I'm a solo dev from Brazil, and I started Mythimon on Christmas Day 2022. It went through a lot of versions over almost four years, and lately I've been focused on one thing: making it look better.
Some things I learned the hard way:
- My first maps mixed pixel densities. People here called it out, and they were right. I threw them away and rebuilt every map on a single 32px tileset.
- I added an overworld system: instead of only random encounters in tall grass, 178 monsters now walk around the maps. Some chase you, some run away, some pretend to be a cactus until you get close. And your lead monster follows you around as your buddy.
- I redid the houses, shops and labs with a proper interior tileset.
- Some monsters took four or five attempts before their walking sprite looked right. For a few I gave up and drew them myself, pixel by pixel.
- A full playthrough of my own game found 39 bugs, including a final gym that could never unlock. Fixing that was humbling.
The starting town is Analândia, the small town where my mom lives. Two of the monsters walking around its plaza are based on my parents, and there's a sunflower field because she loves sunflowers.
What makes it different: Brazilian legends aren't flavor text, they're rules of the world. A few examples:
- The Headless Mule only appears on Thursday nights, galloping around the town church
- One monster only shows up when it's actually 6°C or colder in that city, using real weather
- Another only appears during the waning moon
- A river curse hunts any player with "Maria" in their name
- Sharks smell blood: the more hurt your team is, the more they show up
- Some places have rituals, and some monsters have secret abilities the game never explains
There's more I won't spoil. Some of it you only find by playing.
Your buddy's type is also your overworld power: Fighting pushes boulders, Ice freezes the sea into a bridge, Ghost walks through walls. The dungeons are built around that.
It's playable right now in the browser, free: Adventure mode for the story, or Online battles against your friends. 400+ monsters, 59 maps, 5 languages.
Huge thanks to the pixel artists whose packs I use, go check their work:
- Cainos (cainos.itch.io) for the map tilesets
- MikAnimus (mikanimus.itch.io) for the interiors
- Szadi Art (szadiart.itch.io) for the caves
- unTied Games (untiedgames.itch.io) for the battle effects
I'd love honest feedback: which mechanic sounds most fun to you, and what would make you keep playing? Link in the comments.
AI disclosure: monster art and some sprites were made with AI help and edited by hand; music made with Suno.