Cat King's Long Journey (GMTK Jam 2024)

This is a puzzle game where you stretch cats to get their king to the top of a mountain. Try to complete all 8 levels!

This was solo developed by me for the 2024 GMTK jam with the theme "Built to Scale".

Some minor fixes have been made to this game post-jam, the original jam version is available to download below. Note: There seems to be some minor visual issues with the cats in the windows build of the jam version in higher resolutions that were not present in the web build

I'm not sure if I will continue working on this after the jam but it would be nice to add in some more content or features I didn't have time for like an undo button.

Hints

I'm not sure where people may get  stuck so I'm hoping these help 😅

Level 1 - Leaving the Castle

Read the tutorial and get the king to the flag

Level 2 - Pushing Off

Is there a shape where you could carry the block without letting it fall?

Level 3 - Foot of the Mountain

Is there a way to push the block to the side while being underneath it?

Level 4 - Stepladder

Is there an arrangement for the other 2 cats that could let you climb up? Also, utilize the cat king to push them, it makes it easier than constantly switching and moving one space

Level 5 - Trapeze

There has to at least be one part of the cat where the outline aligns with a one way platform for you to stay up. What kind of shape allows this? There's also another solution if you think about it from the other side

Level 6 - Catch

Which block do you stack first?

Level 7 - Sacrifice

Remember Level 5. There should be a shape to carry the block over

Level 8 - Stretch to the Summit!

If you're absolutely stuck, there is a full playthrough video which shows the solutions

https://youtu.be/HIvRZd3rP5Y

Controls

Move around: Left and right keys or A and D keys

Stretch cat: Hold space + press arrows or WASD

Snap back: Tap space key

Retry level: R key

Switch active cat: Shift key

Exit level: Escape key or backspace key

Known Bugs and Oversights in the Original Jam Version

There were a few known issues in the jam version which have been fixed post-jam

• Bug: Falling onto the goal causes the next level entered to immediately exit. The next time you enter a level after that it should work normally
• Oversight: Level 7 has an unintended solution that goes against the level name
• Oversight: The castle wall visual in level 2 cuts off before the top of the screen

Public Assets Used

Graphics:

I created the cats, the level tiles, the props, and some of the UI. Everything else you can find below

• Castle Background - Artist: SeeOne - https://seeone.itch.io/castle
• Mountain background - Artist: caspardal - https://harbingersolution.itch.io/snowy-mountains-parallax-background
• UI Buttons - Artist: Xanderwood - https://xanderwood.itch.io/ui-buttons
• Game Over font - Artist: analogstudios_ - https://analogstudios.itch.io/game-over

Audio:

All audio in the game is listed below

• Cold Atmospheric Music - Author: linxiaoma - https://opengameart.org/content/cold-atmospheric-music
• Factorio Clone Music - Author: Alex McCulloch - https://opengameart.org/content/factorio-clone-music
• Orchestra Loop - Author: Brandon Morris - https://opengameart.org/content/orchestra-loop
• "Chill" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 
• Cat meowing x5 by peridactyloptrix -- https://freesound.org/s/214759/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
• Swishes Sound Pack - Author: artisticdude - https://opengameart.org/content/swishes-sound-pack
• 7 Assorted Sound Effects (Menu, Level Up) - Author: Joth - https://opengameart.org/content/7-assorted-sound-effects-menu-level-up
• 12 Player Movement SFX - Author: leohpaz - https://opengameart.org/content/12-player-movement-sfx
• Fantasy Sound Effects Library - Author: Little Robot Sound Factory - https://opengameart.org/content/fantasy-sound-effects-library