It's time to leave the seas and head to our next destination on our Tour of Explora! In case you haven't caught up yet, last week, we started a tour of the different towns you can discover in Townseek, starting with Sharkdwell.
This week, we're looking at the feline town of Meowosville! As one would expect of cats, they really like cardboard and strings, and made their town to fit their needs. Being a close neighbour to Sharkdwell, it's one of the first towns you'll discover as you venture into land.
Let's go meet these adorable yet crafty friends! Just keep an eye out for your belongings!
Catfolk are very social and great explorers, and Meowosville is surrounded by equally interesting creatures. They're friends to the sandcastle crabs at the beach south of the town, and unlike whatever one might expect, they love playing with the dogs at the nearby Goodboi Park! Meanwhile, to the north, a group of territorial buff cats have claimed a cave and made it a gym for themselves. We recommend you admire their pectorals from a safe distance. 💪
While Meowosville is the home to most catfolk, they actually have a long history of travelling the world! It's said that they come from the faraway deserts of Dunafar and that they crossed paths with the stone people of Stonehedge. They're actually the most numerous species in Explora! Keep your eyes peeled, and you might find some cats at some interesting locations.
The merchant and host for Meowosville is Whiskey, and at his store, you're the boss! ✨ Like any good shopkeeper, Whiskey will charm you into buying his wares, such as Fish Burgers and Squeaky Toys. But if he happens to snatch your pouch, don't be alarmed! That's how catfolk play! He'll give it back if you chase him, along with some round pebbles.
Whiskey isn't the only trader in the family either. While Whiskey prefers to stick around at home, his cousin Pawline travels and trades the world in her own airship. You might even get to meet her during your own travels! You didn't think you were the only one flying around, did you?
Fishing is also a big part of life at Meowosville! While fish is important to their diet, most of their fishing is actually recreational! During the main quest for Meowosville, Whiskey will introduce you to their prideful aquarium at The Big Bowl. Once you get a fishing rod, which Whiskey conveniently sells, he'll ask you to help fill it for an upcoming exhibition! 🎣
Search for one of the many fishing spots around the world, like the nearby Atlantis, cast your rod and see what bites! There are many different kinds of fish to catch, and they're also a great opportunity to make some quick money. But if you want to complete your collection, your fishing rod will need to get an upgrade at some point. 🔥
For our behind-the-scenes development trivia for this week, Meowosville was the first town we designed for Townseek, all the way back in its game jam version. As a quick proof of concept to figure out how we wanted towns and characters to look, we designed the host for the first town as a blue anthropomorphic cat in robes. That helped us set the tone and themes we'd need for the rest of the characters.
Having a cat-themed town also gave us the opportunity to reference one of our previous game jam games, Woofice Chair! In it, the player would control a dog in an office chair, defending their park from various waves of extremely muscular animals, which inspired us to add the Buff Cat Cave and Goodboi Park to Townseek. But worry not, the cats and the dogs sorted out their differences since.
Speaking of cats and dogs, if you happen to be a pet owner, keep an eye out for more news early next week! 🐶 You might have noticed by now that the world is full of unique critters that we've created to populate the world. But what if some of your own pets managed to slip into Explora? 🔍
Anyway, it's time to head to the next stop on the tour! Put on your rain boots, since we'll be heading to the swamps of the Driplands next! 🫧 If you'd like to share your favourite bits of the tour so far, consider joining our Discord server! Tell us what you liked about Meowosville and what you'd like to see next on the tour!
For now, have a safe voyage, and we'll catch you on our next stop next time! Cheers! 👋
– Whales And Games 🐳