THANK YOU FOR PLAYING BLOOD MALL!

BLOOD MALL has reached 15,000 downloads, which is absolutely bonkers. I made the game in 5 days for a game jam (+ 2 weeks polishing) so I would have never expected it to reach MARKIPLIER?!?!?

Anyway, I considered putting the Hastovenator in a top hat or something to commemorate this milestone, but I figured something like a Q&A would be more substantial... so without further ado, here are some of the popular questions I've seen, answered below!

Are you making a sequel?

Yes. I have plans for more BLOOD MALL, with the story continuing directly where we left off in BLOOD MALL: PART 2. It will take the story in a bigger direction, amping up the 80s fun, bringing more action, more characters, more tension, more Captain Reid, and of course... more dino horror. I can't promise any dates, but stay tuned.

What are your main inspirations for this game?

The game's style is inspired by Puppet Combo games, namely Stay out of the House and Murder House - The old grindhouse VHS style, the music and sound effects, and some of the methods you interact with the environment. Also, there is a creepy mall at the beginning of Murder House, which I used as some visual inspiration for the mall's interior!

The whole "dinosaur appears in modern day" element was directly inspired by the British TV series Primeval - that episode with the Mosasaur in the swimming pool gave me lifelong fear, but hey it led to this!

I also happened to watch Braindead during early development of this game, so all the blood, gore and silliness the film had to offer found some of its way into the game (WATCH BRAINDEAD!). I also love Stranger Things and recently saw the live show The First Shadow, which inspired some of the 80s feeling, and will continue to inspire the future of BLOOD MALL.

Why is it called the Hastovenator?

Simple! It translates to "Spear Hunter" in Latin. Hasto (spear) Venator (hunter).

If you could remake the game, what would you improve?

For sure the bait n' hide sequences. Even though it only happens twice, they are tedious, repetitive, and fairly punishing. Since I made the sequences within a couple days in order the make the jam deadline, I had to keep it very scripted and on-rails. If I remade it, I would give the dinosaur more intelligent AI and change the bait sequence to a more nuanced setup where the Hastovenator is already there and you have to sneak up on it to get a good shot.

I also had planned to add a scripted sequence at the pavilion where you witness the Hastovenator spearing someone, but it didn't make sense for the tight pacing, since you have to bait it back to the pavilion again.

As the developer, what is your favourite part of BLOOD MALL?

Honestly? I love the vents, and cutting through the stores and back sections of the mall. I think it added a lot to feel like a "Die Hard" hero carving their own way through the mall. I think it was quite a linear experience which people are craving, rather than more open-ended games where you can get lost easily.

The chase sequence cements the game as tense and fun, so I'm really happy with that too, but the journey to that point allows you to get an idea of what the mall was like.

Where can I find the music from the game?

You can find all the individual tracks, or the entire album on my YouTube channel!

Can you let us turn off the CRT / VHS effect?

In Part 2, I will include an option for reduced CRT effects, but I am decidedly not adding an option to turn it off entirely - it's a stylistic choice which heavily contributes to the game's tone, and I'd rather sacrifice accessibility in order to maintain that style.

The reduced CRT mode will aim to provide a less distracting version, whilst keeping the style intact.

Any other questions? Please, comment them below and I'll answer them!

Thank you so much once again for enjoying and downloading BLOOD MALL, and I hope to see you soon in BLOOD MALL: PART 2.