Yokai Parade

Yokai Parade is a resident idle game that runs along the bottom edge of the player’s screen while they do other things. Yokai such as a lantern ghost, a tofu carrier and a kappa walk past, and the player collects koban currency as they do. The game has no winning, losing or failing, and it does not require clicking. When the player is concentrating on another task the yokai walk more softly, and with the background cleared the parade appears over the desktop wallpaper. Koban continue to accumulate for a period while the game is closed.

Koban are spent on opening a board one tile at a time. Depending on where the player opens it, income increases, rarer yokai begin to appear, or the parade becomes livelier. Some purple tiles hide a shrine or a torii gate, and certain yokai can only be encountered by opening them. A codex records the yokai the player has met, including alternate forms such as a woman, an elder, a child or a scarier version on certain nights. A seal system lets the player seal frequently seen yokai so that others appear in their place, and reaching a codex milestone prompts the yokai to hold a small celebration.

A festival gauge fills as the parade continues. When it is full, the night market holds a festival with fireworks, festival music and increased koban income, before returning to the quiet parade. The display follows the PC’s clock, showing a morning sky or a night sky, and the moon waxes and wanes from day to day. A full moon late at night may bring a special yokai, and an always-night setting is available. The game uses pixel art with a night market setting, music that changes with the time of day and becomes livelier on festival nights, and a wordless four-panel comic as a tutorial.