Halloween Hide & Seek

Game Category: New Game

play ← Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Trogday Micro Game →

"I love peepin in treeholes!"

"hide and seek" redirects here. For the Strong Bad Email, see hiding.

Homestar Runner has to point and click his way around Free Country, USA to find the other characters so he can incorrectly guess their costumes. The original version can be played for free on the itch.io page, and the 2022 update with full voice acting can be downloaded for $2 on itch.io or Steam.

Cast (in order of appearance): The Poopsmith, Homsar, Strong Bad, The Cheat, Pom Pom, Strong Sad, Homestar Runner, Marzipan, Coach Z, Bubs, Strong Mad, The King of Town, Jibblies Painting, The Goblin (Easter egg)

See Halloween Hide & Seek Costumes for more information on what everyone was wearing.

Places: Spooky Woods, Inside "Spooky, Leafy Tree", The Field, Marzipan's House, Bubs' Concession Stand, The King of Town's Castle

Date: Friday, October 29, 2021 (original); Sunday, October 30, 2022 (v2.0 update); Wednesday, November 9, 2022 (v2.1 update); Sunday, August 6, 2023 (Steam release); Saturday, March 23, 2024 (Linux-compatible release)

Announcement

Page Title: Halloween Point n' Click-a-ma-jig!

< back this year's halloween thing! This year's costume teaser is the title screen! Everybody dressed up as characters from classic adventure games so it was natural that, instead of a toon, this year's Ween update would be a playable game in the style of those old point n' clicks! Help Homestar find the other characters so he can get their costumes wrong like always! GO PLAY IT LIKE RIGHT NOW! Made in Unity with the great Adventure Creator plugin, the game is currently hosted on itch.io with the hope of getting it up and running here on the website proper soon

After the version 2.0 update, the announcement was updated:

< back halloween hide n' seek out for windows and mac! The title screen is the silhouette teaser! Videlectrix updated Halloween Hide n' Seek, last year's point-n-click mini game, with FULL VOICE ACTING, some new animations, and an additional puzzle in a new downloadable version for Mac and Windows for just $2. Or still play the old version in your browser for free. CHECK IT OUT HERE at Videlectrix's itch.io page!

itch.io Description

It's Halloween and everybody dressed up like characters from classic adventure games. Help Homestar Runner find his dumb animal character pals to reveal their costumes and totally misinterpret them like usual!

Play the original version for free here in your browser or get the FULLY VOICED version for 2 bucks! Available for MAC and WIN.

Until the v2.0 update, the bottom paragraph read:

*Not optimized for mobile devices. There are known sound issues with playing in Safari.

At some point after the v2.0 update, an asterisk was added after the word "MAC" and another paragraph was added:

*NOTE - the MAC version of the game is currently not certified by Apple and will give you a warning message when you try to run it. Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy and select "Open Anyway" to launch the game.

Steam Description

In this short, retro-style point n' click game, it's Halloween night and all of Homestar Runner's pals have hidden from him so he can't see their costumes. Explore 9 different locations - collecting items, solving puzzles, and talking to characters - as you help Homestar find all 11 of his dumb animal character friends so he can totally misinterpret their costumes like he always does!

It's like playing a Homestar Runner Halloween cartoon! That's a good thing, right?!

Featuring 100's of lines of FULLY VOICED dialog from your fave/not-fave characters from Homestar Runner dot com!

An optional Secret Quest to complete which unlocks a hidden easter egg.

All the humor, portmanteaus, and self-indulgent, self-referential jokes you'd expect from Homestar Runner content.

itch.io Development Log

v1.1 update

Date: November 3, 2021

Videlectrix here. Some small updates and improvements in this latest build of the game.

• Pause menu won't make your inventory disappear no more
• Footstep sound effects for Homestar
• Running! They told us this guy's a runner so we put that in the game. Double click to make Homestar Run!
• Added a new secret objective path.
• Added some other secrets too.
• Graphics improved from "partly good" to "mostly good."

• The "secret objective path" refers to the Path of the Rocoulm.
• A secret tunnel between the castle exterior and Marzipan's house was added.
• "Never mind" options were added to most of the dialogue trees, allowing you to stop talking without "finding" the character.
• The opening Videlectrix logo was made smaller.
• Some glitches were fixed.

Full Voice Version 2.0

Date: October 30, 2022

• Fully voiced version 2.0 available for WIN and MAC for just 2 bucks!
  • Full voice acting added for all characters
  • A new puzzle where there was no puzzle before!
  • Some little graphical/animational improvements
  • A couple bug fixes from the previous version

• A new thumbnail image was added to the game.

v2.1 Update - Bug Fixins n' Music Mixins

Date: November 15, 2022

• Fixed some bugs
  • Gremlin Latte/Trunk Release issues corrected (sometimes they'd appear incorrectly)
  • Found missing Coach Z line when you try and give him the Latte
  • Fixed issue with the cursed earth and the trampo where it made you walk around it for no reason

• Added new background music so you go a little less crazy!
  • Marzipan's House has new bg music
  • Inside Spooky, Leafy Tree has new bg music
  • The Castle and Throne Room have new bg music

• Hopefully didn't create any new bugs (let us know if we done-dang-did)

Fun Facts

Explanations

• The Maillard effect that Marzipan mentions is responsible for causing food to brown when heated.
• A found object is a work of art made from everyday items not typically used in art.

