Hi! I wanted to share my story about how I accidentally ended up making a game about cute kittens.

https://preview.redd.it/ayu406qkcaid1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=f48b95dbe4752ae6410b7bb4fd8ddddfe35df5eb

I am an animator and illustrator, and I love drawing animals. I make cartoons on different themes.

Last year, a friend of mine, who also had no experience with game development, contacted me. We both play games and always dreamed of making our own games. We decided to enter the big game development competition, Ludum Dare, where we had just a few days to make a game with the theme “Limited Space” and compete against 2,000 other entries.

During our brainstorming session we came up with the idea of ​​small animal shelters, which inspired us to our first sketches and concepts.

https://preview.redd.it/4g8y6gancaid1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9a4d3b3e7343679c1abf9bcb325775353adb7b9f

On the first day, before I had a chance to draw illustrations for the main character and cats, my friend used random images he found online. As a joke, he chose an image of an old woman smoking and spiders instead of cats. This amused us at first and motivated me to design the cutest and most adorable characters possible.

https://preview.redd.it/0yfy4riocaid1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d96fb07152749e48c252ce06e4db67a8a83637b6

I had several ideas for locations and we debated them for a long time until we remembered that the theme of the contest was “Limited Space” so we decided to keep it simple. Of course we had big plans that we couldn’t fit into a few days. So we had to cut out a few things that we couldn’t finish in time, like washing the cats!

https://preview.redd.it/t4dowydpcaid1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0710ccb63c4a0b3a69f217bf3159f8150df1e3c3

https://preview.redd.it/h7dnpgepcaid1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f6b9644843ae9574e3a8dfa88bae2dbfc9651f0

The next phase of the competition was the most fun: we got to play other people’s games and get feedback on our own games. During this process we fixed funny bugs and met a lot of great people.

https://preview.redd.it/tdlb0gbqcaid1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=056165318bede1b1b0c6e03964fafa1694efbf20

In the end, we took second place in the Graphics category, with almost 90 reviews and a lot of comments.

https://preview.redd.it/nleg9tfrcaid1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ff9edf800c615eac642cf58a0710ec8190ae565d

I highly recommend participating in such competitions to get inspired and inspire others to create. The competitive element really helps you to meet tight deadlines and achieve the impossible, and those who are supposed to be your rivals often turn out to be kind and helpful friends.

I wish you all success! I am happy to answer any questions about game jams and game development.

The game I’m talking about is still in development. If you liked my art and the atmosphere, I recently started a cozy community on Discord where we share cat pictures, pretty stickers, and chat while we develop the game under your watchful eye. I’d love to see you there!