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omg you were right, while checking something else I realized that there is a bug that causes the kittens to always stay with the same toy. Oops!

You're right the camera option is there, I just missed it it, my bad! I think I expected it to be in the controls tab for some reason but that doesn't really make sense

Wow thanks for the many comments! I do think if we were to continue this project, that we'd focus on the more chill/adorable path rather than the chaos path (though babies of all species are good at chaos!). From the credits there should be a button in the bottom left that allows returning to the main menu. But from the game scene there is no way to leave. This is what our marketing team calls a "retention strategy" and certainly not because we just forgot. Oops!

You're right that Mama currently can play with toys but not with kittens, she can only pick them up. The kittens do eventually wake up, I just confirmed, but it takes a long time. It is about 13x faster in bed. Goes to show what a good mattress can do for your sleep :)

Thanks again for playing!

Since this is your first game(jam) I feel compelled to add context; that while my list of feedback/things to improve might seem big, in reality all games (especially game jam games) have an infinite amount of things to improve, and that simply having put out something that works and is playable and understandable for a complete stranger that doesn't know the game is a big win.

I think forcing to move on might frustrate some players like "no I wasn't done why!?!" unless there's some game mechanics that justifies it like from the start saying "you only have time to investigate X" but that requires narrative justification. I think focusing more on what matters, both in the length of the description and the number of interactables would probably be better. I think there's a tendency from players to view everything that is in a game as content to consume and to not want to "miss out" on anything and can cause players to mess up their own experience (eg: me playing an open world RPG and doing all the side activities and then quitting because I am bored). Just my 2 cents.

I managed 8 delieveries!

Here's some feedback:

• Wow you can really launch yourself with the jump button! By far the most fun thing in the game! The game might need a roof haha
  • I feel like it would help a lot to have a charging gauge for it with visual/audio feedback. It would help the jumps feel more satisfying but as also it would be easier to understand them since the amount that you can charge is like 10x any other game, I didn't really expect it and it took a while to understand.
  • The dash button on the other hand, felt disorienting and nowhere near as useful.
  • I wonder if it might be better to remove the "normal" movement altogether since it feels slow, the jump is fun and what feels different and is way more useful. You could pretend the main character is a dude on a pogo-stick or something.
• The use of the word "simulator" in the title made me expect some kind of parody but that did not seem to be present, not sure if intentional or not.
• The pickup range on the boxes felt a bit short, sometimes  I'd try to pick one up and turn only to realise I hadn't come close enough.
  • Since there is no reason to put down or even choose not to pickup a box, I wonder if it might be better to just have it be picked up on touch and remove the option to drop? Just a thought.
• Suggestion if you want to expand the game: I feel like interactive level pieces like jump pads or other things that propel the player in reaction to their action could make this quite the hectic fun. A bit like playing the ball in pinball.

Good job on the game!

I tried to play, but I always get told I failed within 2-3 seconds of clicking drive and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Fun concept, and nice paper art. The planning gameplay has lots of potential. I think there's a bug where you previous day's actions remain attached to your rover? It made stuff quite messy visually. I also didn't understand the stuff in the top left. The rover's cute!

Cute art style, I like that the game teases mysteries. I also appreciate that each interaction clearly shows where you can click rather than expect pixel-hunting. I personally found of the descriptions a bit wordy. I feel like, if something isn't too relevant, it shouldn't have several "pages" of sentences describing it in great poetic detail as it detracts from the what's important (but that's just a personal opinion).

