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Cat King's Long Journey (GMTK Jam 2024)'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Enjoyment | #227 | 3.975 | 3.975 |
| Overall | #243 | 4.054 | 4.054 |
| Creativity | #396 | 4.063 | 4.063 |
| Style | #558 | 4.125 | 4.125 |
Ranked from 80 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game fit the theme?
It's a grid based puzzle game about cats that can scale in size. I was worried it didn't quite fit the theme so I also made it so they scale a mountain 😅
Development Time
96 hours
(Optional) Please credit all assets you've used
The gameplay, cat sprites, level tiles + props, and some UI made by me. See the description for a full list of credits for art and audio used
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Comments
Very cool concept! I have managed to complete the "Sacrifice" without any sacrifices :3
Would be cool to see more levels post jam, I enjoyed it a lot!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I'm not sure if or when I'll continue the game post-jam since I have another project on the go, but I'll definitely try to ensure the sacrifice level lives up to it's name 😂
Hilarious!! Thoughtful puzzles and nice stretchy cat art. Fellow snake games unite (:
Glad you liked it! I'll have to give that one a try 😁
Well thought out levels and neat core mechanics! My only gripe is that the controls feel a lil clunky.
Thanks for giving it a try! What in particular felt clunky? Was it switching the cats, feeling like you had missed or accidental inputs, or was it something else?
Sometimes it felt like my movement or stretching inputs weren't registered, and switching cats felt a little tedious sometimes. I might've had it as clicking on cats to switch if I were you, but controller support probably complicates it. That, and the option to retract a step would be nice.
You did great for the time you had though, and the option to choose levels is very nice. I kinda wish I implemented that in my game lol.
Thanks for the response!
I'm not sure I'd add a way to retract, though I did plan to have an undo button but didn't have time to finish implementing it. If I do continue the game, I'd probably need to include a better way to switch cats, clicking may be a good idea if it doesn't feel too precise, thanks. Input buffering may be worth adding to reduce missed inputs
I love puzzle games and cats and this game was a perfect combination. Some levels were a bit of challenge and I would really appreciate undo button (or at least possibility to shorten cat to selected length after making it longer). For the cat change I always clicked Tab, instead of Shift, somehow it was more intuitive for me and I was always surprised that tab does nothing. But good job and really nice game!
Thanks, glad you liked it!
An undo button was planned and I even have the game storing every move the player makes, but I didn't have time to finish adding it in 😅
If I continue it I'd need to come up with a better solution for switching, but at the very least I can probably add an extra mapping to allow tab to work post-jam
Super cute! I like the puzzle solving needed for this game. Those are tricky to make in such a short amount of time! I do think some of them, especially 4, could have used some more playtesting but that's to be expected for a jam. I did find switching between the cats a bit tedious and sometimes I accidentally moved the wrong one, seemingly softlocking myself and making it so I have to restart. If there was some way to streamline all the controls I think this would have been a little easier to wrap my head around. Overall, very good job, especially for the 96 hours!
Thanks, glad you liked it! I only had time to do a tiny bit of playtesting myself so I didn't anticipate level 4 being as tedious as it was 😅
If I continue it I'd definitely like to make switching more intuitive and I didn't have enough time to finish adding in undoing actions to avoid forced restarts.
Were the issues with the controls just related to switching, or did you have any issues with moving around?
It wasn't so bad when there was only the king cat, but I would often accidentally switch cats when I meant to move or vise versa which messed me up.
Hah.. very funny game. I laughed a lot while playing, thanks to the authors for the charge of good mood. Cats are very flexible... just like in reality)))
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
This game is absolute madness in the best way possible. Might have to keep Dipper from seeing this one though.
I see you're just kind of posting around and not really taking much time for each game. I gave your game a positive review since I thought it was neat, can you take a moment to try mine and leave a review?
Fair enough. You caught me. Sorry about that. I'll take more time with each game from now on.
No worries, it's all for fun so just be sure to enjoy some games 😁
Here's my more in-depth thoughts for the game. Thought I might make it up to you / the other games I kinda skimmed over by doing a more full review. The same way I do over dms since I tend to feel more comfortable over a 1:1. So here goes, cough cough:
What I liked
The art assets are very clean with a consistent pixel resolution being kept throughout the project. Art design wise the colours used are concise and readable, with the end goal always being clear via a good utilization of outline. The main mechanic of stretching a cat out is pretty unique and funny whilst reminding me of the mobile game where there's a very similar mechanic with birds attempting to get fruit. The variety of levels are also good. The animations are also a nice polished touch.
