Monster Design Interview:
Frankiesmileshow on LOOK OUTSIDE
Written by Jonathan Wojcik
Released in late 2024, I barely know where to begin about Look Outside, so I'll quote the introduction given by its fan wiki: "Look Outside is a survival horror RPG set in a single apartment building. A mysterious event turns anyone who looks out the window into grotesque monsters, leaving the world in absolute chaos. Scavenge the building to seek food, supplies, and weapons while encountering strange characters—human, those who once were, and otherwise."
Originally made for a short game jam, creator Francis Coulombe is slightly better known, or perhaps will eventually be better known, for having spent over a decade working on a much, much larger game, Malison, for which he has at the time of this writing designed more than 1,500 monsters. That wasn't a typo; that was One Thousand And Five Hundred monsters, and only so far!
I actually first ran into Francis as a visitor to this very website, something like fifteen to twenty years ago, and it's almost eerie how much overlap there is between our respective tastes in creatures, characters and storytelling, all while having our own very distinct and different creature design "careers" developing in parallel. I can't count how often I'm still asked if I've seen Look Outside, sometimes if I've worked on Look Outside, and anyone who knows me will understand why when they see... virtually anything from the game, really.
Many reviews have been written for the game itself, but as is sadly so often the case, few websites are as interested as we are in the details of the monsters, their concepts and their aesthetics, so like I previously did with BRUTAL ORCHESTRA, I decided to go straight to the source!
There are far, far too many individual monsters in this game to go over all of them, and this may contain a few spoilers, but if you know nothing at all about this game, I feel like the rest of this interview just might hook you.
JW:
So, to start off, what are some of your own favorite monsters from Look Outside, and what can you tell us about them?
So, to start off, what are some of your own favorite monsters from Look Outside, and what can you tell us about them?
FRANKIE:
My personal favorite monster designs - I would say the Grinning Beast, Baby Teeth, the Rat King, the Earwig man, the Cop car, Hellride and Asters' failure. I think in retrospect those turned out the best.
The grinning beast was one of the very first creatures I made for the game, that chase scene was made in the first two days of the game jam. Wanted a big shock for whoever decides they are curious and stays put when the chase begins, and then deliver a series of fun surprises for those with courage - First, I wanted the monster to be a few notches more grotesque than expected. Not something just large and menacing but understated, but a horrible gibbering monstrosity covered in eyes and teeth, a huge sudden step-up from anything seen so far. Second, I wanted it to actually begin a fight for people who decide to stand their ground and let it reach them - they probably expect it to just give them a game over screen, this is usually how sudden chase scenes work in a game like this - jump scare and then game over. Not here! A battle begins! Third, I wanted to make that fight one you can win - they would expect it to be an unwinnable fight, just an extended Game Over sequence. And finally, fourth, I wanted to reward the player in a way they really dont expect if they do win - they get to talk to the monster, and she even joins the party! It feels like a very strong series of surprises to reward the players' curiosity. Having a huge monster like this join you as a friend does harm the tension of the game, but I felt that the player makes the first steps here in fighting and slaying the monster anyway, so there isnt that much harm done, the surprise is worth it.
My personal favorite monster designs - I would say the Grinning Beast, Baby Teeth, the Rat King, the Earwig man, the Cop car, Hellride and Asters' failure. I think in retrospect those turned out the best.
The grinning beast was one of the very first creatures I made for the game, that chase scene was made in the first two days of the game jam. Wanted a big shock for whoever decides they are curious and stays put when the chase begins, and then deliver a series of fun surprises for those with courage - First, I wanted the monster to be a few notches more grotesque than expected. Not something just large and menacing but understated, but a horrible gibbering monstrosity covered in eyes and teeth, a huge sudden step-up from anything seen so far. Second, I wanted it to actually begin a fight for people who decide to stand their ground and let it reach them - they probably expect it to just give them a game over screen, this is usually how sudden chase scenes work in a game like this - jump scare and then game over. Not here! A battle begins! Third, I wanted to make that fight one you can win - they would expect it to be an unwinnable fight, just an extended Game Over sequence. And finally, fourth, I wanted to reward the player in a way they really dont expect if they do win - they get to talk to the monster, and she even joins the party! It feels like a very strong series of surprises to reward the players' curiosity. Having a huge monster like this join you as a friend does harm the tension of the game, but I felt that the player makes the first steps here in fighting and slaying the monster anyway, so there isnt that much harm done, the surprise is worth it.
JW:
I totally fell for it and assumed I couldn't beat the Grinner, so I missed my own chance to make friends, but I did learn about it later! The number of different possible characters vs. the limited number of in-game days is one of my favorite aspects, I think, because every playthrough can be so wildly different as a result. There's so much you can do, but also so much you might miss or not have time to do in one run. Playing it totally blind the first time I was absolutely delighted to see that there were friendly monsters and so much lighter whimsy alongside the horror.
