VOID Cat is a game/interactive story in which you help a black cat on its weight-loss journey.
\nIt has extremely limited deck-building elements, grid-based strategy on a grid whose out-of-bounds logic actually works this year (probably), and a story that will shake Js13k to its very core.
\nThe concept is fun and really unique, well done!\nThe tutorial is very clear, it really helps to understand the game that is not so simple.\nI found this game clearly original and innovative.
\n","games":["Wash the cat"]},{"typ":1,"at":410484775,"re":410416313,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thank you for playing! Glad the tutorial was understandable!!
\n"},{"at":410418171,"author":"Michael M.","login":"Schnark","gh":17846729,"url":"https://schnark.github.io","text":"I encountered several situations where I still had left 2 energy points, but was not allowed to perform a workout worth 2 energy points, or workouts that reduced energy by more points than displayed and similar. This is especially annoying when the mistake prevents you from avoiding a red square.
\nAlso I could not see the 0x01FABE emoji.
\n","games":["Edgar's Mission"]},{"typ":1,"at":410484686,"re":410418171,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"About the 2 energy points, were you in “nap” mode (i.e., cat only takes up one space)?\nThis adds +1 to the amount of energy the card costs.
\nIt was on my “todo” list to visually change the energy value displayed on the card when in this mode, but… I didn’t get around to it, so it’s up to the player to remember. My bad!
\n(Or you encountered a bug that I’m not aware of, haha)
\nGood call about the emoji, too.
\nAnyway, thanks for playing!
\n"},{"at":410426270,"author":"Christoph Schansky","login":"DerBenniBanni","gh":5499976,"text":"Ha! I knew thats the narrator from last year! But it lost its dark (void) background :-)\nOriginal game idea, i wish the cats rotation (180°) had an influence on the left-right (up-down) orientation of the cards, so i often ended with no useable card.
\n","games":["Miami Mice"]},{"typ":1,"at":410485079,"re":410426270,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"No spoiler alert?! (Just kidding, I’m glad you made it far enough to get to the plot twist haha)
\nTrue, the rotation might be a little confusing…
\nAlso, something I realized after submitting was that since the cat starts in the top-left corner, I should have skewed the deck to have more cards that move you right/down. That would help to have more usable cards at any time, I think. Oh well!
\nIn any case, thanks for playing. Miami Mice was great!
\n"},{"at":410471025,"author":"Andrew Higson-Smith","login":"ElementalSystems","gh":4255763,"url":"www.elementalsystems.co.za","text":"Good fun and easy to learn - an unique experience - thx
\n","games":["Wake the Cat"]},{"typ":1,"at":410485094,"re":410471025,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thank you for playing!\nLooking forward to playing your game!
\n"},{"at":410511847,"author":"xem","login":"xem","gh":1225909,"text":"Original. Good graphics and sound. Maybe too much text? The UI is not super intuitive.
\n","games":["I got up on the wrong foot"]},{"typ":1,"at":410580377,"re":410511847,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thanks for playing!
\nFair feedback! I agree on both points, haha.
\n"},{"at":410574911,"author":"Javi Agenjo","login":"jagenjo","gh":393515,"url":"http://tamats.com","twitter":"tamat","text":"Nice concept, maybe it feels a little bit cold, even with the cool messages, the board is feels empty. Adding an image and some icons to represent the red square would add more feeling.
\n","games":["Pacific Black Cats"]},{"typ":1,"at":410580538,"re":410574911,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"That’s a good point!
\nI briefly tried to add some CSS patterns to the tiles (to represent “grass” in level 2, for example), but when it didn’t look good immediately, I gave up to work on other parts of the game, haha. The red squares are a similar area for improvement, for sure!
\nIn any case, thank you for playing!
\n"},{"at":410602652,"author":"Andy Sommerville","login":"aksommerville","gh":1869768,"url":"http://aksommerville.com","text":"I got caught by the extra-cost-when-napping rule and it really spoiled the fun. Had been planning each stage carefully only to find I didn’t have enough energy at the end, oh no.
\n","games":["Nine Lives"]},{"typ":1,"at":410655480,"re":410602652,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Yeah, I think I regret making that mechanic, haha. It should just burn one less calorie, I think. Oh well. Thanks for playing anyway
\n"},{"at":410625616,"author":"smhaaker","login":"smhaaker","gh":10542292,"text":"A fun game. Took a few tries to figure out rotation but good job. I think it can be built upon more too.
