A cry for help leads a night watchman into a forgotten animation archive. Load the drawings into an old multiplane camera, turn on the projector, and meet someone who wasn't on any of the cels.
Swap and slide the layers to change scale, overlap, and the path through a living cartoon. The cat moves on his own whenever you make a way forward.
Three chapters, branching paths, and three endings.
Old Tech
The multiplane camera is the central game mechanic. Moving drawings closer to the lens changes their size; changing their order reveals and conceals parts of the scene.
Controls
Use the mouse to open folders and operate the camera's cranks and handwheels. Press R to restart the current scene. Desktop browser; fullscreen recommended.
Artwork disclosure
AI-generated images were used for the 2D artwork, illustrated story scenes, and character animation frames. We have opted out of Graphics and Audio ratings.
Credits
Created by We Love Games.
Music: Evening Fall (Piano) by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Changes: filtering, volume adjustment, fades and MP3 conversion.
Sound effects: Freesound recordings released under CC0 1.0.
Fonts: Lora by Cyreal and Oswald by Vernon Adams, Kalapi Gajjar and Cyreal, licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.
Full source links and audio/font license notices are included with the game and on its itch.io page.
lovely concept. the first level took me a second, so probably could have done with a tiny bit more hand holding the have the fox move at least once, but I may as well just have been stupid not to figure it out quicker
@xlarsi Thanks for the feedback! I fell into the classic designer trap of getting so used to the mechanic that it started to feel obvious. A little more guidance to help players get the character moving for the first time would definitely help. That's useful feedback, and I'm glad you liked the concept!
I’m a fan of old Disney animated films, so I find this game beautiful. I’d love to see classic stories and fairy tales incorporated into the game! The mechanics and the game’s concept are very original and fun. The only thing I’d change is having the art created by humans, but I understand the time constraints of a game jam, jaja! Great work!
@emaigualmc2-art Thank you for the kind words! I’m a fan of classic Disney animation too, so I’m especially happy you mentioned it. I was wondering whether anyone would notice the reference behind the title—it’s a nod to Disney’s animation archive, “the Morgue”! I couldn’t directly use Disney’s specific adaptations and characters, so I went with an original story. I understand your point about the AI artwork - that’s why I opted out of the Graphics category. I’m glad you enjoyed the concept and mechanics!
Cool concept. I like the idea of a simple yet original puzzle that have multiple solutions. I hope you can find illustrators for your next project because your ideas are good and deserve humans hands and mind. Good job !
@gamescodedogs Thanks for the feedback, Oleg! I actually spent the last day of the jam simplifying the puzzles after a couple of friends playtested the game and struggled to solve them.
I got all the endings but i got the best one first, should have stopped there :D The concept is very creative and the mechanics are very fun and unique. Well done!
Flying away on a cloud seemed to me like the best one for the character, but the others were also creative. I would say "meeting him" delighted me the most as a player.
2/3 endings. Just couldn't find the third :P The mechanic is really interesting and makes a unique way to tell a story. The only thing I would ask is for there to be a "undo" button that would take the game back a single input in case you have progressed in a way you didn't intend. But don't listen to me... I just wanted some help finding the third ending ;P
Such a wonderful and creative game. I would play a full length game where we get the animation puzzles, but also the real world night guard puzzles. I always wanted to play with a multiplane camera, thank you!
An excellent game—so this is how cel-style animation is produced! The sight of that fox standing in front of the door sent a chill down my spine. I’ve only unlocked two endings so far—the ones involving the two folders held by the crow—and I’m not sure how to trigger the third ending.
@smdrr11037 Thanks for playing and for the kind words! Here’s a hint for the third ending:
!> In the amusement park level, there’s a folder above the door that you need to guide the character into. You can reach it by placing the trampoline on a higher layer than the wooden platform, or by moving the trampoline and platform cels apart horizontally. After that, get the character onto the Ferris wheel.
@mrs-wheelsx Thanks for playing and for the undo button suggestion! Which two endings did you find? There’s also a spoiler-tagged hint for one of the endings in my comment above - maybe that’s the one you’re missing!
Solid jam game! The overall game feel is great, and the artistic choices give the project a lot of personality. Everything comes together into a really cohesive and enjoyable experience. Well done!
What a lovely little game! I really enjoyed the idea of manipulating animation layers to help the cat find his way. It's such a creative interpretation of the Old Tech theme! The whole experience feels like stepping into an old animated film. Great atmosphere, clever mechanics, and a charming story. Really glad I played this one!
Really unique and clever concept! Using old-school multiplane camera techniques and operating the cranks to layer the animation cells is such an inventive way to tackle the Old Tech theme. Loved the puzzle mechanics and the tactile feel! Left my ratings! If you happen to have a minute later to check out more entries, we’d love if you took a look at our game Meow Bomb as well. Best of luck with the jam!
Mechanically this one's pretty interesting, you move layers in a projector to change the size of objects on screen and shift them around to solve some really simple puzzles. It's fun and satisfying to mess with, and even though there's not much challenge, the core idea is really good. There are three endings, and two of the final ones aren't super clear (they're actually kinda understandable, just not explained). Still a neat concept,
Comments38
I couldn’t directly use Disney’s specific adaptations and characters, so I went with an original story.
I understand your point about the AI artwork - that’s why I opted out of the Graphics category. I’m glad you enjoyed the concept and mechanics!
I love the concept and it was fun trying out the mechanics and figure out how it worked.
!> In the amusement park level, there’s a folder above the door that you need to guide the character into. You can reach it by placing the trampoline on a higher layer than the wooden platform, or by moving the trampoline and platform cels apart horizontally. After that, get the character onto the Ferris wheel.
If you happen to have a minute later to check out more entries, we’d love if you took a look at our game Meow Bomb as well. Best of luck with the jam!