Cat Lady Simulator by samh

[raw]
made by samh for LD 42 (JAM)

Cat Lady Simulator is a PICO-8 game where you have to take care of a bunch of cats staying uninvited in your kitchen.

:joystick: Play online! (HTML5 version) or on itch.io!

Objectives: Feed your cats by filling their bowls. The more they eat, the more points you get! But too many cats and you will run out of space.

Controls: - Pause: P or Enter
- Navigation / Player controls: :arrowleft: :arrowup: :arrowdown: :arrowright: - Menu validation / Take something / Pour something in the bowl: W / Z - Throw away something: X

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Ratings

Overall 176th 3.815⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Fun 313th 3.522⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 143th 3.75⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Theme 158th 4.022⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 260th 3.946⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Audio 179th 3.641⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Humor 97th 3.761⭐ 48🧑‍⚖️
Mood 124th 3.789⭐ 47🧑‍⚖️
Given 48🗳️ 33🗨️

Feedback

foxserranu
14. Aug 2018 · 00:35 UTC
I really liked your game and idea! Congratulations. It's exactly like the real experience of feeding more than 2 cats at the same time. I loved the sound effects, very retro and on point. I wish that the music had more variations, though, sound a little too repetitive for me..
Korso
14. Aug 2018 · 00:37 UTC
Lovely little game. In the last level some cats caused a jam in one of the refrigerators xD. Good work!
Jamie Reed
14. Aug 2018 · 00:40 UTC
I like cats, and I dislike when they stand in your way and don't move. Both in game and real life!
beepyeah
14. Aug 2018 · 01:42 UTC
awesome concept for the theme. reminded me a bit of undercooked, in a good way. great work!
JLV
14. Aug 2018 · 01:51 UTC
Great game idea, and great minimalistic execution too ! The control scheme went a little over my head at first, but once I was used to it, I spent some excellent minutes trying to feed all these cats ! What impressed me the most was how to manage to organise their behavior on a console such as PICO-8... That's no small feat ! On the improvements side, I would try to vary the formula a little faster, as it tires out quite fast. Is the "choose level" button supposed to be usable someday ? If that's the case, do not hesistate to get in touch ! Great work !
FireSlash
14. Aug 2018 · 07:46 UTC
Oh wow a PICO8 game! I totally forgot this thing even existed!

I Love what you've done here. The art and graphics are cute and suit the game nicely, the gameplay itself is interesting, and I just can't bring myself to get mad at those cute little kitties when they block my path.
Niarkou
14. Aug 2018 · 08:56 UTC
Thank you all for your feedbacks!

@jlv Actually, the choose level button is already working, the game saves the levels you have unlocked (by having at least one star) and the number of stars you had, so you can improve later! If the menu appears after you have unlocked a level, the choose level button should no longer be gray.

@foxserranu I definitely wanted to add some patterns to the music but there was no time left :-(
MartinTristan
14. Aug 2018 · 09:43 UTC
those cats surely eat a lot! i love this game since i do have 8 cats. this reminds me of my cats walking and rubbing their bodies on my legs, trying to trip me! i really dig the art style reminds me of old school pokemon games. overall, a good and interesting take on the genre.
Yoran
14. Aug 2018 · 09:56 UTC
IT'S A GAME ABOUT CATS
geeitsomelaldy
14. Aug 2018 · 11:03 UTC
Miaowtiful
DevWithMartinus
14. Aug 2018 · 14:28 UTC
Nice little game ! Made with Pico-8 :O, well done !
FlashViper
14. Aug 2018 · 15:51 UTC
I love the idea for this game. It's a little hard to figure out how to do, but it is truly hilarious to see 1,000,000 cats a second streaming into the room. Nice work!
Niarkou
14. Aug 2018 · 15:56 UTC
@flashviper We made a little level to help with the game mechanics ("help" in the menu), but it may be too hidden. Thanks for the feedback!
sylvie
14. Aug 2018 · 16:06 UTC
Very cute! The graphics and music were simple but very nice, and it was fun rushing around trying to feed the cats.
uvwar
14. Aug 2018 · 16:44 UTC
I liked it! At some point I got two cats going in opposite directions or something in front of a fridge and it caused a massive blob of stuck cats (bug?), though! Awesome Pico Game.
PacoTheLegend
14. Aug 2018 · 17:15 UTC
Charming graphics and music, really liked the retro style. Interesting way to approach the theme, I definitely felt I was running out of space when all the cats were walking around the room, either hungry or thirsty. :smile:

The Enter key to pause confused me at first, and it was a bit difficult to place the food in the bowls (I had to be in a very specific position to do it), but overall I liked the idea.
Nyri0
14. Aug 2018 · 21:10 UTC
Once again the master of pico8 strikes with an interesting and original game. The concept is fun and funny, the retro style works fine with it and the game is very polished for a gamme jam entry.

However it would have been interesting to have a bit more time so that the difficulty to move really becomes annoying :)

The difficulty curve is good though and the game can keep you playing a few times before becoming repetitive.
josehzz
15. Aug 2018 · 20:55 UTC
Nice entry, simple and enjoyable. I like the general concept but have you considered making it turn based? Its quite frustating being block by a cat, I think in a turn based setting you could move every cat in their turn and when the player moves you just has to avoid the cats (or lose a turn to pet them), I'm just throwing an idea out there, I might be wrong :)
Niccolas Suprik
16. Aug 2018 · 05:18 UTC
I have 2 cats of my own, so I loved this game! I felt so bad when I was playing it though, there were all those cats, they were so hungry and so thirsty! I liked how the cats messed with the players navigation, much like in real life lol.
Oneiros
16. Aug 2018 · 12:10 UTC
The graphics are simple but mastered. The gameplay is original. It's a good Jam game!
oats
16. Aug 2018 · 12:12 UTC
I really like this art style, but the controls where a bit clunky and and it was a bit frustrating not being able to put things in the dish because I walked a few pixels too far.
Sidnoea
17. Aug 2018 · 01:00 UTC
Not bad at all. The graphics are really nice, and the music sets the mood without being overbearing. The core mechanic is simple enough, but ultimately not that interesting; however, it's only four levels, so it works. Being blockaded by cats is pretty funny. My only real complaint is that I often had a hard time getting the food into the bowl, even when there were no obstacles. Good job!
Noxbuds
17. Aug 2018 · 09:21 UTC
Very nice game. Definitely got it right that the stupid cats get in your way and you can't walk around them, LOL. It was nice how the different foods (and the water) were slowly introduced, and it got a bit crazy trying to manage them and feed all the cats. The graphics were very nice, and the sound was also good (though the music was a little repetitive). Have to agree with one of the comments above that the distance you can actually interact with things is a little too low, but it was great fun anyway.
Ithildin
18. Aug 2018 · 19:03 UTC
So many cats... *_*

I definitely felt I was running out of space with this game :sweat_smile: . Graphics were clear and cute, progression was well thought and everything in general was really polished. My only bit of feedback would be to increase slightly the detection area to drop the food on the bowls, sometimes it took some adjusting so it could be detected.

Great entry!
kingdork
19. Aug 2018 · 03:30 UTC
Cute concept!
Fun sound!
Solid Gameplay!
legulysse
19. Aug 2018 · 19:55 UTC
This was both cute and stressful :D
Nice graphics and music, the only thing that bothered me was finding the right spot to fill the bowls, there seems to be an exact position + orientation required, that could be a bit more generous.
Nice little game overall, 100% fit with the theme o/
geck0
21. Aug 2018 · 23:13 UTC
cute game! sometimes the grandma or some cats cant move on free spaces for some reason, but nice work!
GibletsofJesus
23. Aug 2018 · 11:45 UTC
Wonderful little entry!

Normal getting stuck between AI actors would be frustrating but this just adds so much to the feel of being stuck in a house with all these cats, excellent job!
paulhocker
26. Aug 2018 · 04:03 UTC
this is why i dont have cats - really nice game you made here - thanks for making it
Rahim_Pxr
27. Aug 2018 · 22:17 UTC
Nice game, Love how everything is balanced!
Good luck, Don't forget to take a look at ours if you don't mind and see what it's like when we just focused on graphics in this game jam!
Game Link: https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/42/spacelab-42a