\n","games":["CatNFish"]},{"typ":1,"at":410655552,"re":410625616,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thank you for playing! Yes, admittedly rotation is a little confusing.\nWould be cool to add some more levels of different sizes and dimensions!\nLooking forward to trying your game!
\n"},{"at":410636604,"author":"Daivan Trinh","login":"daivan","gh":1457778,"text":"I didnt really understand what my goal was. I was just rolling around like a cat should.\nIt was super cute when it cuddled up to a 1x1 space. The artwork was on point and the chat on the right side was a fun distraction.
\n","games":["Run from the Black Cat"]},{"typ":1,"at":410655683,"re":410636604,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thank you for playing!\nThe goal is to burn as many calories as possible. And you do so by rolling around like a cat should. So I think you got it!\nBut I know what you mean; you can’t really lose, so the goal feels a little vague. Hopefully still fun, though.
\n"},{"at":410734070,"author":"Mohammed Saud","login":"rottencandy","gh":20013884,"url":"saud.wtf","twitter":"rotttencandy","text":"Nice puzzles, I liked the extra exposition through the dialogue on the right. The twist in the end was good.
\n","games":["Non-Mewtonian Cat"]},{"typ":1,"at":411063935,"re":410734070,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thanks for playing to the end!\nI really liked “Non-Mewtonian Cat” by the way..!
\n"},{"at":410771521,"author":"sdeseille","login":"sdeseille","gh":106524,"text":"Yatsa \\o/ ! I manage to go the the end of the game.\nThe comments during all the way long were funny. Even if I suspect some sarcams ! Notably about the quantity of calorie to burn required for the poor Void.
\nGreat game to play !
\n","games":["Blacky Returns Home"]},{"typ":1,"at":411064121,"re":410771521,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thanks for playing to the end! I appreciate it!
\nYes, in the end, the weight loss journey is not so successful…
\n"},{"at":410786807,"author":"Elias Ku","login":"eliasku","gh":3038174,"url":"https://eliasku.win","twitter":"eliaskuvoice","text":"Cool and unusual! I’d love to see some tasteful animations for in-game events.\nMaybe you could pull players in from the start with shorter tasks and quicker rewards, then gradually unfold the story through text events so it doesn’t distract while they’re figuring out how to spend their energy.\nOverall - great job! 🎮✨
\n","games":["Cat Survivors"]},{"typ":1,"at":411064055,"re":410786807,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thank you for playing!\nYes, I think that’s good advice… both this year and last year, I think I put too much text at the beginning of the game. Maybe next year…\nI keep playing Cat Survivors over and over. It’s so fun!
\n"},{"at":410893806,"author":"JimmySmells","login":"JimmySmells","gh":231127042,"text":"Just like my cat Rose, she was fat.
\n","games":["The Giver"]},{"typ":1,"at":411064204,"re":410893806,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Was Rose the inspiration for the cat in your game?
\nMy cat is also a blimp. She lost .2 kg over the past year, though.
\n"},{"at":411003332,"author":"Anthony Cosgrave","login":"anthonycosgrave","gh":1410114,"url":"https://imtoospexy.com/","text":"A really interesting idea for a puzzle. The art and audio worked really well. I liked the use of the chat box for more story details and adding in some humour.
\n","games":["Chickpocalypse Meow"]},{"typ":1,"at":411064246,"re":411003332,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thank you for playing!
\nChickpocalypse Meow was really fun, but I’m so bad at it!
\n"},{"typ":2,"at":411106217,"author":"Christer Kaitila","login":"McFunkypants","gh":2111957,"url":"http://www.mcfunkypants.com","text":"This is such a fun puzzle game! I love that you can go into “defensive napping position” and longcat modes. I love that you are a rolling cat! I really enjoyed the “chat” text story throughout the game, filled with fun emojis and jokes that kept me playing until the very END. This is a fabulous js13k entry, full of personality, and is a fresh take on a nice familiar puzzle style game, and has tons of personality. I really liked it a lot. Thanks for joining js13k and congrats on a job very well done!!
\n"},{"typ":1,"at":411260832,"re":411106217,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thanks for the kind words, McFunkypants!\nI’m glad you played to the end!
\n"},{"typ":2,"at":411340589,"author":"Jupiter Hadley","login":"Jupiter-hadley","gh":97069389,"url":"www.jupiterhadley.com","twitter":"Jupiter_Hadley","text":"What an interesting and quite complex game for the time period! I think the bit of story is so silly, but that the tutorial is long (and it seems to know that!)
\n\n"},{"typ":1,"at":411696451,"re":411340589,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thank you for playing! I’m too scared to watch the youtube now, but I’ll check it out later!