I totally fell for it and assumed I couldn't beat the Grinner, so I missed my own chance to make friends, but I did learn about it later! The number of different possible characters vs. the limited number of in-game days is one of my favorite aspects, I think, because every playthrough can be so wildly different as a result. There's so much you can do, but also so much you might miss or not have time to do in one run. Playing it totally blind the first time I was absolutely delighted to see that there were friendly monsters and so much lighter whimsy alongside the horror.
FRANKIE:
Baby teeth is just a very gnarly monster, the teeth covering her hide a bit like scales, I think I was thinking of sharks' scales being like their teeth here. Part of the idea was wanting her design to have a bit of a "reveal" about her eyes - before she gets angry, those mouths in her eye sockets are meant to still look like eyes, the gap between the teeth looking like an iris - until she roars, revealing it was all more teeth. This is actually the second time I try this idea on a monster - there is a much more extreme version of this coming in Malison! I felt like she needed to feel a bit different from the other teeth monsters in that home - the others caught like a "rash" from her, while shes the actual primary monster. It felt like she needed to stand out from them, look more like her entire biology has become different instead of just being a human that was infected by a Tooth-Growing Disease warping the original form.
Also - Baby Teeth's sprite was detailed in part by LandsharkRawr! Heres some in-progress sprites for the design - my initial sketches (how she appears in the original Jam game) - Notice there arent really "denticles" yet, just a few vague gray dots vaguely hinting at a texture.
Landsharks' polish work, and then my second pass where I added the denticles (the current sprite in the game now)
Baby teeth is just a very gnarly monster, the teeth covering her hide a bit like scales, I think I was thinking of sharks' scales being like their teeth here. Part of the idea was wanting her design to have a bit of a "reveal" about her eyes - before she gets angry, those mouths in her eye sockets are meant to still look like eyes, the gap between the teeth looking like an iris - until she roars, revealing it was all more teeth. This is actually the second time I try this idea on a monster - there is a much more extreme version of this coming in Malison! I felt like she needed to feel a bit different from the other teeth monsters in that home - the others caught like a "rash" from her, while shes the actual primary monster. It felt like she needed to stand out from them, look more like her entire biology has become different instead of just being a human that was infected by a Tooth-Growing Disease warping the original form.
Also - Baby Teeth's sprite was detailed in part by LandsharkRawr! Heres some in-progress sprites for the design - my initial sketches (how she appears in the original Jam game) - Notice there arent really "denticles" yet, just a few vague gray dots vaguely hinting at a texture.
Landsharks' polish work, and then my second pass where I added the denticles (the current sprite in the game now)
JW:
Baby Teeth really is amazingly scary head to toe, especially still having an infant mind and behavior. The symmetry of its design, I think, goes a long way in giving it that distinction you mention, that this is a human transformed by the Phenomenon into something so abnormal, its teeth are an infectious rash. Though it comes early, I think this is still my favorite part of the game so far, one of several that could have stood out as an entire shorter game in itself.
Baby Teeth really is amazingly scary head to toe, especially still having an infant mind and behavior. The symmetry of its design, I think, goes a long way in giving it that distinction you mention, that this is a human transformed by the Phenomenon into something so abnormal, its teeth are an infectious rash. Though it comes early, I think this is still my favorite part of the game so far, one of several that could have stood out as an entire shorter game in itself.
FRANKIE:
The rat king was I think the second big monster I drew for the game, maybe the third? I think I drew this one towards the end of the game jam, or shortly after it ended. I wanted a very imposing monster the player wants to flee from as soon as they see it, something big enough that its obvious you are not meant to fight that the first time. Unless you stayed and fought the grinning beast on floor 2, this would be the first time you encounter and fight something this big. Design-wise, obviously this is an attempt at a "Rat King But Different" monster, wanted it to feel more like a cerberus or hydra type of thing than just a clump of panicking rats.
I really like when a monsters' exact shape is obscured, and when the little you do see doesn't make much sense, and forces you to imagine what the hell is going on in there. The jaws and limbs and eyes poking out of the long hair does a good job at this here I think. I remember drawing this one pretty much in one go, was feeling inspired.
The earwig man was a very late entry in the games' roster, added in the last month before launch, when we were working on the pacing of the game, adding in some new side-areas in places where things felt they were moving a bit too fast. This resulted in a few slightly shallow additions that could use a little extra work, but some fun monsters made it in too. This means there isnt too much of a story behind this guy, I was just drawing a weird monster for its own sake, but im very happy with how absurd it is! Just earwigs, everythings an earwig. Got earwigs for hair. Bro got hit by the earwig stick and now his life is Complicated.
