The “sweet, creative” world of Kimono Cats

Games simply don’t get overmuch cuter than Kimono Cats, a casual cartoon escapade astir 2 cats connected a day (awww) that creator Greg Johnson made arsenic a contiguous for his wife. “I wanted to marque a crippled she and I could play together,” says the Maui-based indie developer, “and I wanted it to beryllium sweet, creative, and romantic.”

Kimono Cats is each three, and it’s besides spectacularly casual to play and navigate. This Apple Design Award finalist for Interaction successful games is acceptable successful a Japanese festival afloat of charming mini-games — darts, fishing, and the similar — that are designed for maximum simplicity and casual fun. Players swipe up to propulsion darts astatine balloons that incorporate activities, rewards, and sometimes setbacks that endanger to concisely derail the date. Interaction gestures (like scooping fish) are elemental and rewarding, and the gameplay saltation and broadside activities (like gathering a colony for your feline duo) acceptable close in.

“I’m a immense instrumentality of Hayao Miyazaki and that benignant of heartfelt, slower-paced style,” says Johnson. “What you spot successful Kimono Cats is simply a warmth and appreciation for Japanese culture.”

You besides spot a crippled that’s a merchandise of its environment. Johnson’s been creating games since 1983 and is liable for titles similar Starfight, ToeJam and Earl, Doki-Doki Universe, and galore more. His wife, Sirena, is simply a builder of exemplary houses — miniature worlds not dissimilar the colony successful Kimono Cats. And the game’s conception was a absorption to the aboriginal days of COVID-19 lockdowns. “When we started gathering this successful 2020, everybody was nether truthful overmuch value and pressure,” helium says. “We felt similar this was a bully antidote.”

To commencement creating the game, Johnson turned to creator and longtime collaborator Ferry Halim, arsenic good arsenic Tanta Vorawatanakul and Ferrari Duanghathai, a brace of developers who hap to beryllium married. “Tanta and Ferrari would supply these charming small characters, and Ferry would travel successful to adhd animations — similar moving their eyes,” says Johnson. “We iterated a batch connected animating the bubbles — however accelerated they were moving, however galore determination were, however they were obscured. That was the merchandise of a batch of investigating and listening each passim the improvement process.”

When we started with this successful 2020, everybody was nether truthful overmuch value and pressure. We felt similar this was a bully antidote.

Johnson notes that players tin prime characters without sex favoritism — a item that helium and the Kimono Cats squad prioritized from time one. “Whenever immoderate companion kisses the subordinate quality connected the cheek, a subtle rainbow volition look successful the entity implicit their heads,” Johnson says. “This allows the sex of the feline characters to beryllium unfastened to mentation by the users.”

Kimono Cats was designed with the elemental extremity of bringing smiles. “The halfway conception of throwing darts astatine bubbles isn't an earth-shaking thought by immoderate stretch,” says Johnson, “but it was a mode to interact with the storytelling that I hadn’t seen before, and the festival mounting felt similar a earthy match.”

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