Death to Cupid

A screenshot of a game. There are cupids firing at each other with bows and arrows, flaming hearts, and text that says "Damn Joan" "Death to Cupid" "The Anti-Valentine's Day Game" and "Press Space to Continue."  There is also a target moving around. At times two squares appear. One says "Bow of Justice" and shows a bow, and the other says "The Claw of Bloody Vengeance"

Death to Cupid was a browser-based game I produced for Damn Joan’s “The Hunt” issue.

The objective was to show clients that seasonal content could have attitude. It’s possible to put branded “cupids” and other items in the game, and the entire game can be reskinned for other narratives. It doesn’t even need to be death—you could be giving characters flowers, making them burst into song, etc.

The cupids all had names and backstories—the one with the eggplant is named “Vegetable Chubby,” which still makes me laugh. There are two modes, based on which weapon you choose. We made the entire game for less than $100,000 in about five weeks. I wish it had gotten some marketing or pr from the company that owned us.