From Press Release:
Los Angeles, California – 4 September, 2026 – Mad Herons, a brand new indie game studio founded by LA improv comedy veterans Jacques Mouledoux, Karen Park, and Nick Park announced today their debut title SEND IN THE CLOWN, a bite-sized, comedy adventure that sees players dive headfirst into the role of Pockets, history’s least-appreciated clown.
What happens when a former iCarly Writer, SpaceX Engineer, and university professor with a flair for improv comedy team up to form a game studio? The answer of course is SEND IN THE CLOWN – a comedy adventure as cozy as your favourite sitcom, set in a joyfully chaotic world where saving the day is no laughing matter!
A two year labor of love conceived long before the studio came into existence, SEND IN THE CLOWN is an adventure born from the minds of LA’s finest funny folk, painstakingly crafted with comedy at its heart, and finessed within the city’s gaming scene. SEND IN THE CLOWN is an adventure begging to be played multiple times. It is a tale full of surprises, birthday cake and poorly constructed balloon animals!
SEND IN THE CLOWN was borne from an idea generated by creators Jacques Mouledoux, Nick Park, and Conner McCabe at the Global Game Jam back in 2024. As it started to come to life, the game soon became a collaborative effort as the Mad Herons team was joined by Tyler Hutchison (director of Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator) who helped create Pocket’s facial animations, and Courtney Vineys (Hades, Hades II), one of many improv comedians and respected voice actors who lent their talents to a character in the game.
In SEND IN THE CLOWN, players take control of Pockets The Clown, a birthday entertainer who must acquire a whole host of classic clown abilities to take back Miranda’s party from her brat brother who is trying to turn this party into a circus, and not the fun kind.
From mastering the art of spraying water flowers to herding a pile of hot dogs of dubious quality, Pockets will need every trick in the book to gain experience points and level up his skillset so he stands a better chance of saving the day. You’ll be juggling more than just balloon animals though; every guest needs your help in their own unique way. In order to turn Miranda’s frown upside down, you’ll need to turn guests into friends, play minigames, solve puzzles, and make dialogue choices that affect the party’s outcome.
Have you ever wanted to teach a single dad to dance in a Guitar Hero-style rhythm game, or give an exhausted mom a much-needed break from parenting with Uncharted-style quick time events? Maybe you want to beat a child’s high score in America Shoots Guns At The World, a Space Invaders-style shoot ’em up? If so then SEND IN THE CLOWN is the game for you!
Along the way, you will explore a party full of suburban oddballs and discover the source of the party’s problems all stem from one small, obnoxious brat: Tad, the birthday girl’s menace of a brother. You’ll need to use all the skills you’ve acquired throughout the game to take down Tad for good in an epic final RPG battle. Pick your favorite guests that you’ve befriended to join you! If you taught the single dad to dance well enough, he will lead a dance troupe attack. If you had good chemistry with the mom you dated, she will disgust Tad into missing a turn by flirting with you. Whatever path you choose, one thing is certain: you’re going to be the ringmaster of a total circus.
SEND IN THE CLOWN is expected to release later this year on Steam. Wishlist now!
To follow Pockets’s adventures in real life you can find Mad Herons and SEND IN THE CLOWN on X, Bluesky, TikTok, and Instagram.
No artificial intelligence, or intelligence of any kind, was used in the making of this game.
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About Mad Herons
Founded in January 2025 in Los Angeles, and originating from the LA improv and indie game developer scene, Mad Herons is a three-person indie studio composed of former iCarly writer Jacques Mouledoux, former university professor Karen Park, and former SpaceX engineer Nick Park. The trio left their serious careers behind to make genuinely silly, personality-driven video games. SEND IN THE CLOWN is their debut title.