Trivia

The thumbnail image for the game

• The shortened itch.io description (seen on Videlectrix's page) reads "A short Halloween point n' click starring the dumb animal characters of HomestarRunner.com".
• The shortened Steam description reads "A short Halloween-themed point n' click game featuring the dumb animal characters of Homestar Runner dot com."
• The "More information" box on itch.io lists the status as "Released" ("Prototype" until November 2022), the platforms as "HTML5" (with "Windows" and "macOS" being added for the v2.0 update), the author as "Videlectrix", the genre as "Adventure", and the tags "Halloween", "homestar-runner", and "strong-bad", with additional tags "homestarrunnercom-game", "Point & Click", and "Retro" being added in November 2022.
• As the announcement page and title screen says, the game was made with the Unity game engine's Adventure Creator plugin.
• The pause menu contains "Resume", "Options", and "Quit". In the options menu, music volume and SFX volume can be adjusted.
• Double clicking on an area exit will instantly warp Homestar to the next area.
• This is the first major Halloween update to be entirely rendered in a different art style, and to initially not have voice acting.
• This is the second year in a row that the Halloween teaser was released as part of the main update.
• With the release of version 2.0, this is the first Homestar Runner game to cost money since Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 5: 8-Bit is Enough on December 15, 2008.

Remarks

• The Poopsmith can be asked about Homsar, even if he has already been found, with no reaction from The Poopsmith. However, Strong Bad does note if The Cheat was already found.
• The Poopsmith has no "Never mind" option in his dialogue tree.
• The code given in Bubs' Concession Stand about Bubs's whereabouts cannot be read before losing the Jibblies Painting, but completion of the Path of the Rocoulm requires showing the Jibblies Painting to Bubs once he is located.

Goofs

• When showing Pom Pom the painting, "unfazed" is misspelled "unphased".
• When the cursor is moved over the inside of Bubs' Concession Stand, "Conces5ion" is misspelled "Concses5ion".

Glitches

• Choosing "Never mind" when talking to Coach Z does not exit his dialogue tree.
• If Strong Mad is shown the Jibblies Painting before the Path of the Rocoulm is found, the text will appear introducing the path, despite it being inaccessible after that point.
• When using certain items on certain other items (such as any item other than the Car Key on the locked Gremlin), rather than the default text appearing, no text will appear.
• If the Whatsit Pile is dug up, the Jibblies Painting is not claimed, and you leave the screen, the Jibblies Painting will be invisible (but can still be interacted with.)

Fixed Glitches

• Prior to the v1.1 update:
  • In the options menu, one could adjust speech volume, music volume, and SFX volume, set the language, and toggle subtitles. Changing the speech volume or subtitles did nothing, and the language could only be set to "Original". The redundant options were later removed, leaving only music and SFX volume.
  • Pausing the game using the "Pause" button would cause the inventory to disappear until the player re-entered the spooky woods.
  • Taking the ladder off the side of the concession stand and putting it right back up would make it invisible.
• In the v2.0 update when giving Coach Z the latte, his second line is not voiced.

