In 2004 I started work on a game called MADHOUSE that was originally conceived as a horror-themed versus game where various psychos, monsters, and other horror archetypes would fight to the bloody death in appropriately themed environments like graveyards, abandoned carnivals, and haunted mansions. The aesthetic was heavily inspired by 1980s "cute horror" themes, specifically the chibi horror tropes featured in Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti on the Famicom. However, it was pretty unusual to see blood and gore in games of this era, so that was an important emphasis as well. The game was tested and played among family, roommates, and friends over the years, and I got a ton of feedback when sharing the game online through the Game Maker Forums, where it became somewhat of a hit among that community.

However, it wasn't until Halloween 2010 during an indie game jam known as TIGJam that MADHOUSE really came into its own as a featured multiplayer tournament game where about 20 or so players put their name in brackets, threw cash, CDs, and candy into a prize pool, and lined up to take their turns battling it out against other players. I hosted the impromptu event alongside Derek Yu and Kyle Pulver while live streaming the whole thing and it was an absolute blast. Afterwards, the game enjoyed brief press on TIGSource and I released the "Special Edition" version to the public, which featured all of the unlockable and hidden characters. Time passed, and eventually the links expired, and MADHOUSE went back into quiet obscurity.

Through the years, there have been a few attempts to revive the project, mostly to bring it into an online format that can be enjoyed by anyone from anywhere, but sadly those efforts never came to full realization. Although, that's left me with a ton of new assets, design improvements, and updated documentation to someday bring the game into a bigger, better, and more robust form that I will always be ready to develop when the time is right. Until then, please enjoy the last update of the original game, compiled on October 31st, 2007. Happy Halloween :)