The popular Facebook game, Here Be Monsters, has headed over to iPad, and we got to sit down with its developer, Gamesys, to discuss the title.
Michael Heywood, Lead Producer, describes the game as a cross between social titles like Pokemon, FarmVille and Animal Crossing. Except, with monsters.
“It’s about travelling the world and catching all kinds of mythical monsters,” he said.
Beasts include Scotland’s famous Loch Ness Monster alongside Australia’s fierce (and equally ficticious) Dropbear. Monsters were selected for each region based on a folk tales and lore, such as Canada’s Ogopogo.
“It’s funny how a lot of countries end up with stories of similar monsters. There’s a lot of big, scary monsters in lakes,” Heywood said, laughing.
It’s not just about monsters, though there are currently 104 of them in-game.
“Underneath that, [the game is set in the] time around the 15th or 16th Century, when the world was in its original positions. You’re able to travel to different countries to collect particular crops, flowers, fruit and fish,” he said.
Like the aforementioned social games Here Be Monsters draws inspiration from, users can head to their own Homestead and display and grow resources collected across the world. An in-game achievement system also helps boast your wares and accomplishments to other gamers.
While free-to-play, three types of microtransactions exist in Here Be Monsters. They can be used to speed up time, upgrade items and skill trees, or add cosmetic changes to your character or homestead.
According to Heywood , the thing that really differentiates Here Be Monsters from similar games is its community. Guilds already exist between power players, and one such grouping led to a very momentous real world occasion.
“Our first wedding is with the head of a power player’s guild,” Heywood said. “She met her girlfriend in the game, and they’re getting married in Washington in May.”
“We’ve also got a wonderful woman who plays in Adelaide, Susan, who heads to our game’s Facebook page and answers any and all questions users may have,” he continued. “She’s an amazing depth of knowledge and so helpful to everyone, and it’s so great to see.”
An iPhone companion app may be on the cards soon. Gamesys is also considering porting the title to Android to continue to build the game’s user base.
Those playing Here Be Monsters on Facebook can take advantage of cross-platform play between it and iPad. There are currently over 600 quests that can be completed in-game.
Here Be Monsters is available to download for iPad, or via browser in Facebook.
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