Game Developer Reveals How His Wife’s Sleeping Face Inspired a Unique RPG Boss: ‘A Playful Prank’

Let’s set the record straight right from the start. Billy the Hero’s developer, JOJOJOJOsoft, is definitely not implying that his wife, whether awake or asleep, resembles a terrifying monster. In a recent Reddit post, he shared the creative journey behind crafting a rather spooky creature for his upcoming turn-based RPG, while clarifying that it’s all in good fun as part of a playful rivalry between the couple. If anything, it’s a bit of cheeky payback.

Billy the Hero is an RPG that follows Billy, dubbed “the world’s worst criminal,” who embodies all seven deadly sins. He wakes up on Hell Island, trapped in the form of an adorable teddy bear. Surprisingly unfazed, Billy sees this as a chance to transform his torment-filled surroundings into a “personal paradise” that he can eventually rule.

The game promises an intriguing experience, featuring a unique combat system rooted in math and greed, all wrapped in a distinctive art style that blends pixel art with cartoon aesthetics. To bring this vision to life, JOJOJOJOsoft (who prefers to be called JOJO) needs to design a variety of bosses, drawing inspiration from diverse sources. One of those sources? His wife, while she’s fast asleep, which is undeniably creepy.

“The monster that took me the longest to create,” JOJO shared on Reddit, referring to a multi-faced, multi-handed, meat-textured beast. Why the lengthy process? “Mainly because the relationship took over 20 years to incubate!” He elaborated on his creative process, which is anything but ordinary.

1. The Stealth Mission: After a late night baking for the kids, she was in a deep sleep by morning. Perfect conditions! I snuck in and snapped reference photos from various angles. Key rule: Do NOT wake her up. A deep sleep captures that raw, natural look. If she were awake, she’d instinctively pose and try to look pretty. We need monster material!

2. Photo-bashing: I cut out the faces and arranged the core form, planning to use the morning sunlight for easier blending of the images.

3. Grayscale & Textures: I desaturated all colors to grayscale, then layered colors to adjust lighting and shadows, adding raw textures. (I pixelated the raw meat references in the image to keep it from being too gross).

4. The Gore: A horror monster needs blood. I added some red in the crevices, painted in veins, tendons, and fleshy connections.

In case you missed it, the textures used were made from raw meat, including what looks like it could be roadkill. Maybe they have an anniversary coming up?

If you’re understandably concerned that this could be a more disturbing tale, let me ease your mind. JOJO’s wife is fully aware of the situation and is actually an active participant. He explained that it’s all in good humor, part of a long-standing playful feud. “We are very close and tease each other constantly,” JOJO said. In fact, he often finds himself on the receiving end. “She is way worse than I am!” he exclaimed. “She regularly pranks me on her Facebook, and sometimes she’ll sneak photos of me sleeping in ridiculous poses and post them on her private profile.” So, is this revenge? “Turning her into a monster is just me playing catch-up.” Thankfully, he added, “Our relationship is fantastic—we’re built on mutual trolling and a lot of love.”

Another creature in the game, as mentioned on the game’s store page, is a skeletal horror that appears to be inspired by a half-eaten chicken carcass, complete with some sort of pastry and fries. Delicious! I asked JOJO if there were any other uniquely sourced monsters. “Oh, tons of them!” he replied. “Before starting a game company, I worked professionally as a movie matte painter. That’s why I’m so skilled at photobashing—it’s just part of my workflow, and it saves a lot of mental energy.” He described this process as “practically like human AI: I love to mash random photos together, blend them, and then paint over them to refine the details. But despite all that, my favorite part is still starting everything with pencil and paper.” (It’s worth noting that an AI mention on Billy the Hero’s store page is somewhat misleading—it only refers to the built-in scaling options in Photoshop. JOJO clarified, “I have absolutely no need to use generative AI for image creation at all.”)

Identifying as a “nostalgic, old-school gamer,” JOJO describes his development process as driven by a longing for a certain feeling from his childhood. About Billy the Hero, he said, “The dialogue isn’t some poetic masterpiece—it just sounds like friends talking to each other.” It’s a game about wanting to “feel like you’ve jumped into a specific period of your life, hanging out with your rebellious teenage friends, loud, selfish, and weird. You aren’t on some grand quest to save a town or uphold justice. It’s just Billy. And I think that raw, honest dynamic is going to make it great.”