Loved the concept of this - a single-player co-op where the uncontrolled character is antagonistic against the other is pretty unique and clever! Though specific mechanics seem unique to this setting, the overarching concept could very well be adapted to other games and form a genre of its own.

The presentation of the GDD was pretty good, and I didn’t have trouble understanding the content. The structure seems a bit repetitive and not organized though - It might have helped to simply omit sections of the template that were not relevant to your game, and merge other overlapping sections for better clarity. I was also left a bit in the dark about the specifics of your actual core gameplay - what kinds of puzzles would exist, how would the players control and switch between characters, how exactly does combat work and what are the consequences, etc.

Also there are some sections where you seem vague or even undecided about what the game should be like - It’s usually better to pick a specific direction and stick with it (and include alternatives as footnotes if absolutely necessary) because otherwise I as the reader was pretty confused when trying to imagine the game.

The concept sounds fun to play and the puzzle-lover in me was already excited thinking of the kind of puzzles that the setting could offer. I liked the effort to make complementary strengths and weaknesses for both characters. The lack of specific gameplay details about puzzles/combat made it hard for me to say how fun it would be in practice, though. The overall story progression was interesting, as were the character backstories and details - but I’m not sure how the story elements are conveyed to the player in the game - is there dialogue, or written material, or something else?

Overall a great and very innovative concept - could use some more specifics about precise gameplay (and some diagrams!)

The core elements of the GDD seems a bit unfinished from the looks of it and certain sections are either reexplaining some information, going into too much detail, or being just a bit vague so the overalls clarity is rather low.

I'd also say that the theme dosen't seem that unique falling into an action adventure game with puzzles and struggling against a very unique mechanic that does seem really fun I have to admit.

With all that criticism being said I really enjoy the concept and think if you had more time to flesh this idea out and work on it some more, this would be a really competent GDD and be a super cute game I'd love to get my hands on to play.

This felt a bit unfinished (and I don't mean the missing pieces), like you have not yet decided on much about the game. 

There are also some odd sentences, which are probably just typos (“and she found himself alone”).

That said, it sounds like a cute game. 

Also, “dogs and cats living together — mass hysteria!”

There are a bunch of submissions and I wanted to give feedback to everyone, so I'm going to list some strengths and weaknesses that I perceive from the GDD's in this challenge (take with a grain of salt, I recognize the challenge this jam theme + time limitations, especially during a holiday weekend).

Strengths: A fun, easy to understand concept. All audiences will understand this sort of stereotypical dynamic between cat and dog. I like all the detail you've added about things that would distract one animal versus another. "A long-term but not monogamous relationship with catnip." Beautiful.

Weaknesses: I would like to see more fleshing out of the technical aspect of mechanics and systems. It seems like you've got this wonderful concept, but you might benefit from discussions about ways to make it work in engine. If I were to nitpick, you could eventually add more elements such as concept art or an audio guide to help other people working on the project as well. I would consider prototyping a single level (interpret this as you will, it could be any sort of prototype) to better convey the moment-to-moment gameplay. It's obvious there is tension between the two animals, but I also get the feeling like the level environments would also contain hazards/sources of conflict. I know the GDD isn't finished, so please consider these as suggestions as you move forward rather than criticisms. You've done a lovely job and the game seems like a lot of fun!

I noticed some portions were marked for later completion, so I'll only review what was made.

Your game's premise intrigues me. It makes me think of a mix of Homeward Bound (the movie), Stray, and Untitled Goose Game. Where the Winnie and Mags are going on a long adventure together to get back their owner's artifact from the Raccoon.

The idea of the Stress and Motivation management is interesting in how it might play into both pets' reactions to things in the game world. Having each of them be "NPCs" while controlling the other also opens up opportunities for intriguing level design with how each animal would interact with and disrupt the map accordingly.

The detail you gave into each pet's story and the summaries of your level zones also helped paint a clear mental picture of what this game could become. You did well and I hope this project can go a long way for you!

(I know you didn't have time to completely finish this GDD, so no worries about the bits you didn't get to.) This sounds cute. I like the cat and dog characters, and the idea of a co-op game where the other character doesn't get along and does unhelpful stuff to mess up your strategy is funny. You have good ideas about how they interact with different props and animals. But it feels like you're not confident--you say a lot of "could" or "might" and hedge your bets by saying things like that it could be either isometric or top-down. I really want you to commit and decisively lay out what your game is going to do.