Hey thanks for the update I gave the game another shot! While I didn't play it all the way through I was able to experience it properly. I was impressed with how large the game is, I'd go down a door expecting like a single room and find what felt like an entire level haha. I do have some feedback:

• Controls: I didn't use a controller because there was no option to invert the camera up/down, so I just wouldn't have been able to play since it is the inverse of what I'm used to. But the KB&M controls worked great :)
• Combat: I feel like there should be both audio & visual feedback when taking damage (or if there is, it should be more obvious). The first time I fought the bomb guys, I realized after the fight that I had taken a bunch of damage, and had no idea during.
  • On the topic of those guys, wouldn't bomb enemies self-destruct when attacking? That added to my confusion
• Levels: the downside of them being big is that they're easy to get lost in without a map. Also, I think I often was locked out of retracing my steps which is something I tend to to re-orient myself
  • Because this feels Zelda-influenced and from the text I appeared on screen, I am guessing the (new) starting area (the subway station I think it was called) is a sort of "main map" that leads to dungeons. However, that main map is also a set of rooms to navigate and not very open, which again made it hard to understand where I was and where I was going.
    • If  the game is meant to be a linear collection of levels, than change my feedback to "I didn't understand that" haha
    • I do like the zelda-style puzzles with pressure plates and rooms with mini-bosses to beat to get items. Brings back some nice memories!
      • If I'm not crazy there was some "show the lock before the key" stuff going on ;) Nice job!
• Art: The main character is distinctive and spooky. I am a little bit confused about the theme since the game goes from a subway to a castle that houses walking bombs haha Obviously a lot of the art was greyblock so I won't put too much judgement on what is placeholder
  • Personal opinion: it is better in a jam to focus on quality of very little time than longer level since everyone is pressed for time and the feel of the game (from the controls to the art) is something the players experience every second while extra content requires that the player already likes earlier content.

That's all I got. Good job making a submission, it was cool to experience it :)

Edit: what is the twirl supposed to be useful for? I just used it to try to go a bit faster

Game looks cool but unfortunately I couldn't make it across the gap where it tells you to twirl

Nice job! Very nice and soothing music, the game is an interesting experience and the theme is not one often tackled in video games, which I commend.

PS: the toddler had a PCYC session and I had no idea what that was. Google told me he goes to Pointe-Claire Yacht Club. That toddler is living his best life!

Hey good job getting a game in for the jam! The dude in the intro cutscene was one of the most cursed things I've seen, I'm going to assume it was intentional and say "good job!". But I gotta admit this was one of the most confusing gaming experiences I've had. The intro cutscenes sets up mystery, but the in the world there are a bunch of invisible walls, its unclear where to go or what I'm hoping to find there. The main character looks nice but the NPCs are blobs and I can't tell if they're placeholder or an artistic choice (especially since dashing turns the main character into a blob also). The music is cool and relaxing, I like. When I talked to NPCs I sometimes had a hard time telling whether it was my character or the NPC talking because the speech bubbles were in such a similar position (and you can walk onto the NPCs). The dude that tells you the controls mixes up some of them (speech and dash IIRC). The trees look cool, though the style clashes with the characters.

I had some trouble with controls because the joystick deadzone was too small or doesn't exist, so when I released a joystick, it snaps back to the opposite side very slightly which made aiming a bit frustrating. I also fell in the white void and honestly since things had been weird up to that point I had assumed it was intended but didn't know what to do then, but I see from your other comment that it was a testing area. All in all there are some cool pieces and artwork in the game but it lacks a bit of clarity in its feedback and I'm not 100% certain what it is trying to be.

Thank you very much for playing and for giving feedback! You proposed some good ideas. The notion of having it run in the bottom corner of a screen is quite interesting too

Thanks for replying! Reading it now it seems to make sense, it's probably just that its so different from other games that it takes a while to get used to.

A funny (and probably relatable to some) concept! This was a very chaotic/confusing experience though, it was difficult to figure out how the laundry worked, I still don't know where the steaks go when they're cook or really how to take care of the babies, I'd make a terrible parent haha. The sound that constantly plays gets annoying quick especially since I can't tell if its supposed to mean anything. Cool game haha, gratz on getting it done

I like the feeling of speed that you can get get with the bird, but I feel like the levels have too many corners and sharp turns to have it shine as well as it could. I was also a bit confused around the fruits being teleporters to levels but eventually figured it out. Good job! Nice bonk SFX and settings menu btw, haha

Very hard to control, but neat!

I'm confused as to what the controls are? I can't seem to move/use/interact with any of the items in my bag, or move my character (though I'm guessing that last part is intentional) so I just watch until I'm dead. Love the name of the game though haha.

