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Oh my gosh! I don't know how to start - this comment made me so happy!!! I had the biggest smile reading it, thank you so so much for the kind words!! <333

This game is probably my proudest work for a game jam so far. It was really fun to make! I really appreciate you enjoying the art and animation - it seems that my lingering childhood obsession with horses has its perks, hehe. And I'm glad the difficulty felt appropriate, the balancing is probably the quality I was most on the fence about! The mutations are, at this moment, entirely random - so if you play a couple more rounds you might find the mutation that requires the meat ;3 Now that you mention it, though, I love the idea of mutations evolving further with different stages! Noting that down as we speak!!

Life got very busy after this jam, but I've always kept wondering if I could find ways to keep working on this game. I'm still very excited about the idea, and your comment really reignited my enthusiasm!! I suppose the biggest hurdles are figuring out how to turn this from a quick jam project into something more thought-out, and deciding on which direction I want to pursue - but I do have some ideas! I think if I take some time to really consider my options I can find a good path, and if I do I'll be sure to share it! :D

Again, thank you so much!!

Due to time constraints we were unable to submit a proper build, but here is a link to a non-jam fixed version: https://cookiecrummbl.itch.io/reclaimed

Edit: I've found my team! Leaving this up for posteriority hahah

Heyo, I'm Cookie!! I'm a 2D/3D Artist with some experience programming in Unity (and Unreal). I have an idea that I'd be really excited to work on for this jam, and I'd love to do that with one or two likeminded devs!

I can definitely take care of any art-related assets, and I'll also be capable of writing, game design and programming if needed, but if you have experience in these three areas I would love to split some tasks to ease the workload. I'd be especially relieved if you're down to take care of the programming entirely so I focus on the artwork! Either way, I would definitely need a Sound Designer / Composer!

Some of my work can be seen here: https://www.artstation.com/christinaluntz or on my slightly ancient instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biscuitbunny333/. I also have some stuff on itch you can check out!

Some bits that are important to me are scope awareness, since that's kicked my butt a lot in the past, stress avoidance because I want us all to have a life outside the jam (I'll probably only have time for it on weekends and weekday evenings), transparency and communication so we can be clear if there's any issues (it's always okay if you want to quit the project due to any reason, please just let me know!) and also that you're 18+ of age due to personal preference. I'm also queer and a big ole yuri enthusiast, so if you don't enjoy/respect that, we might not really hit it off.

Anywho, my idea is to make a silly weirdcore creature collecting (+ possibly caretaking) game with f/f protags!

Have you ever seen those videos where people adopt lost/abandoned animals on their road trips? I've certainly seen a bunch! I also really love designing wacky creatures. Henceforth, the idea is as follows:

"A restless driver and her animal-loving wife/girlfriend find themselves far from familiar roads. Their long drive home was supposed to be perfectly ordinary and appropriately boring, but after a wrong turn the landscapes surrounding them become ever more... surreal. As the driver grows ever more anxious, the worst happens: they come upon a creature, waiting at the edge of the road. It looks weird and that is scary, but it unfortunately also looks like it needs help and oh my god we need to help it what if it won't survive out here please let's take it along with us!! The driver is, unfortunately, not immune against her partner's pleading puppy eyes."

This game's main premise is driving around surreal landscapes and picking up a bunch of weird animals in your vehicle. The rest is still up for the imagination: I could see fun in just keeping it as a creature-collecting thing, but it could also involve finding out which of the creatures definitely shouldn't be in the same car together or what caretaking needs they might have! That could add a resource-finding mechanic - maybe there are rest stops to stock up on wacky food?

The aesthetic will be in the weirdcore/surreal/backroom-esque/eldritch camp, but more with a comedic/silly tone rather than horror. A strong inspiration would be the Zooliminology Project by Quiietjay, search Golbo Care Guide on Youtube if interested! I think a 2,5D artstyle would be really fun (objects/environments 3d, characters/creatures 2d), but otherwise full 2D could also work well.

If you're interested in working on this with me, feel free to hmu here in the comments!

Ah, thank you for letting me know! I'll work on getting that fixed^^

Thank you for your kind comment, I'm so happy you enjoyed it! :D I really appreciate the feedback too, I'll definitely look into improving that aspect of the gameplay as well!

Thank you so much for your lovely comment, I really appreciate it - I'm so glad you enjoyed the style!

I definitely agree, in the end of the jam I sadly couldn't find more time to refine the gameplay itself... but I really want to tinker with it more, so hopefully sometime after the voting period I can upload an improved version. (And just in case, you can currently either win by defeating the abomination or lose to the horses hunting you, although I do admit that's where I need to focus the balancing efforts on!)

It's mainly an homage to Bella Sara, a fantasy horse card collecting game! Back in the day, you could transfer the horses you got cards of to a browser game and interact with them there. The hoof scraping and brushing mechanics were so satisfying, they're still ingrained in my brain! Otherwise I took some elements from Zoo Tycoon DS, a game where you built and managed your own zoo (in which dangerous animals would also attack your visitors if they ever got out xD)

Visually, I wanted to go for a look similar to Don't Starve! I really love artwork with scratchy lines and heavy blacks, which I think also goes very well with the 'countryside horror' vibe. Then there's the good ol eldritch abominations - and while this might not have been a direct reference, the artwork of the TTRPG Heart - The City Beneath (artist Felix Miall) has probably influenced me a little as well!!

Hehe, I'm so glad to hear you had a good time!! <3 Thank you so much for your kind comment!