Once Upon a Monster

thumb|300px|right|Tim Schafer and Cookie Monster collide in an August 2011 pre-release trailer. thumb|300px|right|Tim pitches his new game idea to Cookie Monster in a July 2011 trailer. thumb|300px|right|June 2011 trailer thumb|300px|February 2011 trailer. thumb|300px|right Once Upon a Monster is an upcoming Sesame Street video game for the Xbox 360 Kinect, scheduled for release on October 11, 2011.

Players will explore a living storybook with Elmo and Cookie Monster. The game is centered on problem-solving, relationships and "learning key life skills".

The game is being developed for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment by Tim Schafer's Double Fine Productions; its Double Fine's first licensed game. Schafer is known for his work on the Monkey Island computer game series, and Double Fine has recently produced two well-received games for the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade, Costume Quest and Stacking.

"In a truly original interactive experience, young players join Cookie Monster, Elmo and other Sesame Street characters as they explore a living storybook titled Once Upon a Monster. In the book, they make new zany monster friends from the Once Upon a Monster world and share in their adventures, solving problems, forging friendships and learning key life skills along the way. Parents and children literally become part of the whimsical storybook adventure by getting active together through dancing, jumping, flying and more."

New Muppet monsters include Marco and Seamus. The game also features appearances from favorite Sesame Street characters including Grover (dressed in disco clothing) and Oscar the Grouch.

Levels
"The Greatest Party That Ever Wasn't": In this chapter, no one but Marco shows up to his birthday party. Cookie and Elmo arrive to help him out, by running through the Electric Jungle. This obstacle course level sees Elmo riding on Marco's shoulders: one player controls Marco's movements, the other Elmo. According to Kotaku: "While the duo runs, the player controlling Elmo must duck to avoid tree limbs and reach upward to collect butterflies. The one controlling Marco must lean left and right to avoid boulders, jump to leap over felled trees." At the end of the level, the three characters and Grover dance together.

"To Have and To Hug": Elmo and Cookie aid a scary looking monster in appearing less frightening to others.

Prerelease testing
thumb|300px||Presentation demo at the E3 2011 expo
 * ‎Gamespot: It's hard not to play this game with a huge smile on your face, especially if you grew up watching Sesame Street. The characters have been faithfully recreated in the game, and exude the same kind of charm that they've always had. Like the educational television show, kids will learn a few life lessons on cooperation and empathy, and learn to appreciate similarities and differences, just to name a few.
 * Kotaku Preview: The delightful Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster for Xbox 360's Kinect controller is easily the best Sesame Street video game I've ever played... I was impressed with the way these Sesame Street characters were rendered and animated. They look believably fuzzy and googly eyed, true to their television counterparts, with the loose, bendy joints of a Jim Henson puppet.

Awards

 * The game won the category for the "Best of Family Entertainment" at the 2011 Gamescom convention in Cologne, Germany.