\nYes, my goal for the future is to make a less top-heavy game! Less tutorial, more jumping in and playing!
\n"},{"at":411348604,"author":"Jasper Renow-Clarke","login":"picosonic","gh":26137750,"twitter":"femtosonic","text":"A fun game with an interesting idea
\nI liked trying different tactics and rolling around the grid
\nThe graphics were cute
\nWhen pressing “next turn”, any text being printed underneath stops writing, so I didn’t get all the messages correctly
\nA few of the emojis didn’t render properly
\nI enjoyed playing it
\n","games":["Mochi and the midnight escape"]},{"typ":1,"at":411696301,"re":411348604,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thank you for the review!
\nYour point about not getting all of the messages is a good one. I wasn’t quite sure how to solve this problem, actually.
\nI didn’t want to force players to read all of the text, so I let the “Next turn” button be hit at any time.
\nI also didn’t want to stop players from reading all of the text, so I added this message at the end of each turns’ text array to communicate that the turn was over and it was safe to continue\n‘TURN TRANSMISSION COMPLETED. CONTINUE WITH WORKOUT 🃏🃏🃏🃏🃏’
\nNot a perfect solution! If I were to work on this later (who am I kidding, I’m too lazy) this is something I would try to improve.
\nAnyway, thanks very much for playing!!
\n"},{"at":411386048,"author":"Kamil Żurek","login":"KamilZu","gh":113287322,"text":"Really interesting idea for a puzzle game and cute main character :) It was fun playing Your game :) Much replayability in this title!
\n","games":["Claw'opatra and the Gods of Egypt"]},{"typ":1,"at":411695661,"re":411386048,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thank you very much! I liked your game, too! Really cool strategy game!
\n"},{"at":411460068,"author":"Gleb Volkov","login":"malec-palec","gh":2181873,"twitter":"volkov_ayyy","text":"I had a great time rolling this chonky cat around - clever grid puzzles, cute vibes, and a chatty story full of jokes give it real charm. That said, the tutorial/text can drag a bit, rotation/energy costs can be confusing (and a few emojis didn’t render), and the board/UI could use more visual feedback. Overall it’s a fresh, personality-packed idea that would shine even more with snappier pacing and clearer goals.
\n","games":["Catapoolt"]},{"typ":1,"at":411695610,"re":411460068,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thank you for playing!
\nI agree with that feedback! Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
\nCatapoolt was really fun!
\n"},{"at":411577264,"author":"qufakuz","login":"qufakuz","gh":157382081,"text":"Really interesting game puzzle, and the graphics was cute i like it
\n","games":["Cat and Spikes"]},{"typ":1,"at":411695635,"re":411577264,"author":"Benjamin Boyd Austin","login":"bbaustin","gh":18755168,"text":"Thank you for playing! I appreciate it!
\n"},{"at":411789927,"author":"Jonathan Vallet","login":"jonathan-vallet","gh":5329099,"text":"🃏 Fun game, I really liked the deckbuilding + grid idea! This will definitely be one of the foundations for a game I’d like to develop myself. And yes… I burned quite a few calories while playing 😅.
\n","games":["Witchcat"]},{"at":411970376,"author":"Almut Kieffer-Jones","login":"mxlle","gh":6170306,"text":"I’m glad I could meet and help the Voluminous Ovoidal Immobile Dieting Cat 😺
\nI made it to the end, though was kind of sad that this screen only had the word “end” and not the cat saying goodbye.
\nI really liked the log! (Though the typing sound was slightly annoying). There was some really great humor going on there! And an elegant way to do a kind of deferred tutorial. (I had used the long cat before it was explained).
\nI think I had a bug from time to time: even though I still had 1 energy left, I couldn’t perform the rotate action… But that wasn’t a big problem.
\nI had fun playing this. Grid games ftw 😁
\n","games":["Kittens United"]}],"results":{"theme":{"rank":69,"min":1,"score":3.29,"max":4.24},"innovation":{"rank":17,"min":1.2,"score":3.55,"max":4.03},"gameplay":{"rank":62,"min":1.18,"score":3.03,"max":4.37},"graphics":{"rank":106,"min":1.6,"score":2.84,"max":4.56},"audio":{"rank":71,"min":1.75,"score":2.9,"max":4.22},"controls":{"rank":26,"min":1.6,"score":3.65,"max":4.45},"primary":{"rank":49,"min":8.68,"score":19.26,"max":24.89},"label":"Overall"}}