Hello, future entomologists! It’s time for another quick update on CatchMaker. Aside from trying to get some funding, we have been rethinking the way we approach dating, so let’s get right into it!
We felt the date UI wasn’t giving the player sufficient information. While you could gain a general sense of how the date was going, it was hard to understand why it was going that way and what impacted the process. This made it hard to predict whether the outcome would be failure, an OK match, or a perfect couple!
So, we decided to rework how dates work and also how we represented its progress during the actual date itself.
Each bug has attributes they LOVE, others that they HATE, and a bunch that they are INDIFFERENT about. During a date, they will make comments about the traits of the OTHER bug, e.g., “I love your colorful body.” or “I hate that you have a hard shell.”, etc.
Depending on their PERSEVERANCE bugs will be able to take a certain number of negative comments before their heart is broken. You can think of this as how many “lives” they have. This is now clearly shown in the UI in the size and color of their heart: the larger and warmer it is, the more the bug perseveres. Every negative comment they receive shrinks it a little bit more, and if it pops completely, and the date fails.
The other part is EAGERNESS, which determines how excited they are to find a partner in general. The “love bar” starts at the two sides of the screen, next to each bug, and positive comments push the hearts closer together towards the center where they meet and meld into one. This is the best possible outcome, a perfect match!
The UI now also represents this by a number of “checkpoints” the hearts need to go through before meeting in the middle. One positive comment fills the bar to the next checkpoint.
Now, there is a lot more going under the hood that will make every date an exciting and rewarding event, but we’re hoping that these changes will give you a clear understanding of what’s going on and put control into your hands. After all, you ARE matchmaking love doctors!
Work on the second Biome has started. It will be a Birch Forest with a more autumnal vibe. As you progress the story you will gain access to it and the bugs that live here will need your help too.
It features some abandoned man-made structures that have been reclaimed by nature and represents a wilder area than the ones we’ve shown so far. This biome, complete with a disused mine, was inspired by a region in our home country of Luxembourg called Minett or Land of the Red Rocks.
We’re also adding some crows to the game in this area. “The early bug avoids the bird.”
That’s it for now! Thank you for checking out this month’s update. As always, check out our social media for more regular updates.