Devlog #1 – Welcome to Purrrcatory Escape! 🐾

We are Insert Name Here!

Hello everyone! We are a small team of passionate game development students from the University of Chile. Our team is made up of valgguk (Valentina Ramírez), aldo431 (Aldo Luna), and pablocoop (Pablo Osorio).

We're currently working on Purrrcatory Escape, our semester-long project for a university course on videogame development. This is our first devlog here on itch.io, and we’re excited to share the journey with you! Our goal with this project is not only to learn about designing and programming a game from scratch but also to build something fun and engaging for players to enjoy. We hope you’ll join us as we bring this magical world of kittens, time manipulation, and dungeon crawling to life!

About the Game

Purrrcatory Escape is a 2D roguelike action game where you control one brave kitten at a time, armed with a mysterious, cursed ball of yarn that can manipulate time.

Story: Left behind by a group of selfish adventurers, a handful of kittens discover a talking ball of yarn deep within a dungeon. With its strange power—pausing time when still and reawakening the world when in motion—they embark on a journey to the bottom of the dungeon, seeking revenge against those who abandoned them... and perhaps conquer the world while they're at it!

In this world, the kitten must complete each level using only their magical yarn. By striking the yarn toward enemies, they can defeat threats and progress. When the yarn stops moving, time itself slows down, giving the kitten a precious moment to plan their next attack carefully.

How We Plan to Develop It

We plan to approach development in several clear stages:

1. Core Mechanics First:
   Our first milestone is getting the movement, yarn-throwing, and time-freezing mechanics feeling smooth and fun. These are the heart of the gameplay experience.

2. Building the Dungeon:
   After the core is ready, we will focus on designing modular dungeon rooms, enemy types, and basic progression systems (e.g., stages, power-ups).

3. Art and Atmosphere:
   We'll polish the visuals with pixel art style characters and environments, fitting the magical dungeon theme. We want players to feel immersed in the quirky, slightly dark world of our kittens.

4. Playtesting and Feedback:
   We'll make early builds available to gather feedback, adjust difficulty, improve controls, and make the game as fun as possible!

5. Final Polish:
   Once the major systems are ready, we'll focus on polishing effects, animations, sounds, and user experience to get everything ready for a final public release.

What's Next?

Here’s what we’ll be working on next:

• Polishing Movement & Yarn Mechanics:
  We want the time-freezing mechanic to feel just right. Instead of fully stopping enemies when the yarn is still, they will move in slow-motion, giving players a bit more tension and strategy. We’ll also add a direction & power indicator when throwing the yarn to help players aim precisely. Additionally, we’re tweaking how many times the yarn can bounce off walls before returning.

• Dungeon Exploration Feel:
  While the dungeon layout will be pre-designed, the camera will follow the player closely, slowly revealing each room and corridor as you explore. We want the world to feel mysterious, so players never know what’s lurking just beyond the darkness.

• Enemy Integration:
  We already have the sprites for several enemies ready! Next step: bringing them to life in-game with proper behaviors and animations.

• Elemental Attacks & Animations:
  We’re adding elemental attacks to the player’s arsenal! Fire, ice, lightning—each with unique effects. We’ll also be creating custom hit animations so every attack feels satisfying and impactful.

Stay tuned for sneak peeks and GIFs of these features in action! ⚔️🐱