A GIF of an orange cat walk cycle
A GIF of a plant simulating a walk cycle and ducking
A GIF of a brown and tan dog walk cycle
A GIF of an opossum walk cycle

Research

I audited several viral mobile games to get a sense of art style and content. By comparing pros and cons of each app, I was able to formulate a survey to get a sense of how Skiddy Kitty would compare to these large-scale apps. Unfortunately there was a small turnout for the survey, but enough data was collected to discover that endless runners are still very popular in the mobile app world, right next to puzzle games. This discovery was definitely a comfort, but I still needed to design something that stood out among the many, MANY endless runners in the app store.
Left side: A survey form with the title "Skiddy Kitty User Study" and a logo featuring an orange cat. The form includes questions about age range, frequency of play, preferences, and suggestions for improvement. Right side: A flowchart spread across three panels. The flowchart has labeled sections such as "Monsters," "Outfits," "Gameplay," "Devils," "Skills Store," "Money," "Tutorial," "Win/Loss Logic," and "End of Game Player Stats." Each section includes screenshots or thumbnails of the app’s interfaces, connected with arrows to illustrate navigation paths or stages within the user experience. The flowchart is color-coded, with different areas shaded in pink, purple, and orange to group related sections together.

Wireframing & Initial Flows

Taking what I learned from my research, I began wireframing the design of the game. I followed the standard design structure for endless runners. I knew my idea for the game was original, but the challenge was figuring out how to make the gameplay different for users. Endless runners can get redundant pretty quickly, so where was the challenge in this game? I decided to up the stakes of the game by making tuna (coin) collection mandatory. If a user stops collecting tuna, their lifespan significantly drops.
Wireframe depicting a mobile app flow with multiple screens. The first screen shows a list of 'quests' or 'missions' with several buttons, possibly for different actions like 'view' or 'start.' The second screen seems to be a 'Create New' or 'Select Character' interface, with a large button for selecting or creating a new character and fields for inputting data. The third screen looks similar, but more focused on finalizing the character or game setup with options to save or load. Next is an 'Options' screen with various toggles and settings for sound, notifications, and other configurations. The subsequent screens appear to be related to the gameplay or quest progression, with a grid layout of boxes or placeholders, which could represent challenges or levels, and detailed views of each challenge.
Flowchart showing the steps in a user process. The chart starts with a decision point labeled 'User presses play,' leading to multiple actions and decisions. It includes steps like 'Check save data' and decisions regarding whether a user has created a save or not, followed by conditional branches that check if the save exists, is verified, or needs to be created. The chart follows through to subsequent steps, with decisions determining if the user can proceed or needs to go through further actions such as typing in data, fixing errors, or reloading saves. The final step seems to conclude with either the success of the process or triggering some kind of an error or fallback.

Implementation

Okay, maybe a game isn't the best idea. Back to square one. I went through endless iterations trying to create a perfect cleaning run video that provided informational messaging to the user. We can at least make the wait time of a cleaning run valuable, right?
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Next, time to decide what will play during an actual cleaning run. Unlike the default screen, this video would be shown during every cleaning run until Real Time Mapping is implemented. The team decided to use this time as an opportunity to give users helpful hints.
Screenshot of a Unity game development environment. The left side shows the Unity editor's hierarchical structure, including a detailed list of game objects and assets in the project. In the center, a 3D scene is visible with a cat character facing a wall or barrier, alongside directional lighting represented by a sun icon. The game view is open on the right side, showing the cat from a third-person perspective, similar to a gameplay preview. The game HUD displays a score of 0, and there’s a vertical progress bar on the right. The bottom panel shows a collection of assets, such as textures, prefabs, and other objects used within the game.

Prep for Beta Release & User Testing

With designs finalized, Skiddy Kitty is nearing its beta release and user testing phase. Future updates will be recorded here!
This screen features the title "Skiddy Kitty" with a cute cartoon cat sitting at the bottom. A large "Skid!" button is in the center, presumably to start the game or an action. Below the button, three additional options are available: "Change Pet," "Poopy Power," and "Stats," each with corresponding icons. The top-right corner includes a settings gear icon, while the top-left has a profile picture.This screen shows various in-app purchase options labeled "More Tuna!" with prices in USD. Different packs include 1,000 Tuna for $0.99, 5,000 Tuna for $1.99, 10,000 Tuna for $3.99, 50 Mice for $1.99, 100 Mice for $4.99, and 1,000 Mice for $10.99. Each option is displayed with icons of fish or mice along with a price, and the total available currency is displayed at the top.In this screen, the player controls a corgi, seen from a third-person perspective, running on a wooden floor inside a room with furniture. The screen shows a score of 0 at the top and an empty vertical progress bar on the right side. There is a table visible in the room, and a trail of items (fish) appears ahead of the cat.This screen is similar to Screen 3 but from a slightly different angle, showing a wider room view. A potted plant is visible in the foreground, and fish icons are scattered across the room for collection. The score at the top is still 0, and the progress bar is shown on the right.
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