I'm the indie developer behind Catlateral Damage, the first-purrson game that lets you cause destruction through the eyes of a mischievous house cat. AMA!

Your game was featured in the Time magazine?? I know how it feels, I was the 2006 Time Person of the Year, so yeah it's awesome!

Serious questions:

What language/frameworks did you use to make the game?

How long did it take to develop?

Haha, nice!

I used Unity (with Javascript/Unityscript) to make the game. I created the original prototype in a week in August of 2013, worked on it part-time until March of 2014, and have been working on it full-time ever since. So, it's been in development for almost 2 years!

Any chance for Hololense support where you basically just run around trashing your own room as 3d objects are superimposed over it? :)

Maybe! The game is just crying for VR/AR support. I'd love to add some kind of new technology support, whether it be HoloLens, Oculus, Morpheus + Move, etc.

What do you think of my mom's idea for a sequel? She saw me wreck a room as a cat and said "There should be a game where you pick all of those things up." Classic mom.

I believe that game is called Katamari Damacy.

But seriously, I think that would be funny! Someone has suggested a 2-player mode where one person is the cat and one is the human, but making (virtual) messes is so much more fun than cleaning them up!

Whats ur favourite kind of cat? :3

Tuxedo! :) My cat growing up, Nippy, was a tuxedo cat and he was awesome.

Can you include breeds from this list when making a sequel or dlc?

I'm pretty sure we have all those breeds covered in the description of the game. :P

This is the only kickstarter/crowd funding endeavor I've pitched in for. Does that make me a horrible person, what with all the medical and scientific efforts on there?

Alternatively, have you thought about adding larger levels, like say a Costco or liquor store?

Wow, thank you! You're not a horrible person; you helped make a silly game about cats that makes people laugh. :)

The largest level in the game currently is the supermarkat, which is just one big room with thousands of objects in it. It has already caused a bunch of problems in terms of performance, so anything larger probably won't work, unfortunately. A smaller, more specific store like a liquor storefront could work though!

What are your plans now that the game is out? Will there be expansions for this game, or do you think you'll get to work on something completely different?

Also, are you a squid now or a kid now?

Right now I'm fixing up some minor bugs and getting the game ready to launch on OUYA. I'd love to keep working on it afterwards! I have some ideas for small new features (like a daily challenge mode) and more content is always nice (I still want to get a moon base level in there). I feel like there's an infinite number of things I could add to it, so it'll keep me busy for a while.

And I am most definitely a squid now.

What's your favorite dinosaur?

I always thought the triceratops was awesome. Sort of like a prehistoric rhino, but cooler.

What was the most difficult part of this whole Catlateral experience?

Thank you so much for the game it's awesome and so funny hehehe and thanks to Lindsay from Rooster Teeth I heard about you and pitched in! Saludos from Tijuana! :D

Thank you! :) The most difficult part has been balancing everything. On a typical team you have the programmers, the artists, the designers, etc. and I did all of those jobs for this game. I had a great deal of help from Fire Hose Games in terms of marketing, business, and some development, but most of the core game work was up to me. Also, when there's a bug I can't just blame the programmers. :D

What are your thoughts on Monster Hunter, if you've played it?

I've only played a little of MH3U and the demo of MH4U overall I think the series is pretty cool. I personally find it hard to get into games that are very long and/or have a lot of mechanics, but I enjoyed the combat of the game and the feeling of chasing down something that's so much bigger than you. Also, having little cat friends that follow you around and make puns all the time is wonderful.

are there any non-cat related games or projects for the future? thx for doing this!

I have a bunch of ideas for new projects (like everyone else) and only two of them include cats. I'm leaning towards the ones with cats though because I really want my kitties to star in more games!

Maybe an innovative new Catformer that rivals Super Mario 3D World?

That could work!

Now that the game is released, have you been able to get Guinness or Twin Galaxies to add your game to start keeping score for world records?

I've been trying to get my favorite soda drinking simulator recognized for years and for some reason they just don't accept innovative titles anymore.

Haha, I hadn't thought about that! There is a Steam stat in the game that counts the total number of objects you've knocked to the floor and we did have an idea of keeping a global tally of everyone's stat (sort of like what Nintendo did with coins in NSMB2). It would be funny to get the "most virtual objects destroyed in a video game" record. Or the "most real-life cats in a video game" record (230+ photos and 22 playable cats).

What is your opinion of Blatter's resignation as President of FIFA?

I think he could use a little more cats in his life and a little less corruption.

meow?

Meow.

Pics of your cat ?

These are our cats, Wil and Lyn. Today is Wil's 2nd birthday!

Whoa your cat has the extra pad.

Yup! She has extra toes and no tail (she's a Manx).

Have you played Jazz Punk? Particularly, the destructive cat mini-game?

I have! I actually bought and played through it because I got a couple comments comparing my game to the minigame and hadn't heard of the game before. What a silly game. :D

1.) Any plans for multiplayer?

Some ideas: two people playing same room simultaneously (but different instances, so only 1 person per room), then compare the higher percentages of stuff knocked over. Two cats, one room, each object gets coded the player color and each person has to knock more stuff to the ground (think splatoon, a bit)

2.) Thoughts about Kinect functionality?

3.) How big is your amiibo collection now, and which ones are the ones you want most next? Which are your favorites?

