Inktober 2020
Inktober 2020: When an Artist's Daily Challenge Meets osu!
Ever scrolled through osu! beatmaps and found something that made you stop and think, "Wait, what is this even?" Well, you might get that feeling with Inktober 2020. This isn't a farm map, a speed challenge, or a tech monster. It's something... different. It's a personal art project that somehow ended up as a playable experience. The creator basically used the 2020 Inktober prompts as a strict set of rules for themselves: only greyscale art, something different every day, and this year, they allowed themselves the luxury of undo and erase (a big deal for ink traditionalists!). The result? A bizarrely charming collection of 31 sketches that range from a Monster Hunter character fishing to a spoopy grim reaper and, in a moment of beautiful irony, a lazy sketch literally titled "Osu!" as the entry for the "Music" prompt. Yeah, it's that kind of project.
Honestly, reading through the descriptions feels like peeking into someone's sketchbook diary. There's a Tetsucabra holding a lorge rock for "Bulky," a disgustingly accurate Congalala farting for "Disgusting," and a cute Rathian snoozing for "Sleep." The creator's OCs like Amsterdam, Blade, and Trance make appearances. There's even a shout-out to a YouTube video of a Nargacuga that inspired the "Hide" prompt. One entry, "Float," was made using an online drawing mental age test website, which apparently deemed the artist to have a mental age of 20. This whole thing has a very "made this for me, but you can look too" vibe, which is kinda refreshing in a scene often focused on pp and rankings.
The game's notes are just as candid. The creator points to their Inktober 2019 project on Scratch as a precursor and casually mentions living in Australia, so mind the timezone if that matters. They also give a very honest breakdown of which pieces were done on mobile, which were traditional ("trad"), and which used wires. It's unstructured, personal, and full of little asides.
So, what's the osu! gameplay like? Who knows! The links are down right now. But based on the spirit of the project, don't expect a perfectly spaced, pp-optimized map. Expect something as unique and personal as the art it's based on. It's for the player who sometimes just wants to play a map that tells a story, even if that story is about a penguin doing a slide or the creator's Fer.al sona digging a hole.
You know that feeling when your fingers "lock in" during a stream and tap with mechanical precision you didn’t know you possessed? This map probably won't give you that. It might give you the feeling of getting a new high score by exactly 1 point, where the game acknowledges your microscopic improvement in a weird, personal challenge. Or maybe it'll be like discovering that your favorite childhood song has been perfectly mapped by a genius, except here, the "genius" is someone passionately doodling their Monster Hunter OCs. It definitely captures the moment you realize you've been holding your breath for the entire final section of a difficult pass, but maybe for artistic tension rather than finger strain. And it absolutely embodies the quiet satisfaction of knowing you've mastered a tiny, meaningless skill that brings you joy—like appreciating a niche, artistic beatmap.
Thinking about giving it a try? Well, you might be a casual player who just wants to enjoy music and pretty maps, or maybe a "vibe" player who chooses maps based on music and visual aesthetics. You could be playing this during a late-night grind session (2-5 AM), fueled by curiosity more than caffeine. Your goal might simply be to find and play maps with favorite songs/artists, though here the "artists" are the creator's own sketches. For an extra twist, try playing with sound muted and see if you can feel the rhythm of the daily drawing prompts instead.
This map might make you wonder: How do I find beatmaps suitable for my skill level? (Answer: This one is probably less about skill and more about taste). Or, What are "loved" maps and how are they different? (Answer: This has that "Loved" energy—unique, community-appreciated, not aiming for ranked status). It might even spark the question: How do I create my own beatmap? If this project shows anything, it's that a beatmap can start from anywhere, even a personal art challenge.