The rat king was I think the second big monster I drew for the game, maybe the third? I think I drew this one towards the end of the game jam, or shortly after it ended. I wanted a very imposing monster the player wants to flee from as soon as they see it, something big enough that its obvious you are not meant to fight that the first time. Unless you stayed and fought the grinning beast on floor 2, this would be the first time you encounter and fight something this big. Design-wise, obviously this is an attempt at a "Rat King But Different" monster, wanted it to feel more like a cerberus or hydra type of thing than just a clump of panicking rats.
I really like when a monsters' exact shape is obscured, and when the little you do see doesn't make much sense, and forces you to imagine what the hell is going on in there. The jaws and limbs and eyes poking out of the long hair does a good job at this here I think. I remember drawing this one pretty much in one go, was feeling inspired.
The earwig man was a very late entry in the games' roster, added in the last month before launch, when we were working on the pacing of the game, adding in some new side-areas in places where things felt they were moving a bit too fast. This resulted in a few slightly shallow additions that could use a little extra work, but some fun monsters made it in too. This means there isnt too much of a story behind this guy, I was just drawing a weird monster for its own sake, but im very happy with how absurd it is! Just earwigs, everythings an earwig. Got earwigs for hair. Bro got hit by the earwig stick and now his life is Complicated.
JW:
I think you were in my twitch stream when I finally realized the Earwigs were just one humanoid guy, and I think I commented on what a Tokusatsu sort of design it is, exactly the over the top stuff you see in things like Kamen Rider, which of course you also reference in the same area!
I think you were in my twitch stream when I finally realized the Earwigs were just one humanoid guy, and I think I commented on what a Tokusatsu sort of design it is, exactly the over the top stuff you see in things like Kamen Rider, which of course you also reference in the same area!
FRANKIE:
For the Cop Car - I wanted the game to have this steady ramp-up in grotesque with the monster designs. The early game has people mutating into monsters in a zombie game kind of way - but by the end of the game, people are somehow fusing into machinery too, army guys turning into guns. This feels more and more fantastical, less like a plague and more like reality itself unraveling, like a slow shift in genre from horror to fantasy. Part of this was to make you quietly re-assess how absurd the outside must be, if this is how absurd things are inside the building. At the start of the game, you imagine the outside as just, zombie movie-style chaos. But as it goes on, I wanted the player to struggle to imagine the outside more and more - up until you actually do get to see it - and hopefully by then, it somehow still manages to live up to that hype.
For the cop car's own design, I wanted a cop who merged with his own car and turned into something a bit like a greek sea monster. Like Scylla or Typhon or something. I was imagining a horde of K-9 growths out of the cars front that pull the monster forward like a hellish cop-chariot. This design went through a few different phases, but really got elevated when Conzeit, a really talented pixel artist, joined to help. He went in there and made this into one of the best sprites in the whole game, in my opinion. He made the dogs look crazed, monstrous and rabid, played with colors in a really effective way, made the grotesque design feel unified and natural somehow. Really amazing work from him. the initial sketch for the cop car:
For the Cop Car - I wanted the game to have this steady ramp-up in grotesque with the monster designs. The early game has people mutating into monsters in a zombie game kind of way - but by the end of the game, people are somehow fusing into machinery too, army guys turning into guns. This feels more and more fantastical, less like a plague and more like reality itself unraveling, like a slow shift in genre from horror to fantasy. Part of this was to make you quietly re-assess how absurd the outside must be, if this is how absurd things are inside the building. At the start of the game, you imagine the outside as just, zombie movie-style chaos. But as it goes on, I wanted the player to struggle to imagine the outside more and more - up until you actually do get to see it - and hopefully by then, it somehow still manages to live up to that hype.
For the cop car's own design, I wanted a cop who merged with his own car and turned into something a bit like a greek sea monster. Like Scylla or Typhon or something. I was imagining a horde of K-9 growths out of the cars front that pull the monster forward like a hellish cop-chariot. This design went through a few different phases, but really got elevated when Conzeit, a really talented pixel artist, joined to help. He went in there and made this into one of the best sprites in the whole game, in my opinion. He made the dogs look crazed, monstrous and rabid, played with colors in a really effective way, made the grotesque design feel unified and natural somehow. Really amazing work from him. the initial sketch for the cop car:
Later redesign, was at one point meant to have this multi-phase design where it starts out as a normal car, and parts of it burst out over the course of the fight:
Conzeit's amazing detail work/redesign, and then my final touches - made it look more like the dogs and cop are one with the car a bit:
Hellride is probably the weirdest fight in the game. I wanted a battle that ups the ante yet again on the absurdity of this apocalypse, one that gets really strange and surreal, almost metaphysical. Also, battle design-wise, I wanted a fight that has a big twist in the middle of it, where you end up "trapped" during the fight somehow, so I made this Car That Takes You To Hell. Cartoony and bordering on stupid, but with implications that raise way more questions. I wanted there to be these trapped souls inside, trying to claw their way out of the creature. I wanted the legs to be like trios of legs arranged in wheel coming out of each axle, but they come off more like just a bunch of legs, so that part of the design didnt quite work.
