “Haunted House with me?” 

I’m just signal boosting this as a “watch this space” kind of thing because I backed the original kickstarter way back when and backers are getting their advance steamkeys this weekend (it’s still going to be early access/beta though).

It was originally conceived as an MMO but now it is mostly a single-player game with a multiplayer option.

It has non-binary character options, you can date any NPC who isn’t elderly, already married, or a child (including other players).

Some art I made for a fanart contest for a game called @pumpkin-days​!