Meowseum + Summer NEWS

Dear all,

I hope you are all doing well and having a nice summer (or winter if you are down under). Firstly, I want to apologize for the quiet period these past weeks. I have been recovering from COVID-19 (again!), which unfortunately came with a handful of heavy symptoms that left me sick for weeks😿. I am doing better now, and this experience has reminded me (again!) of the value of health and rest...

Simultaneously, I've been undergoing another exciting, yet demanding process — a big move to another country. The location of this exciting new chapter? France! As some of you may know, I grew up in France, and returning to my roots has been a nostalgic and inspiring experience. This transition is not just a move towards my relatives, but also quest for inspiration regarding my game.

In the short periods when I have been able to escape my partner's apartment, I've been immersing myself in the captivating worlds of some of France's most renowned museums: the Musée d'Orsay and the Louvre. If you've paid close attention to the Meowseum trailer, you might have spotted traces of these magnificent museums serving as inspiration.

I've also been working on an urban design project with my little sister who's an architect, for the city of Nantes, where I created a mini-game in Unity for the project's presentation before a jury, which was very much challenging!

Musée d'Orsay - Paris 2023 - Inspiration for Meowseum's Hall

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Now, onto some exciting Meowseum updates! 

While moving and recovering, I've managed to invest time in creating one of the game's unique features, and it's all about our furry hero - the Create-A-Cat feature! Here's a peek into what's been happening.

🐈 Kitty's Fur

The Create-A-Cat feature is shaping up to be a delight for every cat lover out there. You'll be able to choose between three different cat furs, for now with the prototype there are three to choose from - Bengal, British Shorthair, and a sleek Black Cat. 

I am excited to see how these cats come alive in the game, and I would love to know what other fur types you'd like to see. Let me know in the comments down below!

👁️ Eyes Colours

What's a cat without its mesmerizing eyes, right? I've been developing the eye customization feature as well, allowing you to choose your kitty's eye color. And rest assured, heterochromia - the condition where a cat's eyes are two different colors - is on my list to implement later in the development process. In the GIF down below, you can also notice a slider at the bottom of the screen, allowing to rotate your feline friend in order to better visualize its conception, at 360 degrees.

💨 Animations Visualization

Lastly, to bring our cute felines to life, I've added some animations to the customization process, inspired by the Sims' Create-A-Pet mode. Now, while you're customizing your kitty, you can watch them in various adorable animations to see how they would act and play in the game. You will also notice a little UI element on the top left corner, allowing you to rename your pawsome friend.

Please bear in mind, the interface for this feature is still in its *VERY* early stages. Currently, it's more of a basic, generic UI canvas. But, as development continues, it will be replaced with a polished, intuitive, and attractive interface. This is all a part of the early development process, and I am incredibly excited to share this journey with you.

I'd love to hear from you about what other customization options you'd like to see in the Create-A-Cat feature. Every opinion matters as we move forward in creating a game that is as inclusive and diverse as our community of cat lovers.

🌍 World Environment

Another thing I've been working on is one of my favourite aspects of game development, world creation. As you can see down below, I'm building a Paris open neighborhood that will be available to explore in the game's intro. No spoilers though, so I'm just showing a topdown view of the main street's construction for now 👀

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➡️ What's next ?

The next step for me is to continue building a solid prototype, because I will be presenting it  next year to other game companies, especially editors who could help me distribute the game to other platforms than PC. What platforms would you be willing to play such a game, I'm curious?? 🤭

Please forgive me again for the lack of content recently. I wish I could share more stuff with you, and I hope the next few weeks will be easier on me...

In the end, I want to thank you for your patience during this challenging period. Your support, as always, means the world to me. More updates are on the way!

Sending love (and meows),

Arnie