Game Title
Meowchanic

Developer Name
Team Cat Crash

Short Promo Blurb
A polydactyl cat converts different mechanisms to be more green

Full Description
Play as a polydactyl cat with unusually deft paws gets separated from their owner. Solve puzzles and search for resources as you journey back, and along the way, upgrade and convert several systems to be more environmentally friendly!

Promo Image(s)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DIJAHZKXJSVds9a_U_9lmJqOkR-ZI0Hj/view?usp=drive_link

Promo Video
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13P_yf8EGZFBW4FZfPeGFEPhPY8hmyMex/view?usp=drive_link

Artistic Statement / Use of Theme(s)
Our main goal was to bring more awareness to restoring and upgrading older vehicles, as well as other forms of environmentally friendly means of transport. We wanted to emphasize ways in which humans can work alongside animals as equals, and normalize the blending of the “natural” and “unnatural” that would give us more interaction with and respect for nature. We wanted this game to be easily accessible, since it focuses on a world that is more accessible, and so we went with an almost storybook-like artstyle, as well as puzzles that can be engaging for different people with a wide range of puzzle game experience.

Development Summary
In the beginning we had a good idea but once we were past the first week we didn’t meet for a week and a half. It was mainly due to scheduling but it still showed that we were not on the same page. This resulted in a lot of miscommunication. One of our biggest issues was that we only had two artists and not one person who was specifically a designer. This resulted in a lot of missing assets which resulted in level 2 not being included in the production submission. We also had to cut two levels due to time to fully flesh out the first two levels.

Kevin’s thoughts:
We were all very excited and optimistic at the start of the jam and I think we came up with some great ideas, but without any designers and a strong direction we struggled to create a tangible and detailed product. Nobody took ownership of figuring out the details of what goes in our game and how. Our ideation sprint lacked in specific details and I think that showed in the later sprints. This lack of detail also made it harder for us to estimate the scope of our project, and I think we were too ambitious as a result. In hindsight, clearer planning would’ve allowed us to estimate workload better, and also help us get a feel of everyone’s availability throughout the jam. I would say our biggest mistake here is not having a proper team meeting during the ideation sprint. I think we planned for too many different systems given our inexperience with Godot.

I think we’ve done a good job in the back half of this jam of correcting our mistakes and adjusting accordingly. A lot of pieces are coming together nicely, and now that a system has been built on the programming side, things are going more smoothly and we can focus more on content. We have a lot of first time jammers on this team, and we’re using a new engine that no one here is experienced with, so I believe learning and growing is an important part of the jam for this team, and we are doing very well there.

Release Plan
If we planned on continuing the game after the end of the jam we would want to add back our two canceled levels. The third level was originally going to be themed around light pollution with Bat that you would be able to talk to and interact with. This level would be darker and would be set in the outskirts of a cave. The fourth level would be themed around different ways of disposing waste. In this level, you would be able to interact and talk to a Pig who is located in the city. The cut concept is included on our itch.io page to showcase what future levels and designs would've looked like.