Every good horror story starts long before anything truly scary happens.
First, there’s a strange noise in the next room. Then the wind picks up. A door moves on its own — probably. Nothing terrible has happened yet, but something feels a little off.
That’s where our second challenge begins.
Let’s build up the atmosphere
October is almost here, and we want to spend the weeks leading up to Halloween making things progressively stranger and scarier.
We’re starting gently with A Little Spooky.
Your challenge is to create a game with a touch of unease. The genre and format are up to you — we’re interested in how you interpret the mood. Maybe the player is looking for objects in a room where things keep moving. Maybe they’re running through a forest at dusk. Maybe they’re solving a perfectly ordinary puzzle while something watches from the corner. It doesn’t have to look or feel like traditional horror. Funny, cute, absurd, and cozy ideas are all welcome.
Create tension, not terror
This week isn’t about making the scariest game possible.
We’re not looking for jump scares or experiences deliberately designed to terrify the player. Think of it as the beginning of a horror story: the part where the atmosphere is slowly building and you’re not sure whether there’s actually something to be afraid of. We want that cozy October feeling with just enough tension to make things interesting. Pumpkins, fog, long shadows, strange sounds, suspicious characters — whatever puts you in the Halloween mood without keeping you awake at night.
Make it your own
There are no restrictions on genre. Build something familiar and give it an eerie twist, or use the challenge as an excuse to try an idea you’ve never made before. As Halloween gets closer, our challenges will get darker. For now, we’re starting with the first strange sound in the night.
Create your version of A Little Bit Spooky and join the challenge.
https://playgama.ai/play/challenge/alittlespooky/