Skip to main content

Google’s 2016 Halloween Doodle gets catty

Yesterday we previewed the Bing Halloween page, and today it’s Google’s turn. We all know Big G has a long history of playful doodles for the big holidays, as well as more obscure events. So let’s see what we have here. Rather than a static image, this one takes a little skill.

According to Google, “This year’s Halloween Doodle follows freshman feline Momo on her mission to rescue her school of magic. Help her cast out mischievous spirits by swiping in the shape of the symbols above the ghosts’ heads. And you’d better pounce fast — the ghost that stole the master spellbook is getting away!”

Recommended Videos

There actually is a real-life cat named Momo, which belongs to Google Doodler Juliana Chen. Google said that the video was originally going to be about a cat making soup, before it morphed into its final incarnation with wizards (perhaps with a bit of a Harry Potter vibe).

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The game has five levels set in a school setting: the library, cafeteria, classroom, gym, and the building’s rooftop. As you move through the game, the ghosts appear on the screen with simple symbols. The Verge mentions the symbols as “A V and inverted V, horizontal and vertical lines, and lightning bolts.” As each level progresses, it gets harder to make the ghosts disappear!

It’s easy when one malevolent Casper floats in with a small line above his/her head. But when they all gang up on you, it gets a bit tricky.

And when your neck is on the line, how the heck are you supposed to type all those symbols when your adrenaline is pumping?

A total of fourteen Doodlers had a hand in creating this year’s effort, along with a team of five black cats — Momo, Ripley, Nimbus, Harley, and Baxter.

Brinke Guthrie
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brinke’s favorite toys include his Samsung Galaxy Tab S, Toshiba Chromebook 2, Motorola Moto G4, and two Kindles. A…
Here’s another hands-on look at the Google Pixel 9a’s radical new design
A person holding the Google Pixel 8a.

The Google Pixel 9a is months away from launch, but many leaks have already revealed what the phone might look like. New real-life images of the Pixel 9a fortify earlier leaks, making us believe the purported design changes, including a more condensed camera module.

Prominent leaker OnLeaks shared a set of images on X allegedly showing a prototype unit of the Pixel 9a. The images show the front and the back of the Pixel 9a and align with the previous leaks of the phone, including hands-on images and digital renders.

Read more
Waze incident reports are now appearing in Google Maps
Incident reporting in Google Maps.

In July of this year, Google announced multiple updates for the incident reporting system in Maps, such as larger iconography and an easy confirmation interface for other drivers on the same route. Back then, the company also confirmed that these reports would be pooled together from Google Maps and Waze, complete with details of the report’s origin.

The latter has already started appearing for Google Maps users. According to an image shared in the Google Maps subreddit, one user got an incident report pop-up message in Google Maps, which also mentioned that it was contributed by a Waze user.

Read more
Gemini gets image creation trick in Docs and Calendar access in Gmail
Gemini running on the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Google has announced a laundry list of feature updates for Workspace users, with a focus on using its Gemini AI across products like Gmail, Docs, and Calendar. 

For folks who rely on the side panel in Gmail, there is some good news. Gemini can now directly access the Calendar information from within the inbox side panel and perform relevant actions. 

Read more