As the self-named leader of "the posse known as Bravemule", Kevin Snow has crafted folklore-inspired narrative adventures in the past, however none quite as ambitious as Southern Monsters. We reported on its existence last year, however it's now launched a Kickstarter campaign—which, at the time of writing, is 75 percent towards its $8,000 goal with 25 days left on the clock—and has a smattering of new information and screens.
Spanning five days in 2005, Snow bills Southern Monsters as something "deeply personal", based on his experience with communities online, domestic abuse and "being disabled in the weird, weird South" in his younger years. He cites horror flicks such as Videodrome, Suspiria, and Eraserhead as heavy narrative influences, whereby you assume the role of Cripplefoot—a young teen traumatised by a forest-dwelling monster that may or may not exist.
Here's the skinny as per the game's Kickstarter page:
"In South Arkansas there's talk of a monster. Where he roams, the locust thorns build barbed walls around the riverbank, not far from your house. Your real home isn't made of stock millwork, but telephone lines: an online forum for undiscovered creatures where everyone knows you as cripplefoot. You debate the existence of the strange as your friends leave for distant universities. Outside your childhood bedroom, the cypress trees stretch for miles.
"In South Arkansas there's talk of a monster. They say he always follows the creeks."
Originally expected at the end of last year, Southern Monsters' Kickstarter backer rewards are now scheduled to be fulfilled by October 2017. Under the heading 'Risks and challenges' Snow says: "Southern Monsters will come out unless I'm dead."
Fancy slinging it some money towards its goal? Then head in this direction.
