Earlier this summer ngmoco announced a slew of upcoming games aimed at the socially minded casual gamer. Tucked in amongst those was a cute little title all about loving kitties. Now, only a few months later, ngmoco has given us our first real peak at this upcoming pet simulator with the release of the Touch Pets Cats teaser trailer.
Earlier this summer ngmoco announced a slew of upcoming games aimed at the socially minded casual gamer. Tucked in amongst those was a cute little title all about loving kitties. Now, only a few months later, ngmoco has given us our first real peak at this upcoming pet simulator with the release of the Touch Pets Cats teaser trailer.
With the success of last year’s Touch Pets Dogs and their recent acquisition of series developer Stumptown Game Machine, it was only a matter of time until ngmoco pulled back the curtain and revealed their inevitable pet-loving sequel. If you’re looking for a cut and paste experience from their previous game, however, it looks like you’re barking up the wrong tree.
Much to our surprise, Touch Pets Cats looks to be more than just a carbon copy of Touch Pets Dogs with a new animal. The game is expanding its scope in terms of social involvement. While in the previous game you could only invite other pets to visit your house, now you’ll be able to take you cat and visit the homes of your friends.
Certain elements also seem to mirror those found in popular Facebook pet games like PetVille. Finding coins and special items, for example, will happen as you search couch cushions. This mechanic is incredibly reminiscent of cleaning your home for coins in Zynga’s popular pet game. And like PetVille, you’ll be able to earn coins by completing the same activities in other people’s homes. The big difference here is that your friends will get to choose whether or not to let you keep what you find.
Coins can be spent to decorate your home in Touch Pets Cats. Interior decorating is a welcome twist for the series, especially in light of the fact that players will no longer be able to take their pets outside. Cats are a traditionally indoor pet, and developer Stumptown Game Machine has tweaked their formula to reflect this. Now you’ll be able to explore several rooms in your house, each of which you can decorate with furniture and other items.
Unlike their canine contemporaries, the cats in this series will have an endless supply of energy. In Touch Pets Dogs you would need to spend real world money to keep your puppies energized enough to play. Touch Pets Cats doesn’t encounter the same problem, instead offering up catnip via in-game purchases that will supercharge your cat and make him more effective at finding coins.
Other aspects of the Touch Pets formula have also undergone some major revisions here. The constant need for cleaning and grooming is gone – a logical choice when dealing with cats who clean themselves and use litter boxes instead of living room rugs. You’ll still be able to tackle these tasks, but there won’t be a constant Sims-like pressure about them. The mission-based profession system is also gone, replaced by some sort of hidden object game. The details on Cats HOG aspects remain spotty at best, but we do know that you’ll be able to collect different objects that will result in a player receiving bonus items and coins, not unlike the profession system in Dogs.
With all of these changes, it looks like there may be a whole new experience in store for fans of the Touch Pets series. You’ll be able to find out just how new an experience hands-on when the game releases on the iPhone later this year.
