Halloween Run™ is an independent game I worked on with other students while at UMass. It is a 3D arcade game, set in a suburban neighborhood that sits comically on all six sides of a cube. The player controls a single character – a female, preteen trick-or-treater in a cowgirl costume. The game’s camera shows the neighborhood and the cowgirl from above, providing a wide, intuitive perspective and easy controls.

The cowgirl runs through the streets of the neighborhood, trying to collect as much candy as she can before time runs out. Costumed bullies chase her and try to steal any candy she’s collected so far. Fortunately, she can obtain assorted powerups, letting her block or scare the bullies. If she collects enough candy before time expires or being scared too often by bullies, she proceeds to the next level.

We used the Torque Game Engine, which we chose for its price, community, track record, and cross-platform capabilities. Here are two screenshots; top-left is a screenshot from within the game, and bottom-right is a concept level created in UnrealEd (ignore the gun). Also, here is a sample MP3 of background music (1.7MB). Ryan Sobol (design, programming), Joe Flamand (art), and Dave Hannaford (music) have contributed.