Sound wise, the game is pretty solid with music which doesn't get grating and can be looped for long periods of time along with sound effects for cats taking damage or for moving.
What I didn't like
The level progression seems to be a little off as I struggled with level 4 and 3 more than I did with level 5 and then level 8 being just a simple victory level effectively means you have 7 levels. Which isn't bad for a jam, don't get me wrong, really solid work all around. My issue isn't with the puzzles themselves but rather the order if that makes sense? I feel as if Level 5 and 4 can be switched around.
The main menu has a level select screen which is really good, but is a little plain. I would love to see a classic title screen and the ability to see the credits which aren't on the page.
Potential Improvements
The only thing I'd really want to see out of this game is more. It's a pretty solid design core which needs a bit more room to explore some other ideas. Some additional features such as an Undo might be nice, but not absolutely necessary.
Overall Thoughts
I'm again sorry for skimming over the game. I hope this goes some way to making up for it. The game was really solid, with what I personally found to be a nice sense of humour, due to it's sheer absurdity. My favourite level was level 7. I don't want to spoil the solution for anyone potentially reading this, but the title is apt.
Thanks for giving it a go and glad you enjoyed it!
I didn't anticipate level 4 being as tricky as it was since I didn't have anyone playtest it 😂
If I continue it I can try to put things in a better order.
The menus were pretty last minute as well so I didn't have time to make a better one 😅
I appreciate the detailed review, and again, no worries. There are lots of games out there so I just think it's good to try to have fun with them
I'm not sure what you're referring to, there's no story or satire 😅
not saying it really trying to hurt anyone or what. sorry if my word inapproiate. my english is bad actually. As for story you may think it as the way to show the mechanics or... I dont konw how to express it
I know you are worrying about if I really played it. I can assure you I did. by "satire" I mean the cat king using the cats to reach the goal. I know it may be offensive so I use the word peaceful. I just like to kid around and try to grab the point that nobody would notice. I think you dislike the comment so I deleted it. But I meant no harm and I promise to play every game I may leave a comment.
It's my fault to say things like stire or what ( i absolutely know it's not your intend. Just a funny coinccidence ). And what you are trying to indicate is just an insult. I'm really sad to hear that.
Sorry I offended you, I didn't quite understand the comment
Sorry I misunderstood it for some reason. I enjoy this game and look forward to seeing more of your works!
No worries, and your game was fun too 😁
Lovely vibes! The art was super clean, and after getting used to the controls, I had a bunch of fun!
I like the puzzle concept Great work!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
hahahaha loved this all the way to the end, would absolutely enjoy this as a full game!
(by the way you can beat the sacrifice level without sacrifice >:D)
Thanks! I couldn't think of a good puzzle to end it off, so I just went with something silly 😂
I'm not sure if I will continue it, or at least not right away since I have another project on the go, but I'll at least do some fixes post-jam, including making the sacrifice mandatory 😅
Not gonna lie I got stuck a lot but it was fun. I had a nice time.
Glad you enjoyed it! If I continue it I think it would be good to include some optional hints that don't totally spoil the solution so people can avoid getting stuck
Lovely bit of cat-themed puzzle fun. Super interesting mechanics having the cats work the way they do, very unique take. Thoroughly enjoyed!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, thanks!
cute and interesting puzzle game. level design was pretty challenging also especially 7. good job!
Thanks, glad you liked it!
Super cute GFX & music.
Fun and snappy game mechanic.
Very well done!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
The game was really nice and the difficulty very well balanced! We managed to avoid the sacrifice in level "sacrifice" (if there is even a way to finish it with a sacrifice). Very well rounded experience all around. Good job making a puzzle game that is not too easy nor too hard with such a complex mechanic
Thanks, glad to hear the difficulty was alright! I didn't have anyone playtest since I was working on levels until the last minute so I was a little worried about that
As for the Sacrifice level, there is a solution that fits the name of the level. I found an unintended solution as well a few hours after submissions were locked 😅
Really fun game, but the levels get hard very quickly. I got stuck on 6. If this gets made into a full release, I suggest adding more levels in between the existing ones to smooth out the difficulty.
Glad to hear you liked it! Sorry to hear you got stuck. If I do continue the game I'll probably add an optional hint to each level that won't give the solution entirely away
:3
Well done!