Inside References

• The main gameplay music is a remix of the theme from 3 Times Halloween Funjob.
  • In another reference to this cartoon, Homestar knocks on Marzipan's front door by banging his head against it.
• The tree music is based on "The Ghost of John" from ghosts.
• The castle music is based on the theme from The King of Town DVD.
• Homestar mentions his tendency to make confident absurd guesses of the other characters' costumes.
• Homestar refers to the rest of the main characters as "everybody everybody".
• Actions are referred to as "Syd Getman", "Syd Useman", and "Syd Bounceman", a reference to Homestar Runner's "Sid" game from the Strong Bad Email date.
• Homestar mentions witch's brew to Strong Sad and Strong Mad.
• Homestar says "I found you totally found you" to Strong Sad, a line previously said in hiding.
• When attempting to use the ladder on the treehole, Homestar laments that there's "not even a wretched old crow to pluck out bits o' my brain", which was seen in Main Page 7.
• Homestar says he needs to use the ladder with his own dang self.
• The Strong Mad Oyster Smoothie Breath Caked Armpit Latte comes from The House That Gave Sucky Tricks.
• Coach Z was previously shown to be a resident of the Gremlin in sbemail206.
• Coach Z struggled to think of a real word in Sbemail 169 Deleted Scene.
• When he finds the King of Town bouncing on a trampoline, Homestar asks if he's trying to "twees it out", a reference to lady fan.
• If Homestar tries to examine the note on the back door of Bubs' Concession Stand from the front, he'll say he can't make it out, and lament that Original Bubs would be able to see it from over here, harking back to comments in original about Original Bubs's eyesight.
• The theme from Jibblies 2 plays when the Jibblies Painting is used.
  • When showing this painting to the King of Town, he says he's not falling for that again, and that the giblets were a lie, another reference to this toon.
• Pom Pom's reaction to the Jibblies Painting containing "Double bubble" is a reference to Strong Bad's imitation of him in A Jumping Jack Contest.
• Homestar remarks that the fact that the exhaust pipe sneezed earlier is "intregway", referring to both Strong Bad's pronunciation of "intrigued" in concert, and to Senor Cardgage's contraption in the same email.
• The Cheat was previously compared to a cheese and an anvil in huttah!.
• Homestar has some choice remarks about The Poopsmith's pile.
• When examining the Poopsmith's giant pile of whatsit, Homestar will briefly turn to the side and pretend to barf, which he previously did in A Decemberween Mackerel.
• Both Homestar and Marzipan have creative uses for the word "style".
• "Rock, Paper, Orange Flipper" is a reference to Bubs's lack of visible fingers.
• Homestar tells Bubs a tale about Taco-Man, continuing a joke from Halloween Potion-ma-jig.
• The secret tunnel in the King of Town's castle is referred to as "Secret Thyme".
• Homestar describes the King of Town's Antwerp costume as "no-armed space Grimace", a reference to Strong Bad mentioning "four-armed Grimace" in best thing.
• As in The Homestar Runner Enters The Spooky Woods, Marzipan dresses up as what Strong Sad told her to, and Strong Mad attempts and fails to make a correct reference to his own costume.
• Homestar's line "Busted his head, man. Busted his head." is from The Baloneyman, when he was indulging in "summer talk" with Strong Bad about kids getting hurt on bikes.
• Homestar mistakenly thinks Coach Z is dressing up as Queen Latifah "again", referring to his costume in Happy Hallow-Day.
• Upon clicking the moon, Homestar will launch into an unrelated song about dinosaur pie.

Real-World References

• Homestar calls the spooky, leafy tree "Mother Brain", a reference to the final boss of certain games in the Metroid series.
• Homestar refers to "King's Quest" physics when inside the tree, a reference to the giant tree in the first King's Quest game.
• Homestar says, "Ow." when picking up the ladder, likely a reference to Roger Wilco picking up a ladder in Space Quest 3. "You grab the ladder and jam it into your pocket. Ouch!"
• Homestar saying "That ain't it, kid" (in regards to the Whatsit Dipped Punkin) is a direct quote from the song "Dance Ten, Looks Three" from A Chorus Line.
• Strong Bad's lines when asked about The Cheat's whereabouts are from the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade scene where Indy covers for Marcus Brody, who has the pages that lead to the Grail.
• Homestar suggests that he's "selling these fine leather jackets", a LucasArts joke previously referenced in Halloween Potion-ma-jig.
• Strong Bad tells Homestar he'll need a crane to get him to budge (repeating it for emphasis), a reference to the chorus of "They'll Need a Crane" by They Might Be Giants from their album Lincoln.
• "The great stand-around-in-the-Spooky-Woods-and-comment-on-each-other's-costumes in the sky" might be a reference to the song "The Great Gig in the Sky" by Pink Floyd.
• Presenting the Jibblies Painting to the King of Town will have him complain "The giblets were a lie!" in reference to the Portal meme "The cake is a lie!"
• Homestar refers to Strong Bad's costume as "Grandmaw Strong Bane", a reference to the Batman villain Bane who is typically depicted with a mask covering his mouth similar to Strong Bad's costume.
• Botanicula is another game from Amanita Design, creators of Samorost.
• Strong Mad's guesses of the source of his costume are Full Throttle, another Tim Schafer-helmed LucasArts game; Interstate '76, a car combat game that is the spiritual predecessor of Vigilante 8; Deathtrack, a futuristic racing game where the player can instead choose to destroy the opponents with weapons; and Paul Page, an Indianapolis 500 commentator.
  • "I'm Paul Page" is the opening sentence of both IndyCar Racing games.
• To keep with his tradition of going as "rappers" for Halloween, Coach Z says Malcolm's Revenge had "a slammin hip hop theme song".
• Strong Sad's reaction when everyone tells him they fell asleep is a reference to the opening of "Dark Seed II" where Mike reacts in the same manner.
• The Goblin's costume is mistaken for Toadwart from Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, a character from Men Without Hats' "The Safety Dance" music video, and a character from Golden Axe.
• Examining the inside of Bubs' will prompt Homestar to say that Bubs has "been out of Big League Chew for years!"
• The line "A new puzzle where there was no puzzle before!" is a possible reference to The Simpsons, specifically the episode Bart's Friend Falls in Love, in which Fuzzy Bunny's Guide to You-Know-What includes the line "fur where there was no fur before".

See Also

• Halloween Hide & Seek Walkthrough
• Halloween Hide & Seek Responses
• Halloween Hide & Seek v2.0 Trailer

External Links

• play "Halloween Hide & Seek" on itch.io
• buy "Halloween Hide & Seek" on Steam
• read announcement

• forum thread re: "Halloween Hide & Seek"

• watch the v2.0 trailer on YouTube
• watch the v2.0 trailer on Twitter