Dem Gem Cats

Release v1.2

Release v1.1

This update is a big one that deserves mention. The original concept of this game was to chase a dot in a relaxed fashion, but that can get old quick. Now one of the other Gem Cats will swipe the dot if you don't and steals your score! The higher your score, the more engaged they'll be. True to our original vision, this can be turned off in Settings. We've adjusted the graphics and navigation considerably for a more unique and streamlined experience. The default resolution has been updated to 1080p. Accessibility options have been developped for visual and auditory assistance! Make the dot brighter to find it easier or turn on the Hot-Cold feature to know when you're honing in on the dot. And we've taken away ads! Instead of ads, you may periodically be presented with in-game trivia with rewards for correct answers. As before with our ads system, you can turn off these opportunities in the Settings.

Hello!

My name is Kelson Bain, or Zarahi in some circles, and Dem Gem Cats is my first independently developped game to share with the world.

Like many, I had challenging environments growing up, but was fortunate enough to escape through the medium of books and video games. In my teens, I played around with ideas of someday making a video game myself. As I grew, I unintentionally worked on every skill needed to be a game developper for other reasons. Coding classes for hopefully working in IT, a degree in art to consistently engage with the world creatively, running tabletop games for friends with shared nerdiness, folksinging for community... It wasn't until later I started to put it all together.

-Art! --Music Composition!! ---Programing!!! Storytelling.

As with most devs, I started with ideas too big for implementation for my current skill level, but stories I wanted to tell none-the-less. Dem Gem Cats started as a way to reapproach the dream and build that skillset. Explore a singular concept (press the dot) and expand on it.

But then it grew well beyond that. As I took steps towards this goal, my beloved cats of 12 years were nearing the end of their lives. With this project, I hold on tight to their memories, hopefully bring a bit of happiness/entertainment to others, and incorporate them into my lifelong career. Those desires to share joy have led this game's fundamental designs. I learned how to incorporate optional ads in the game using Admob for both Android and iOS platforms, but after all that work -I removed them entirely in favor of a homemade in-game trivia system to provide rewards. I didn't like the amount or kind of data that was required to be collected. While income is important, it's not the goal here. In removing ads, and releasing the game for free, I can provide this passion project to a broader audience. Hopefully giving them some fun and maybe parents just a moment of breathing room. I pushed myself to get the game ready for Apple devices. It meant needing to learn enough XCode to navigate structure and signing/capability practices, many days of additional debugging, and learning how to recompile the Godot iOS plugins (a very involved and not well documented process as of this writing).

Worth it.

(EDIT: Hi from the present/future! The Apple Store release is currently unavailable, thank you for your patience.)

In the future, I plan to continue to update this game regardless of other projects. Backgrounds and dots that evolve based on your score, a new story for a dragon-cat character, and I'm sure many other ideas after some feedback. Dem Gem Cats is my project to showcase what I can do myself, but I'm excited to work with others.

Thank you supportive family, friends, and mentors over the years!

As well as a big shoutout to Thor of Pirate Software (the game studio) for encouraging people to pursue passions and creating such an amazing community.