Each month, developers win cash prizes for having the highest-rated new games! Click here for official rules. Check out the official contest page here.

We reached out to the top 5 winners to ask about their inspirations and experiences developing last month's top games on Kongregate!

• First-Place Winner

VasantJ, developer of Medieval Chronicles 3: First of all, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. Medieval Chronicles 3 made it just in time for the holidays. The inspiration for this episode came to me when I was visiting my family and we watched a bunch of old Plays on CDs and I thought it would be a great little mystery. The episode was supposed to be a lot different from what it is now. The Cop Character was originally supposed to be a male who would try to imitate Dregg in order to catch the proper role. There were supposed to be two more characters, the stagehands, who were later scrapped. Some people complained that they wished for a twist where the killer was someone other than the two presented but when I went through my previous games, almost all the criminals were someone else rather than the suspects which is why I decided to keep only two suspects with equal motives and opportunity. This game was a huge undertaking mostly because of the limitations of the software and WebGL components and the complexity of the gameplay. Being able to watch the Acts of the Play anytime was fairly complicated as I had to make sure everything was in its proper place after it played.

But in the end, it paid off as the game was a huge success among fans and was very well received. So thanks to all for your continuing support and I hope I can maintain or improve the quality of my work without losing its impact. Thanks for Playing. :D

• Second-Place Winner

bontegames, developer of black: After YELLOW and RED my color puzzle series was back, back in BLACK with new levels and a new song. This was actually my 42nd game I released here on Kongregate. I can't believe that either, so thanks so much for your continued support. Seeing my games getting such a warm welcome here each time is what keeps me going.

My best wishes for the new year, greetings from Belgium! You did know the colors of the Belgian flag are black, yellow and red, didn't you? But I can reveal that I'm not stopping at three colors, after all my developer motto is 'must make games!'. So there is a fourth color in the making. What color? I'm afraid that is top secret for now.

What's more, I'm also planning some completely new titles in 2019 (my 12th year of publishing games on Kongregate!?) sooo see you soon!

• Third-Place Winner

mythicowl, developer of Hexologic: Hello! We are the developers behind Hexologic and first of all, we would like to thank everyone for the warm welcome and great interest in our puzzler -- it is really a great distinction to be named one of the best games you played in December on Kongregate. Congratulations to all other selected developers as well.

The main idea behind Hexologic was to make a game that's entertaining and includes deduction and calculation elements. We want to make games that benefit players and their time spent behind the screen -- whether it's the mobile, handheld console or PC. We very much enjoy tile-based puzzlers, sudokus and nonograms, and it was our inspiration -- we just wanted to add a twist to it and introduce a creative, relaxing puzzler with outstanding atmosphere, enhanced by great music and hand-drawn visuals.

The advice we can give to other developers, is to measure up and not bite more than you can chew. Some ideas are really appealing but implementing them as engaging gameplay mechanics might often be a tough cookie for lots of teams. Focus on the fun factor and overall aesthetics -- after a successful "small step", you'll be more confident and experienced to let yourself out on deep waters.

Again, we are very happy to contribute to Kongregate's mighty community, stay tuned for more to come from MythicOwl!

• Fifth-Place Winner

eshleman202, developer of Guardians of Dreamstate: Infinity Gem: I have been making Guardians of Dreamstate: Infinity Gem since 2015, and it was my first project ever made with RPG Maker Mv. I used the skills I had learned from its creation process to enhance my new games to have many more features thanks to it! I would play Kongregate games every day in tech class at high school, so to see my own creation on Kong, and do so well truly makes me happy! I had some bad luck before this game's release and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Winning this contest really helps pull me out of doctor debt!

When I started making games I was just doing it to have fun, I really never anticipated putting any of them up anywhere. All I can say to the want-to-be developers is you will never have an experience as rewarding as watching your own creation take off like it had a mind of its own! If it wasn't for all the players' good wishes and my favorite game site Kong, I have no idea where my life would be now! Thank you Kongregate, and thank you gamers!

Congrats to the rest of the winners below!