Introduction to Moosecat Manor

[Oafkad]

Hey Folks,

As we finish up the first pass of Chatty Moosecatty I believe it is time for us to look forward to Moosecat Manor. With that in mind I want to take some time to cover what will be in the game. An introduction, mechanical summary, and goals. (Heaven help me, I did not proof read this)

Introduction

It's a breezy spring day. The feeling of warm air against your cheek reminding you of your childhood. Your parents used to bring you to Grandpa's manor every year. You remember running through the greenhouse, checking out all the flowers from around the world. Exotic plants of a million colors and even more smells. The animals buzzing from petal to petal, and even the birds that nestled within the trees. You remember getting lost in the farmland and orchards. Falling asleep to the same soft breeze you feel today.

Those moments of lucid dreaming where each time your eyes softly opened you could see your father. Carrying you back to the manor to nap somewhere that the sun might kiss you a bit less. You smile, glancing down at the letter your Grandpa had written you. The letter shimmered in the sunlight, giving off an otherworldly quality. But that was no surprise, everything that Grandpa did was beyond normal. You remember every night listening to his stories of his recent adventures. Of all the wondrous things he had seen. Each tale grander than the last. If not for the trophies on his walls, or the flora around the manor, you'd likely never believe it.

The manor too had always captured your imagination. In your childhood it felt like it stretched off in every direction forever. Frequently you'd set out on an adventure through its many rooms and come back with whatever interested you. Grandpa would sit you down and tell you the tale of each and every thing. He never minded what you brought back, no matter how numerous. Sometimes you'd break things but he never raised his voice. You'd both sit together and piece the things back together while he pieced together the adventure.

The wind picked out of the blew drawing the letter from your hand and your attention from the street. You looked up to where the manor stood, or where it once had stood. Vast nothingness stood before you as far as you could see. You dash forward to the precipice of where the manor entrance once stood. The ground glowed with the familiar shape of the foundation reflecting in your eyes.

Not a single plank of wood, not a single brick, nothing remained. You looked around to the greenhouse and saw that while it stood, it appeared to be completely empty. The glass cracked and in some places panes had completely crumbled away. Vines crept up from the earth and crawled along the metal frame of the building. Nature itself threatening to reclaim it all.

The farm and orchards too were overgrown. If not for your own memories it would appear like nothing more than woods and patchy grasslands. Your heart raced in the confusion as the letter passed by your face once more. The breeze whipping it around the air. Your eyes turned to follow it until it landed upon the glowing ground before you.

The letter flashed brilliant pearlescent colors, blinding you for a moment. As color returns to your vision you see the familiar outline of the main hall of the manor. The hall glows like hot steel from the forge. Time quenches the smoldering hall bringing color back to the blinding white walls. The familiar marble and wood that you had seen so many times before stood before you. The large double doors with their full height windows at either side welcome you in.

Your heart races, could Grandpa be inside? You rush up the stairs and swing open the doors. Immediately before you a pair of mysterious animals stare, wide eyed, at your face. One looks a bit like a Calico cat, but with large brilliant antlers atop their head. The other jet black, so dark that light itself seems to be sucked into its form. Above its head space and time seem to bend and writhe upon one another.

A voice breaks your gaze and you look up.

"Welcome back, munchkin! I've certainly gotten myself in a bit of a mess this time!" Grandpa smiles, arms open for a hug.

Gameplay

Moosecat Manor is planned to be a hybrid of some of my favorite game archetypes into one experience. They say that you should write what you know, so I'm guessing that you should code what you like to play. The goal of Moosecat Manor is to solve the mystery of the missing manor. Along the way you are going to rebuild the manor, the greenhouse, the farm, and the orchard. Each providing you with more tools to explore ever further into the world that Grandfather once routinely explored.

You will be accompanied by his two companions, lovingly nicknamed "Moose" and "Bean". A pair of magical creatures that he informs you are called "Moosecats". While many Moosecats you will meet look very similar to "normal" cats, there is no limit to how exotic or otherworldly that they can look.

Controls will be a mix of Stardew Valley style walking around the Manor (and the nearby town) and some menu based experiences based around things like Adventures. You will send out Moosecats (and over time yourself) to explore the various worlds detailed in Grandpas notebook. Indeed each time you explore there is a chance you might find another page from his notebook detailing even more places to explore. These pages seem to have a magical quality to them, sometimes changing right before your eyes.

The vast majority of your experiences and adventures will be nonviolent. Moosecats tend to solve their problems through harmless pranks, friendship, or by being too crafty to be harmed by any dangers. However don't be fooled, the power of some, perhaps many, of the Moosecats is potentially quite vast. Perhaps they had something to do with the manor vanishing?

As you complete adventures you might find more "seeds" to regrow the manor. Each room looking fantastical. They will provide new ecosystems for your Moosecats, one room might be full of liquid hot magma, another frozen over, another somehow completely under water. Moosecats that enjoy those biomes will tend to collect in those places and be happier for it. Additionally some rooms, like the Kitchen, will provide you with access to cooking recipes, buffs, and perhaps even minigames for said items.

For adventures, it may help to check out some Kairosoft games (or the recent Potionomics). Initially they are planned to be similar to sending out things on adventures in those games (as I really enjoy those games). You'll be able to watch the your Kitties progress along in their adventures and get updates on how things are going.

For movement, around the world map it'll be *very* much like Stardew Valley or Curse of the Lamb. The manor is undecided but may be closer to Animal Crossing, with each room being its own zone that you can load into, with a fast travel map you can use.

The Moosecats will have various unique traits, wants, and needs. Combining certain cats on certain adventures will net greater rewards. Asking certain cats to help you with the garden or orchard will help enhance those areas as well.

Goal[s]

The goal with this game is simple. I want to give people a nice relaxing experience. Something close to a slice of life but with fantastical almost dreamlike qualities. Some things will never be quite explained and you'll just have to wonder what is going on. The hope here is to give the player something to take their mind off whatever might be going on in their own life. To settle in with a familiar safe place to unwind and reset.