4.) Thoughts on Splatoon? I am thinking to buy it, maybe we can play together sometime :D (you do know me, i swear D:)

That's it for now. :D

1.) No multiplayer plans yet, unfortunately. I think it would be super fun but it would be a huge undertaking (needs lots of new animations, reworking of some core code, tweaking input, testing, etc.). I haven't cut it completely yet though!

2.) Kinect could be fun! Movement might be weird, but it would be cool to swipe in real life and see things fall over in the game.

3.) I have all the currently-released Smash Bros. ones with the exception of 2 (one which I'm getting tomorrow and one which is in the mail). I also have a Silver Mario and Gold Mario for some reason. :D I'm looking forward to R.O.B. the most, since I use him a lot in the game. My favorite so far is either Meta Knight or Toon Link; they just look so good!

4.) Splatoon is great! The single player is actually pretty good (the final boss is amazing) and online multiplayer is awesome. I still have a ways to go in terms of rank and unlockables. We should definitely play sometime! Buy it right now! :P

Dude! Your game is one of the best things that has happened in awhile, I've been playing it since pretty early on and love how its developed. Now that is has released and you've got a few moments to breathe... what do you see doing with it next? Expansions? New Game Modes? And hey, do you need more cat pictures or cats for models in the game? ;-)

Aww, thank you! :)

I'm hoping to add a few more small features and maybe some content in the near future. I'm looking into adding things like a daily challenge mode, a way to select types of levels in Litterbox mode, and saving/loading seeds so you can regenerate levels you like. I still really want to add a level editor, but we'll see!

As for more cats, we did talk about opening up photo submissions sometime after launch. I'd love to keep adding more and more cats! It's just a matter of the best way to handle them all.

Apples or Oranges?

Oranges!

I love this game so much, it makes me laugh every time but I never really knew about it until watching Vsauce3. Speaking of that to an extent, did you think that this game would catch on with bigger Youtubers such as the ones listed above?

Thank you! :) I certainly hope it catches on with more YouTubers! It's a funny game that makes good videos, so I think it's an easy one for YouTubers to cover.

On a 10 point scale, did Mary Chung's Dun Dun Noodles contribute a 10 or an 11 to the development of the game? :D

I'm going to say an 11. :D

what names did you try and reject before coming up with catlateral damage? would you change the name if someone comes up with a better one?

Hmm, there weren't many titles before I landed on Catlateral Damage (and I can't remember them!). I knew I wanted something cat-related so I tried things like "Cat Attack", but "Catlateral Damage" just sounded better. I wasn't as adept at cat puns as I am now. :D

As for changing the name, I think it's a bit late now that the game is for sale and has gotten a bunch of press over the past year and a half. Changing it now would just confuse people!

How many lives do we get?.....

.....

Nine, but your first one never ends.

Got any cool statistics on the game yet? Or, if you're not tracking, any guess's as to peoples favorite/most played level?

Hmm, I'm not sure! I'm not actually tracking any metrics but each player has their own statistics that are recorded in their save file. If I had to guess, I'd say quite a few people enjoy the mewseum bonus level.

What other indie games are you looking forward to?

The one I'm most looking forward to is No Man's Sky from Hello Games. I need to get a PS4 in order to play it though!

Are you going to make a level where you have to wait for the owner to look away, so you can blame it on the dog?
Alternatively, will you make a level where you have to maintain eye contact with the human while you throw things down.

I probably won't be adding humans any time soon, unfortunately. Other than being boring creatures, they'd be a lot of additional work to add (AI programming, 3D modeling, animating) and would take focus away from the player: the cat and most important character in the game.

You can definitely blame any and all things on the dog, though.

What kind of items would you want to add into the game in the future? Like a pinata, a breakable burrito, or a box of glitter! Also, legalize catnip?

More breakable objects would be great! I think it would be cool to add cameo objects from other games, too. There are so many "special" objects I could add if I end up doing stuff like holiday DLC. I really just want to destroy a Christmas tree with ornaments on it. :D

What games do you play? Do you play on Steam? Do you play TF2? Do you play Realm of the Mad God?

I used to play a lot on Steam (TF2, Skyrim, Binding of Isaac), but not so much recently. Now I tend to play Puzzle & Dragons (3DS) on the bus to and from the office and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U at lunch. I've also been playing a bunch of Splatoon since this weekend.

Hey Chris, first of all congratulations! How did your game come to the attention of big-name YouTubers? Was it organic or did you specifically promote it to them?

Thanks! I really didn't do anything to promote the game early on, so it was entirely organic. Having a website and social media pages up (with a playable demo in-browser) definitely helped people find the game though.

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Thanks! Since the levels are procedural and photos are picked randomly, there's no easy way to find specific ones. Which cat is it? I can check the game data and make sure the photo is there. :)

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Yup, Black Cat is in there! I've definitely seen him while playing, too. :)

Hi Chris! You know me.

How has being thrust into the public eye of the internet and the gaming community in general affected how you live and work? With a lot of controversy surrounding games these days, it can be daunting to open yourself up as a creator in this industry. Have there been any negative responses to the game, or has the magic of cat simulation more or less kept the conversation civil?

Hey there! :D

It hasn't changed much, other than the fact that I can work on the game full-time. I think most people who have seen the game are focused on it rather than the person behind it (for better or worse). The game is also fairly small and silly, so it's not really pushing any buttons that would lead to any controversy or anger. There have been a few instances of people saying it's ruining "true gaming" (whatever that is) but nothing major!