literally every time we post anything mewgenics related someone will always say, you are still working on that? or i thought that was canceled? and i totally understand because both are true, but also somewhat untrue at the same time, so let me take you down memory lane and explain where this whole thing started, where it is and where it's going!
in 2011 the dust had settled on the release of super meat boy, i really wanted to stretch my design muscles a bit and take bigger risks so i started experimenting with designs in short game jam like bursts, the first game jam game was a weird game called Love Sick, about a love starved child who uses his tears to fight off his inner demons, 3 months later this game would release on steam with a new title, The Binding of Isaac. Isaac's release didn't really wow many people, it literally took almost a year to really take off and become the hit you guys would know, and as it grew so did my taste for something new. i had 2 more weird game ideas, one was an FMV game about webcam murders called Camdrome (more on this one in a few years) and the other was a cat breeding sim called too many cats aka, Mewgenics.
the idea for Mewgenics was basic, you have a house hub where you breed and care for a bunch of stray cats, you take those cats into mini games and grind out coins you use to buy furniture to fill your house and that was that. it was a simple but cool idea that looked cute, gross and funny and that's all that really mattered to me, i LOVED this game. i spent the next 9 months obsessing over every detail, drawing 100s of pieces of furniture, 1000s of cat pieces and slowly creating this little living town full of weirdo npcs who help aid in your progress. i even made a comic about it that was given out at pax to anyone who demoed the game there, things were looking awesome.. sadly not everyone shared my enthusiasm. shortly after showing the game at pax the game was canceled and shelved along with camdrome. unable to work on these IPs I decided to focus my attention back on isaac and its remake, Rebirth. but being forced to put mewgenics down haunted me for years... i loved that world and i loved the core idea of a hub where you breed cats and use them as avatars in other games, i loved the characters ,art style, and phenomal soundtrack by Ridiculon.
around 2017 i left Team Meat, but with me came mewgenics and camdrome. it was a dark time then, but once i finished the projects i had started (The end is Nigh, Bumbo, Repentance, Tapeworm and Four Souls) i swore that i would start again on Mewgenics and that exactly what Tyler and i have been doing for the past few years.
i loved the design and themes of the original prototype, but using the cats in mini games and basic pokemon combat felt lame.. so tyler and i both put our heads together and started experimenting with a "core" game idea, something that could use multiple cats at once and bring every element of what worked before into this new design.
we tried making a brawler
we tried doing it more RTS style
we tried a range of genres...
but finally we tried out a turn based rpg style, like final fantasy tactics...
this design was the hardest to tackle and by far the most in depth. but mewgenics was a feature creep design, at its core the prototype was about endless possibilities, replayability , legacy and everything we were exploring with a turn based strategy game complemented these elements perfectly.
after about a year of work it was clear that this new design was amazing, the more we added the more deep and repayable the game became, this was THE GAME.. this was the thing I've been wanting to make for over 11 years!
and that brings us to now, currently Tyler and i are leading a small team of animators and artists into the future with banners held high. we have roughly 18 months left of dev, but the game is far enough that we have started allowing the press to experience it, and the response is amazing.
so, from here on out every 2 weeks ill be doing a blog post about some aspect of the game, spoiling music , art and even gameplay.
we have a long road ahead of us, bit its super exciting to be this obsessed with a project again and i cant wait to show you how it all works!
see you in 2 weeks
happy new year.
-Edmund
(ps here are some old music spoilers ill leave for your listening pleasure, more on the music later!)