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Meet colorful cube Mojito the Cat aka the titular character of the recently released rotating puzzle game of the same name.
The world of Mojito the Cat is vibrant with aesthetic callbacks to the Nintendo 64 era. Gameplay is accesible, that requires precision but isn't punishing
Gamer Cat Cafe spoke with developer GTZAStudio about the real cat behind Mojito the Cat, the ups and downs of game development and more.
Gamer Cat Cafe: Can you describe Mojito the Cat?
GTZAStudio: I would say that if you like brain challenges and cute characters, Mojito the Cat is for you.
The main idea behind Mojito the Cat is to provide a puzzle game that helps players improve their spatial reasoning while enjoying a charming atmosphere with cute hand painted characters.
In essence, it mixes Rubik's Cube, descriptive geometry exercises and Captain Toad.
Who is your target audience?
I wanted to have cute aesthetics. I don’t like puzzle games that have a serious aesthetic. I created a puzzle game with almost no knowledge about modeling and animation.
I tried to turn my weakness into my strength by creating a simple shape as a cube, painting it to look like my own cat and make it roll as the main mechanic (Curiosity: Rolling in-game is mathematics driven, there is no animation).
Is Mojito based on a real life cat?
Not only Mojito, but Woody from MOJITO Woody's Rescue is also a real pet.
Mojito arrived to my family as a baby at only a couple of days old. He was found at a park near the school with four more kittens. My sister picked him up and brought him to our house.
Woody raised Mojito when he was only a kitten and soon they became best friends. I always thought that Mojito doesn’t know if he is a cat or a dog, he has some dog behaviors.
MOJITO Woody’s Rescue will reflect this best friend bond between them.
Can you explain the difference between Mojito the Cat and MOJITO Woody's Rescue? Are the stories linked?
They are two completely different games. While Mojito the Cat is a charming puzzle game MOJITO Woody’s Rescue it’s a 3d platformer exploration game inspired mostly by Super Mario Odyssey, Banjo Kazooie and Celeste.
As soon as my modeling and animation skills started to improve, I decided to make a more ambitious project but didn’t want to lose the essence of my character.
I also think that this simple shape is memorable and catchy.
When did you get started in game development?
I’m an architect but I’ve always been passionate about video games.
I decided to start my first game in 2019, while I was working in Football Club Barcelona New stadium as a BIM Specialist focused on process optimization and VR.
At the beginning, I worked on my game after hours from 7pm till 1am. The first concepts were just a way to express the creativity that I had inside, and I was not able to explore in my job.
As the game started shaping out, I decided to quit, focus on my game, and also develop archviz projects as a freelancer to get some funding.
What made you want to make a puzzle game?
Mojito the Cat started with one main premise, a game I would like to play. Sadly, in the end it is a game I can’t play as I know how to solve all the levels.
I’ve always enjoyed puzzles and jigsaws, and descriptive geometry was one of my favorite subjects in my architecture studies. I mixed both concepts and made a puzzle that has to be solved preparing your next move and visualizing the object from all sides.
"In game dev you make your own rules, the entire universe you are creating are ruled by your own limitations. I think that freedom and being able to exploit all my creativity is what made me love game dev from the first moment."
What is the best part of game dev?
Being able to dedicate your life to doing something that you truly love it’s the best part of it.
If I compare the creativity of architecture with the creativity in video games, freedom is the biggest difference. While you are bound to certain rules in architecture, such as gravity, client, budget etc, in game dev you make your own rules, the entire universe you are creating are ruled by your own limitations. I think that freedom and being able to exploit all my creativity is what made me love game dev from the first moment.
From the technical perspective, I truly love when things start to shape out. When you have an idea, you plan how to deploy it and it starts working and smoothly as you expected.
Gameplay mechanics and game design would be my favorite topics in game dev.
What is the worst part of game dev?
I think that the most difficult part for me as a solo dev so far, is having to use my own savings. I must live with the minimum, and sometimes I suffer with the fear that what would happen if I run out of money or if I can’t get a freelance commission when I need the money.
The most discouraging thing I’ve found is game promotion. It’s so frustrating when you work for several months to achieve some feature, you prepare the video for some days and after that your post is under seen.
Algorithms are so hard to understand and the only way to face and overcome it is to keep working and posting and not overthink about results. You have to have faith in what you are doing and think that someday it will get the attention it deserves.
Why does wishlisting a game help so much?
Algorithms nowadays can be so helpful but also hell. As far as I know, the more wishlists your game has, the more visualization. Is kind of a way to snowball and avoid being shadowed by the big amount of new games released each year.
It also helps you to measure how many acceptance your game could have on the release day. It is said that approximately between 10% and 20% of the wishlist converts into actual sales, but I can't confirm it as I haven’t released a game on steam yet.
Is there anything that you'd like to add?
I would like to thank my family, friends for their unconditional support. Also, to those who have been following my work and encouraging me through my social media channels.
Recently, I opened a Discord channel, and a beautiful community of very positive people is flourishing, motivating me to continue with the project.
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