In creating the game's horror elements, Salvato drew inspiration from Yume Nikki and Eversion, emphasizing to his team that he wanted the market for visual novels to become much more daring and less reliant on the same plot concepts. Discussing the creation of Monika and her abilities, Salvato explained that he was inspired by 'things that are scary because they make you uncomfortable, not because they shove scary-looking things in your face.' To achieve this, Salvato developed the faГ§ade of a cute setting, which would break down over time along with the behavior of the characters, and eventually the role of one evil character (Monika) who had seized control of the game from the player would be revealed.

The physical appearance of Monika went through several designs, one of which featured a chibi effect. The inspiration for the character's creation extends Salvato's concept of an innocuous romance game that slowly falls apart over time as horrible things begin to happen and one girl takes control. She is apparently deleted at the end of the game, but returns to destroy the game itself. While Monika initially appears as the main tutor and supporting character that guides the player on their path to romance the three provided love interests, after being revealed to be a computer program that gained sentience, her words, actions and surroundings become increasingly malicious as she makes her intentions clear. The character was created by Dan Salvato and voiced by Jillian Ashcraft. Monika, also known as Monika.chr, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the visual novel metafictional psychological horror video game Doki Doki Literature Club!. Search Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club!) on Amazon.

Monika, as she appears in Doki Doki Literature Club!

Monika doki doki literature