That's right, RMN's quasi-annual Halloween Mario game has returned in 2015!

Except this time it was pretty much made by just me.

But why would I co-opt what has traditionally been a team/community game to just make a game myself? Well, actually, at first I was going to run it as a group event, but I ended up not doing so for a couple reasons.

1. The No-RM event started up around the same time I planned to start this, and I thought 'hey, I could just make a game myself and enter it!" but alas I started the game before October, which means this game doesn't qualify. Even though no one would have ever known but me, I am a man of honor. A very confused and selective honor, but honor nonetheless.

2. The scope of the game, from the design and style and consistency of graphics and mechanics for the game I had in mind was just totally incompatible with a game made by a group of people. It just wasn't going to happen without me pointing a gun at everyone on the team, and nobody would think that was fun except for me.

3. I am a really bad team leader. I was honestly really reluctant to contact anyone who had worked on Mario's Mansion 3 to try to put together yet another game where I try to force my will onto an unwilling group of people who are happier just doing their own thing.

So no, in the end, this game wasn't destined to be a group effort. It would have just ended with everyone being unhappy again. If you think less of me for being so narcissistic that the only way for me to be happy with a community game is to just make it myself I guess I'll accept that.

Which isn't to say I made this game without help. halibabica and Deckiller (neither of whom were connected with the fiasco that was Mario's Mansion 3) were willing and able testers for this project. halibabica helped out with a lot of graphics and technical concerns, and Deckiller even made a guest level where he took pains to match the style and tone of the game I had made. I appreciate both of their help! Tell them both how great they are!

There were a lot of reasons I wanted to make this game, which I might touch on in a later blog post. For now though, I'll say this is the Mario's Mansion game I had envisioned since Mario's Mansion 2 but was never able to achieve for various reasons. Now that I've finally got this game out of my system, Mario's Mansion can return to being a free-wheeling community event without that Grinch Solitayre coming to ruin it for everyone.

I had a lot of fun making this game and think it's pretty good. I hope you all like it.

Happy Halloween!