Thanks for playing and giving feedback!

The kittens do change target after playing a bit with the same toy. Mama Cat can also play with the toys, though she bumps them around instead of doing a "wiggle butt" push like the kittens. It still gives points. Playing with the kittens is definitely a good idea too!

The topic of whether points are appropriate is interesting. We planned to have the points unlock new toys which have given the system a purpose (right now it is completely useless) but maybe the game would altogether be better without it.

Thanks again for the feedback and kind words :)

Cute turtle! I like that the art style really gives "toys" vibes, because playing with the turtle felt like playing with actual toys. Very short, but fun, good job :)

Funny and interesting concept, love the backstory. Learning to move by backing up and rotating is the key. It was fun but also a bit tedious at times.

I feel like the controls could be improved. Because both "up" and "forward" are on keys I associate with both actions I kept confusing them both. I'd suggest changing the up/down to something like Q/E or another combination of keys that nobody's brain thinks of as "forward". It would also be nice if holding ctrl + up/down went to maximum up/down instantly.

Still this was cool, probably my favorite of the handful I've tested thus far and fun enough for me to reach the end.

I didn't have anyone to play with which probably negatively skewed my enjoyment. The concept is cool, I like the touch that the music stops when you  stop moving. I struggled a bit, especially with the ESDF controls (what's up with that? lol). The visual style is distinctive and evokes a very specific vibe which is nice

Having the level shift is an interesting concept and very cool, however I got confused sometimes about why it moved. Like if I slam the earth into the wall, the gray block moves. But sometimes I am just walking around and suddenly things shift (but sometimes not?) and I was confused. Using the "up" as a throw button was also unintuitive for me personally.

Last random note: I like the background art.

Good job on the rope physics, they must have been a pain to get to work correctly!

Very interesting concept, unfortunately it didn't really give me any "Aha!" moment that you hope from a puzzle game. I was mostly just plugging things vaguely where I thought they'd be high enough. Maybe some of the later puzzles would have given me that feeling, I didn't fully beat the game.

One small note on the jump controls: you need to hold the button to keep rising but as soon as you touch the ground again that causes the character to jump again. It would be better (I think) if they'd only jump OnButtonJustPressed

Pretty fun game! In game anyone else is wondering, the game is played with the arrow keys and the z button, took me a while to figure it out

The writing amused me! But the gameplay was fairly basic since you don't have any way to make the odds in your favor from what I can tell, it's purely random

The rotating camera is disorienting, but the concept is cool and the game is fun though a bit unforgiving

Very cool concept, very good execution!

I like the core idea! But when playing I didn't get many upgrades and they were mostly more jump/dashes, didn't really lead to anything interesting combos unfortunately. It's possible that they exist and I just didn't play enough to run into them. The movement is also a bit floaty and I would have liked if two dashes in a row made for one longer dash without the "hitch" in the middle as one completes before the second one starts. But it definitely has potential

18 seconds long preview of the game: 

One of the better games I've seen in the jam! Well done

Cool idea! I found it quite difficult to figure out what the spells it (nothing tells you AFAIK) or even that you can drag and drop them on the loop.

Cool idea!

Cool concept, but very difficult. I suspect that all of the other traits that make up the monster's appearances were planned to be used as rules for matching as well? It definitely feels like using the type of hat or mustache would've been natural

The guy's face at the end could make a meme / reaction image! Very creative idea!

I lol'ed multiple time at voice acting, good job, the game is fun

Cool idea, I'm impressed that the technical challenge of building tracks on the fly was perfectly handled

Hey thanks for the explanations, I gave it another shot and did manage collect some samples!

I think part of what confused me is that if you are targeting a sample, but not zoomed in enough (fully?), pressing E again will zoom rather than collect even if there is the targeting reticle around the sample. Some shapes are also more distinct than others (the letter lookings one are way easier than the polygons). Whatever it was, once you get a grip on it then it becomes way more doable and pretty fun!

Pretty game, good audio, original concept but maybe a bit too simple.