It’s been about a month since we rolled out Update 2, so since you’ve had plenty of time to explore Mr. Giggles’ Happyland, a.k.a. Carnival, we figured you were ripe and ready for another behind-the-scenes look at how our levels are made!
We have had Carnival at the back of our minds since early 2021. The haunted Carnival setting is absolutely iconic from its depictions in legendary horror media, so we were hardly surprised (though very pleased) to see that the idea resonated strongly with the community in the earlier community polls we ran during the first few months of Early Access.
As with all of our maps, we started Carnival with block-outs - essentially just a work-in-progress map with placeholder assets that let us get an idea of where we’ll put key elements. Once we’ve got a good idea of the broad strokes, we iterate.
Some early ideas for Carnival included a fully-accessible funhouse, a tunnel of love, and even a ball pit! For one reason or another, as we test internally and iterate, some ideas get cut for the sake of quality. Our initial ideas made the map absolutely massive, so we had to scale it back a bit to keep gameplay tight and focused on the map.
When making an MGH map, It’s gotta have that special MGH feel, so we need to make sure we get things like the size and scope juuuuust right - and we’re pretty sure we hit the nail on the head with this one. The vibe and theme shine through strongly, and it blends an homage to horror classics with our quirky and fun MGH style seamlessly. (As a brief aside, we’re always keen to get feedback, so if you have any, please don’t hesitate to send it to us on Discord or Twitter!)
After we’ve decided on the nuts and bolts of a level and gotten things more or less where we want ‘em (like the awesome merry-go-round, for example), we polish to get that authentic MGH feel. This is when we add neat stuff like these awesome posters to dial in on the vibe we’re after. I mean… these are pretty sweet, huh? My personal favorite is the Fortune Teller.🔮
The Carnival map also has some pretty cool hero props, like the Jack-In-The-Box and the Carnival cannon (an absolute must if you’re aiming for iconic imagery) similar to the cannon aboard the Ghost Ship. In addition to hero props, we’ve also added some animatronics, which aren’t just visual flair, but also add gameplay impact such as giving you a scare or even doing damage if you’re not careful!
All things considered, the Carnival map is an exciting new addition to MGH, and we hope all of you are enjoying playing on it. If you have thoughts you want to share regarding improvements or just general feedback, we’d love to hear them. We hope you enjoy Mr. Giggle’s Happyland, and we hope you enjoyed this peek behind the scenes!
One final note in-case you missed it in our last post, we recently announced our updated roadmap for the near future of MGH, check it out below!
Keep your eyes peeled for some spooky season news very, very soon as well! 🎃
Until next time, stay spooky ghosts and hunters!
Tinny