🐱 Cats are Liquid

Development Journey

Follow our creative process from initial concept to final release

Our Development Process

💡

Concept Phase

Where it all began - turning the idea of a liquid cat into a playable experience.

  • Core mechanics defined
  • Art style exploration
  • Narrative structure
🛠️

Prototype Phase

Building the first playable versions to test our core ideas.

  • Movement mechanics
  • Room design concepts
  • Early puzzle designs
🚀

Production Phase

Full development with all team members working together.

  • Level creation
  • Art & animation
  • Soundtrack composition

Development Timeline

Concept January 2022

Initial Concept

The idea for Cats are Liquid was born during a game jam. We wanted to create a platformer with unique movement mechanics.

Concept sketch Design notes
Prototype March 2022

First Playable

Our first playable prototype featured basic liquid movement mechanics and a simple test room.

Developer Note:

"The liquid physics were surprisingly challenging to implement in a way that felt both realistic and fun to control."

Alpha July 2022

Alpha Release

Our first alpha version included 10 complete rooms and all core movement abilities.

Alpha screenshot

Alpha Gameplay

Early version showing liquid movement

Beta November 2022

Beta Testing

We released the beta to a small group of testers who provided valuable feedback on gameplay and difficulty.

Tester avatar
Beta Tester Feedback
"The dash ability feels amazing when you master it!"
Release March 2023

Official Launch

After a year of development, Cats are Liquid was released on Steam to positive reviews.

4.8/5
Based on 127 reviews

Technical Challenges

Liquid Physics

Creating realistic yet controllable liquid movement was our biggest technical challenge. We needed to balance:

  • Physical accuracy vs. game feel
  • Performance optimization
  • Visual feedback for player actions

Puzzle Design

Creating puzzles that utilized liquid mechanics while maintaining good difficulty progression required:

  • Extensive playtesting iterations
  • Balancing difficulty curves
  • Creating multiple solution paths

Behind the Scenes

Development Stats

12
Months of Development
5
Team Members
50+
Game Versions
127
Bug Reports Fixed

Meet the Team

Alex

Alex Rivera

Game Designer & Programmer

Created the core gameplay mechanics and liquid physics system.

Sam

Sam Chen

Artist & Animator

Designed all characters, environments, and created the liquid animations.

Jordan

Jordan Lee

Composer & Sound Designer

Created the atmospheric soundtrack and all sound effects for the game.

Our Tech Stack

🎮

Unity

Game engine that powered our development

💻

C#

Primary programming language

🎨

Aseprite

Pixel art and animation tool

🎵

FMOD

Audio middleware for dynamic sound

Developer Blog

Liquid Physics
March 15, 2022 • Alex Rivera

Creating the Liquid Movement System

A deep dive into the technical challenges of implementing realistic yet controllable liquid physics for our feline protagonist...

Art Style
April 2, 2022 • Sam Chen

Developing the Minimalist Art Style

How we created the distinctive visual identity of Cats are Liquid, balancing simplicity with atmospheric depth to support the game's mysterious narrative...