For the other assets of the fight, Dumpstercats came in to help, and he did an amazing job for the far-away frame, and for the interior of the monster.
my initial sketches for far-away and for the interiors-
The last one I'd call a favorite isn't fully in the game yet! It is what Aster turns into if you fail to make his offering properly at the very end of the game. A very absurd pink caterpillar thing. It is meant to be a creature that Aster had nightmares about as a child. It feels like something completely off-theme for a horror game, like a creature from a fever dream, and I really like this about some of what you see on the roof. Its when apocalypse fully crosses the bridge from a human disaster to a surreal, fantastical nightmare.
In the game currently, you see what happens to him in a gnarly animation, but don't get to actually fight him, so you don't get to see the full sprite of his monster form. Initially I wanted all four of the astronomers to attack you if they turn, like surprise boss battles at the very end, but I didn't have time to give their battles a proper design, or to finish their art on time for launch, so I just made them passive for the time being. I would like to add those battles back in for the upcoming 2.0 update if I can, so stay tuned for that.
His battle is, appropriately enough, sleep and dream-themed, its a bit why he looks a little like a grotesque baku, with the trunk. He will spew bubbles that can put your allies to sleep unless you pop them with ranged weapons, and every few turns, he will instantly devour anyone who is sleeping with a "Dream Eater" attack, making them disappear forever. I want all four of the astronomer's battles to have weird, surreal mechanics like this, but I think Asters' my favorite of the four
JW:
Hellride really does amp up the "wackiness" element of the whole game in a great way, feeling really "Ghostbusters" to me and the first thing I saw from the game that was more "Magical" in feel rather than "Alien." Failed Aster is also a lot of fun, it really nails the psychedelic childhood nightmare feel. I love the combination of the crazed smile, the pained stare and the way he's feeling his own face; it looks to me like Aster is still in there, but not fully in control, and he's still processing what he's turned into even as his new body acts on its own.
Another thing I'd like to ask are some of your more obscure, less obvious inspirations as an artist?
Hellride really does amp up the "wackiness" element of the whole game in a great way, feeling really "Ghostbusters" to me and the first thing I saw from the game that was more "Magical" in feel rather than "Alien." Failed Aster is also a lot of fun, it really nails the psychedelic childhood nightmare feel. I love the combination of the crazed smile, the pained stare and the way he's feeling his own face; it looks to me like Aster is still in there, but not fully in control, and he's still processing what he's turned into even as his new body acts on its own.
Another thing I'd like to ask are some of your more obscure, less obvious inspirations as an artist?
FRANKIE:
For obscure inspirations - one of my big inspirations for monsters is the game Abadox for the NES, it was one of my earliest video game memories. I saw that gnarly ad for it in the back of an Archie comic before I even had a NES back in the day, and it was one of the first games I was gifted on Christmas, I must have been like 6 or so. I've filled school notebooks and margins of textbooks with monsters just like those in the game as a kid, so it definitely made its mark on my style. Searching about this game online is actually how I first found your website, you had made an article about the monsters in it!
Another thing that's likely left a mark is Franco-belgian comic books, I read a lot of those as a kid. The english speaking world is usually aware of a few of the giants of that industry like Tintin, Asterix and the Smurfs, but thats really the tip of the iceberg. That world is huge and diverse, with hundreds of series of all genres, with wildly different art styles and tones. I liked the more fantastical adventure comics most of all - a few of the stand-outs that likely left a big impact on me - Isabelle, Docteur Poche and especially Philemon.
For obscure inspirations - one of my big inspirations for monsters is the game Abadox for the NES, it was one of my earliest video game memories. I saw that gnarly ad for it in the back of an Archie comic before I even had a NES back in the day, and it was one of the first games I was gifted on Christmas, I must have been like 6 or so. I've filled school notebooks and margins of textbooks with monsters just like those in the game as a kid, so it definitely made its mark on my style. Searching about this game online is actually how I first found your website, you had made an article about the monsters in it!
Another thing that's likely left a mark is Franco-belgian comic books, I read a lot of those as a kid. The english speaking world is usually aware of a few of the giants of that industry like Tintin, Asterix and the Smurfs, but thats really the tip of the iceberg. That world is huge and diverse, with hundreds of series of all genres, with wildly different art styles and tones. I liked the more fantastical adventure comics most of all - a few of the stand-outs that likely left a big impact on me - Isabelle, Docteur Poche and especially Philemon.
We've reached the end of this for now, but technically speaking, this was all just the answer to our first couple of questions! We may do more over the coming months, but in the meantime, consider playing LOOK OUTSIDE for yourself, and welcome back to another Bogleech.com Halloween season!
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