An Update on "Howling Hollow: The Forest of Fear!"

 By: Andrew Bermudez

(Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; November 5, 2023)

    If you remember our special project Howling Hollow: The Forest of Fear that debuted on February 1 of this year, you might be wondering what's going on there. Well, today, we have the answer!

Howling Hollow: The Forest of Fear is Having a Multi-Part Story Reveal for Two Weeks!

    Over the last several months, the project has seen sporadic updates to the back-story of the land, as well as the layout and the characters, the latter of which were just revealed to celebrate Halloween. Now, starting today, the project blog is going to have daily updates for the next two weeks that will walk you through the main story of the land by way of the interactive game HowlSpace: The Howling Hollow Messaging App, which includes in-depth looks at each location as they become relevant in the said game. This includes any important background info, who operates each location, how they're related to each other in the town, and more. More importantly, though, with the context of the app game, the deep dives also tell how each location is important to the story being told and how players and casual tourists alike can interact with the story being told. The first part can be found HERE, with each new part debuting every day! But if you need some visual aid to help you along, there is a solution.

All Completed Artwork is Also Being Released!

    Some of the planned artwork is already complete, and just like the already-revealed artwork, these will also feature fourth wall-breaking captions where artist Andrew Bermudez talks about the thought process that went into each piece. In relation to the story, the completed art will be paired up with their locations and arranged in order to make them as relevant as possible to what's happening. Whether it be visualizing the interior of Fortune Foretold Frosted Flavors, a gag for the queue for Torgo's Terror Tours, or just representing the costumes for the LyacnCoaster, these illustrations will add some added life and depth to the story. But that's not all!

This Special Project Continues into 2024: What to Expect

    As 2024 and Twenty Years Young approaches, the celebration will expand to include this special project, and while the whole story will be available by the end of the year, we will be committed to adding even more artwork to this special project by retroactively inserting it into the posts as they're finished! While the variety of this upcoming artwork is unprecedented, it will feature the likes of designs for fixed carts like Pig Shower Pies, facade designs for places like Vampire's Vengeance, or costume designs for more locations, like Plate 'O Mean Vittles. It's going to be a lot, but this special project is expected to be completed by Halloween 2024, with just one proposed addition notwithstanding.

A Scale Model of the Land?

    It's an idea that's been floated around in the past month, but while the technical layout gives a good look at how everything fits together on a 2-D plane, it doesn't really answer some of the questions that might be raised about the height of the land. What's the topography like? How many stories tall are the buildings going to be? How do the structures fit together visually? While concept art can help answer some of these questions, the idea in mind is to create an entire HO scale model of the land. It won't be cheap to build, but it will help figure out some of the spatial questions some of you might have. An update on this idea will be posted once a final decision has been reached.

Lead Out

    Now, get ready for one wild ride as you travel through Howling Hollow 12 years after Forest of Fear and discover all of the secrets that this town has to offer (and a few more that might just be surprising for everyone)!