Amanda the Adventurer: Pilot Episode is a 2022 indie horror game developed by MANGLEDmaw Games, Arcadim, and SinsterCid. The protagonist watches episodes of a children's cartoon, Amanda the Adventurer, after having recently discovered VHS tapes containing them. Throughout the episodes, Amanda reveals a menacing undertone of her, something her anthropomorphic sheep companion Wooly tries to stop.
Formerly known as just "Amanda the Adventurer", the game was developed for DreadXP's Found Footage Jam on Itch.io, releasing on April 8, 2022. After the game was met with unexpected popularity, MANGLEDmaw announced a partnership with DreadXP to develop a bigger version. The original Amanda the Adventurer would be renamed to include the subtitle "Pilot Episode" to distinguish it from the full release: Amanda the Adventurer,[1] which was released on April 25, 2023.
Plot[]
The unnamed protagonist finds a set of VHS tapes in their attic containing episodes of Amanda the Adventurer and decides to watch them for nostalgia, having not remembered most of the show. The first episode, "Baking a Pie", involves Amanda and Wooly going to the store to get apples that they need to make apple pie. Amanda disregards Wooly's concerns about his apple allergy, saying he should try new things.
The second episode, "Going to the Store", starts with Wooly trying to warn the viewer about something, but Amanda appears and interrupts him, resuming the episode as normal. She tells the viewer that they need to go to the butcher shop to get meat for Grandma, despite Wooly claiming that Grandma is a vegetarian. Once in the shop, Amanda asks the viewer to tell the butcher what they need. After answering with "meat", the butcher pulls out and slowly chops a chunk of meat. Amanda turns to stare threateningly at Wooly. Presumably as punishment for trying to warn the player, Amanda attacks him off-screen just as the episode ends.
A secret episode, "Finding Treasure", shows Amanda and Wooly searching for lost treasure in the woods. Amanda is seen reprimanding Wooly for not participating in the activity. When he proceeds to openly defy her and tells the viewer to destroy the tapes, Amanda begins levitating and presumably mauls him off-screen. The video cuts to a live-action video of a man taking the tapes into a forest and preparing to burn them with a lighter, but an unseen force makes him put the lighter away and keep the tapes, and lie to someone about their destruction.
The last episode, "Making New Friends", opens with Amanda standing in a darkened, realistic setting, in contrast with the cartoonish background of the previous episodes. Next to what appears to be a piece of Wooly's body, she tells the viewer that it's time to go home, pointing to a house that is revealed to be the protagonist's and demanding that they let her in. After opening the door, Amanda violently contorts her body being replaced by static. The TV turns off to reveal the reflection of Amanda, who has become a large gray creature behind the protagonist.
Development and release[]
MANGLEDmaw Games, Arcadim, and SinsterCid developed Amanda the Adventurer: Pilot Episode, being submitted to DreadXP's Found Footage Jam on Itch.io on April 8, 2022. Of the 12 entries, Pilot Episode ranked 2nd, behind 2000 Navidson Lane by duckenheimer.[2] Following the jam, the game was periodically updated.
V1.1 added a secret tape that appears if the player types "lamb" in "Going to the Store". V1.2 added a satellite photo of a forest to the end of the Secret Tape, followed by a text prompt. Typing into the prompt resulted in the game's ending occurring.
V1.3 was released on July 8, 2022. A picture of two children, their eyes censored, was added to the wall next to the TV. The Secret Tape was replaced with a new, longer episode: "Finding Treasure", featuring a live-action segment.
V1.4, the last major update, allowed the player to move freely around the room, with the walls covered in writing. The tapes are scattered across the room, each appearing after watching the previous tape. Numbers on the wall, which become highlighted to say "2023", give a teaser for the full game upon entering it in "Going to the Store". The Secret Tape and "Finding Treasure" are separate. V1.4.1 renamed the game to include the subtitle, distinguishing it from the full Amanda the Adventurer.[1]
V1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4.2 are available for download.
