Kitten Keeper

nerketur 2017-12-09 21:11

I rather enjoyed this game. It showed me that too many cats can mean the cats are unhappy, especially if they don't get what they want/need.

It seems that even if you give them what they want, or what they want is nearby, they won't always go to it, even if its uncrowded. However, I find that's somewhat realistic, as they don't always know about it if it's behind a wall or whatever. The only thing they will instantly go for is the medicine, no matter what. Because of this, once you get more and more cats, you can set up things kind of in a spaced way, and after about 50 cats, the rest is just buying more of what most of the cats need. you no longer need to move them.

A few ways I can see to improve this game: 1. Add different kinds of cats that want different things 2. cats like affection, maybe add people to pet and care for the cats 3. add different foods, different beds, upgrades to every item 4. add a way to clean up dead cats, and make it so cats will avoid an area with a dead cat 5. add different houses, different areas for the cats

Overall a great game. I'll probably play again. :)

spiria 2017-12-09 23:57

I could really relate to this game because I have been feeding a litter of homeless cats for the past few months. Now I know it will end badly! I played the post-jam version and had no problems except for the start screen that was cropped. I had to figure out I could press Enter to start the game. The graphics and animations are cute and appropriate for the game type. The difficulty ramps up smoothly but I was a bit puzzled when I tried not buying anything for the cats and unexpectedly lasted a long time. The happiness meter seemed to go up every time a new cat appeared. Maybe cat deaths should make it drop more. The game is well aligned with the theme. It's impressive you used your own game engine. Congrats on the solid game!

EDIT: I got my kids to play, 4 and 6, and they loved it :)

2017-12-11 16:43

I like the idea, but before 2 minutes playing the game crashes

enot487 2017-12-11 17:25

Nice kitties, nice game! I think it would be great if there was an animation for every kitten that interacts with some object, like with a toy, for example. It seemed to me that the kittens die too soon from a lack of medicine. I managed to notice the pill over the kitten only right before his death (and there were less than 15 of them). Unfortunately, the game crashes after I reach 20 kitties. But the game is really good! Well done!

huvaakoodia 2017-12-15 19:44

A cat lady simulation! You cannot even remove the dead kittens, that's the hallmark right there!

Not much of a game at the moment. It is obvious what to do. Just keep piling in more things, *spend all the money all the time!* I got bored after 30 cats or so so just let it run until happiness fell to negative digits. Got to 102 cats doing nothing... *Yeah.*

Where does the money come from? Are people paying for you to pet their cats? If so then there are many management mechanics that could be added here:

- Rent. Gotta keep paying it! - Resources, like food, water, litter refills? All of these constantly drain money too. - Penalty for deaths. Currently this isn't much of an issue apart from the very beginning (medication is expensive!) Still worth considering.

Then some more advanced ideas:

- Customer relations. Why would someone drop off their cat to this place for days on end? Surely the owners should come pick up their pet eventually and then, if your service is good, drop them off again in the future. Bigger tip for good care! - Unique cats (to a degree). Visual difference is the obvious thing, but preferences and requirements should also change. Maybe they could be territorial too and not get along with some other cats.

One GUI bug/issue is the numerous thought bubbles. At times the kittens seem to get stuck doing something, like sleeping, while they desperately think about something else, like food. That really shouldn't happen as it simply clutters the screen and makes little sense.

Other than that, the graphics are nice. Audio is ok, yet it does get annoying hearing the same *meows* over and over again. Then again, what did I expect with dozens of cats running around?

Funny idea, ok implementation. More challenge needed!

Overall: *Above average (3.5)* Fun: *Bad (2.0)* Innovation: *Above average (3.5)* Theme: *Good (4.0)* Graphics: *Above average (3.5)* Humor: *Good (4.0)* Mood: *Good (4.0)*

furiouswitch 2017-12-26 14:44

Great game! I enjoyed playing and replaying this game a lot. The idea was good and executed well. Thr main problem for me was that the game kept crashing after 25 kittens. Another issue is that the cats sometimes don't go to the toy or any other object it needs although it is there. Other than that it was really lovely to play. Congratulations :)

themonsterfromthedeep 2017-12-27 20:44

I can't really seem to control this game properly -- that is, I can never sate the cat's desires, and I have no idea what I'm doing wrong.

Sometimes it seems like maybe I have to drop the item right on top of them -- but then the game prevents me from doing that, and when I place it next to them, they just don't move.

Perhaps I'm not using the right items, but it's kind of unclear, because the bubbles that the cats have do not correspond exactly with the items' appearances. Some of them, like the pill, are obvious, but I can't really tell with the other ones.