Werewolf House: Synthincisor

A Musical Comedy Interactive Fiction Game for Halloween

For Immediate Release
Monday, October 22, 2018

The spooking season upon us, and in celebration of Halloween, writer-turned-game-developer Andy Kneis has released the interactive fiction game Werewolf House: Synthincisor. It is currently free to play on any modern browser.

With absolutely no previous coding experience, Kneis set out to turn a silly choose-your-own-adventure idea into a full-blown game, packed to the teeth with handmade gifs, a spooky soundtrack, and loads of self-aware humor. Using only free resources like Twine, Piskel, and countless CSS blogs, Kneis was able to create a game with a level of gameplay and stylization to match the writing style he has honed in his day job as a writer for Disney.

The player begins the journey being told they are a world-famous DJ on their way to a mysterious forest rave at the infamous Werewolf House, only to be struck by lightning and have their certified slapper of a beat blown to smithereens. The player must navigate multiple rooms of the werewolf house, defeat an angry skeleton, woo an attractive werewolf, and much more to reassemble their beat before the moon is full.

Kneis used his background as a musician to create a legitimately banging soundtrack to underscore the haunted happenings. The game utilizes a unique mechanic that adds layers to the background music as you complete each section. For example, after a skeleton kicks your ass, the sound of his bony limbs punching you fades in as a drum track, or when you destroy Dr. Frankenstein's lab, his monster's dying cries become the growly dubstep bassline.

Werewolf House: Synthincisor has already gotten an initial positive reception online, with The Escapist's editor Anthony John Agnello calling it "hilarious" and "very silly", and Birth.Movies.Death news editor Scott Wampler calling it "very funny". Local newspaper the Los Feliz Ledger even published an article on the game and Kneis' journey from a writer with few technical skills into someone you might be bold enough to call a "game developer".

If you dare, try and survive the game by clicking here:

Play Werewolf House: Synthincisor