My Singing Monsters is a 2012 video game franchise developed by Big Blue Bubble. The first game of the series was published and released with help by Canada Media Fund on September 4, 2012, for Apple iOS. Ports of the game for other operating systems were later released, including versions for Android, Amazon Kindle Fire, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Steam. The game was also released on the PlayStation Vita portable console. Since its release, My Singing Monsters has grown into a multimedia franchise, with a prequel, several spin-off games, books, live events and series, and a board game. On May 12, 2021, Big Blue Bubble announced that the series would be releasing its first console title, My Singing Monsters: Playground, on November 9, 2021.
My Singing Monsters
In My Singing Monsters, players collect and breed many different types of Monsters, each of which has a unique musical line that is either sung or played on an instrument. Breeding two elements of Monsters will create a new Monster species, which depends on what levels the breeding Monsters are. Each island possesses a unique set of available Monsters that together play a certain musical theme. Monsters that are present on an island will generate various types of in-game currency which can, in turn, be used to acquire more monsters, buy decorations, build structures, remove obstacles, and buy food for the Monsters to level up and generate more currency, and at a faster rate. There are also achievements and goals to direct gameplay, with in-game currency as rewards. It is also possible to buy currency such as Coins, Diamonds, Treats, Relics, Keys, or Shards using real money. Certain currencies may be obtained for free by completing third-party offers.
Islands are the various places that monsters inhabit. Some islands follow the method of buying four single elements, and then breeding those into even more monsters (i.e. Plant Island, Cold Island, Air Island). Other islands require teleporting monsters from another island (i.e. Ethereal Island, Magical Sanctum, Seasonal Shanty). There are also two 'fire' islands (i.e. Fire Haven and Fire Oasis). Other islands have the player buy the monsters as "statues" or "vessels", then zap monster eggs from breeding structures on other islands into one of the statues to wake up the statue and hence, unlock its song and its ability to earn currency (i.e. Wublin Island, Celestial Island, Amber Island). Ethereal Workshop involves the player attuning Meebs before being synthesized in the Synthesizer in order to create a triple ethereal. The Colossingum is a combat island where the player can do quests to level up their Colossingum level or battle other players using the versus feature. Players are also able to collect Costumes in The Colossingum. Composer Island is where players can create their own songs with the natural monsters. There are Mirror Islands only for the Natural Islands which functions as a secondary version of the associated island. Mirror Islands have moderately different designs from the Natural Islands, mostly covered in pink wire, similar to that of cobwebs.
The distinction of My Singing Monsters from other simulation games is the "building" process of making music that is primarily driven by the use of the eponymous musical monsters. Players make their own decisions on what determines the "perfect" island by selectively picking monsters that they determine would improve their game overall through a combination of design and in-game currency generation. Some special monsters or decorations are more difficult to unlock, often requiring exclusive currencies, special events (such as holidays and in-game events), "Wishing Torches", or other special methods in order to obtain or activate them.
