Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector (Grand Fur-nale)

Over the course of this semester, I've written about a number of games which fall into the general category of "cheap and/or free indie games that happen to appeal to my specific interests". Honestly, this is mostly for the sake of my own convenience. But beyond that, I think that this is an area that is often underestimated. Certainly, video games as a whole medium are becoming more respected, as new games by major developers gather massive budgets, advertising, and media attention, and being a "gamer" is hardly the social taboo it may once have been. However, the comparatively simple games I've showcased on this blog have their own impact. They've bent the boundaries of video gaming beyond the expected, told brilliant and heartwrenching stories, and just plain been pretty fun. Yet it's rare for an indie game to get the sort of attention that big-budget games have, and the games on this blog are largely restricted to very small but devoted fanbases (with one notable exception).

On a totally unrelated note, here's Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector.

Meow.

Unlike the other games here, Neko Atsume is a smartphone app. It provides you with a plainly-drawn virtual yard, in which you can put cat food and cat toys. Close the app for a while and reopen it, and a cat might show up to nibble at your food and play with your toys. Close and open again, and the cat is gone, leaving behind it a small gift of fish that can be spent to buy more food and more toys.

That's it. That's the entire game.

Neko Atsume is really unlike other games, to the point it's debatable whether it can even really be called a game. While most games rely on the player's ability to drive the action, interaction is minimal in Neko Atsume. Sure, you can decide what toys and what kinds of food you want to provide to the local cats, and you have to keep up the food supply if you want cats to show up. And you can take pictures of the cats if you want. But it comes down to the cats to decide what happens when. If a cat isn't showing up to your yard, there's little you can do about it except keep refilling those food bowls and pray. The easiest way to play the game is just to set out food and wait a few hours, leaving the cats to play and the fish to accumulate by themselves. 

Here's a yard with a cat in it.

Yet there's something about Neko Atsume that has proven irresistibly charming. Maybe it's the appeal of cute drawings of kittens. Maybe it's the fact that the game can be played with barely any time, money, or emotional investment. Or maybe it's the constant onslaught of cat puns (Joe DiMeowgio, anyone?) Whatever the case, Neko Atsume has hit it big. We're talking tens of millions of downloads. There's a line of plush toys, if you want to bring the cuddliness of cat collection out of the phone and into real life (without worrying about litterbox training). There's a theme park opening in Japan based on these cats, and it's planned to run for a few months and offer attractions and food based on the game. How many games can say that?

These are the cats you're looking for.

Neko Atsume is a definite example of the idea that sometimes simpler is better. By being easily accessible and appealing to humanity's universal love of cats, it's somehow become a multinational phenomenon. I can't quite explain what it is about these kittens that made the world fall in love with them, but clearly it worked, and maybe there are lessons to be taken from this. It's possible that in the modern age of video games we've lost sight of what's really important in a game. Or maybe we're all just blowing this little cat app out of proportion.

Unsatisfying way to finish off this blog? Perhaps. But not everything has to be wild and thrilling all the time. At the end of the day, it's good to be able to sit back, relax, and look at a cat.

Yume Nikki (And You Thought Your Dreams Didn't Make Sense...)

As you may have noticed from previous entries on this blog, I really like RPGs. And, as you may also have noticed from previous entries about RPGs on this blog, I really, really like RPGs that are dark, creepy, or otherwise weird. Well, if that's the sort of thing you like too, here's a game that hits all those notes perfectly. This is Yume Nikki. (n.b. Unlike the other site links on this blog, this link downloads the game directly.)

Truly, this is the face of a happy game for children.

Yume Nikki (Japanese for "dream diary") isn't much for introductions or backstory; every bit of information about what's going on has to be gathered from context. So, from what one can tell: the main character is a girl who lives in a small room with a balcony. Her world is very limited: she can't leave the room (can't or won't?), and aside from saving the game, flicking a TV on and off, and playing a pitiful NES-style video game, there's nothing to be done except go to bed...

...and that's when the dreams start.

Upon getting out of bed, it's quickly apparent that things have...changed. The room is full of slight differences, the most important of which is that the door opens now. Walking out takes you into an entirely new world, one which is evidently the girl's dream world. From the dream world, one can go through doors into new worlds, which contain doors of their own, which...well. These places are massive, and they're often very open with little in the way of guidance to where you are supposed to go. And really, you aren't supposed to go anywhere in particular. It's enough to just wander around the dream, take in the sights, attempt to interact with the inhabitants, and try to make sense of things.

A road through a forest is easy enough to understand.

This? Not so much.

The details of the environment are really what make this game what it is. There's virtually no gameplay beyond walking around and checking things out, but Yume Nikki doesn't need any of that. Exploring the vast expanses and confusing labyrinths of the dream world is all that the game needs. It's clear that the dream world was a labor of love by the game's developer. There's hundreds of things to see: some bright, some beautiful, most bizarre, and - fair warning - many gory. If pixelated blood puddles and body parts make you squeamish, this game will be a very unpleasant experience. Also, there are several instances where things suddenly jump out or fill the screen without warning, which can be jarring. This is not a game to play with small children around. By the way, nothing here is ever explained within the game. Aside from the tutorial which appears at the very beginning, there's no dialogue or instruction to help you through. Just you and the endless caprices of the girl's dreaming mind.

So, what's the actual goal here? You might expect that there isn't one at all, and you're just meant to roam the subconscious forever or until you get bored. Actually, there is an endpoint to reach, surprisingly enough. By interacting with certain objects and characters hidden throughout the dream, you can get "effects" which change the girl's appearance and abilities. Most of these are totally useless, but like the worlds in which they're found, they can range from cute ("play a flute") to strange ("become a lamp") to horrifying ("become a severed head"). It's rare that an effect is actually needed to get to a specific location (and there's only one case where an effect is needed to get another effect), but there's some rather unique interactions to be had by using certain effects in certain places. Plus, they're just neat to try out sometimes.

My personal favorite is "become a stoplight".

All in all, there are twenty-four effects to collect, and once they've all been found, Yume Nikki's "ending" becomes available. You may have gathered that much of the girl's dream world is left as loose ends, open to theorizing, and indeed, searching the Internet for the game's fans reveals that there's many different ideas as to why the girl and her dreams are the way they are. As to the "ending", though, there's only one leading interpretation. Suffice it to say that it will stay with you long after the game is done.

I came into Yume Nikki expecting a strange, creepy, and overall engrossing experience, and I certainly did not come away disappointed. Obviously, it's not a game for everyone, especially if you dislike blood and scary things, or if you prefer games with constant action. But, if these things aren't issues for you, and you want to explore a world beyond imagining, you should absolutely play Yume Nikki, preferably in your bed, alone, with all the lights off. Pleasant dreams!