Games simply don't get much cuter than Kimono Cats , a casual cartoon
adventure about two cats on a date (awww) that creator Greg Johnson
made as a present for his wife. "I wanted to make a game she and I
could play together," says the Maui-based indie developer, "and I
wanted it to be sweet, creative, and romantic."
Kimono Cats is all three, and it's also spectacularly easy to play and
navigate. This Apple Design Award finalist for Interaction in games is
set in a Japanese festival full of charming mini-games — darts,
fishing, and the like — that are designed for maximum simplicity and
casual fun. Players swipe up to throw darts at balloons that contain
activities, rewards, and sometimes setbacks that threaten to briefly
derail the date. Interaction gestures (like scooping fish) are simple
and rewarding, and the gameplay variation and side activities (like
building a village for your feline duo) fit right in.
"I'm a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki and that kind of heartfelt,
slower-paced style," says Johnson. "What you see in Kimono Cats is a
warmth and appreciation for Japanese culture."
You also see a game that's a product of its environment. Johnson's
been creating games since 1983 and is responsible for titles like
Starfight , ToeJam and Earl , Doki-Doki Universe , and many more. His
wife, Sirena, is a builder of model houses — miniature worlds not
unlike the village in Kimono Cats . And the game's concept was a
reaction to the early days of COVID-19 lockdowns. "When we started
building this in 2020, everybody was under so much weight and
pressure," he says. "We felt like this was a good antidote."
To start creating the game, Johnson turned to artist and longtime
collaborator Ferry Halim, as well as Tanta Vorawatanakul and Ferrari
Duanghathai, a pair of developers who happen to be married. "Tanta and
Ferrari would provide these charming little characters, and Ferry
would come in to add animations — like moving their eyes," says
Johnson. "We iterated a lot on animating the bubbles — how fast they
were moving, how many there were, how they were obscured. That was the
product of a lot of testing and listening all throughout the
development process."
When we started with this in 2020, everybody was under so much weight
and pressure. We felt like this was a good antidote.
Greg Johnson, Kimono Cats
Johnson notes that players can select characters without gender
distinction — a detail that he and the Kimono Cats team prioritized
from day one. "Whenever any companion kisses the player character on
the cheek, a subtle rainbow will appear in the sky over their heads,"
Johnson says. "This allows the gender of the cat characters to be open
to interpretation by the users."
Kimono Cats was designed with the simple goal of bringing smiles. "The
core concept of throwing darts at bubbles isn't an earth-shaking idea
by any stretch," says Johnson, "but it was a way to interact with the
storytelling that I hadn't seen before, and the festival setting felt
like a natural match."
Learn more about Kimono Cats
Download Kimono Cats from Apple Arcade
Behind the Design is a series that explores design practices and
philosophies from each of the winners and finalists of the Apple
Design Awards. In each story, we go behind the screens with the
developers and designers of these award-winning apps and games to
discover how they brought their remarkable creations to life.
Explore more of the 2023 Behind the Design series
adventure about two cats on a date (awww) that creator Greg Johnson
made as a present for his wife. "I wanted to make a game she and I
could play together," says the Maui-based indie developer, "and I
wanted it to be sweet, creative, and romantic."
Kimono Cats is all three, and it's also spectacularly easy to play and
navigate. This Apple Design Award finalist for Interaction in games is
set in a Japanese festival full of charming mini-games — darts,
fishing, and the like — that are designed for maximum simplicity and
casual fun. Players swipe up to throw darts at balloons that contain
activities, rewards, and sometimes setbacks that threaten to briefly
derail the date. Interaction gestures (like scooping fish) are simple
and rewarding, and the gameplay variation and side activities (like
building a village for your feline duo) fit right in.
"I'm a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki and that kind of heartfelt,
slower-paced style," says Johnson. "What you see in Kimono Cats is a
warmth and appreciation for Japanese culture."
You also see a game that's a product of its environment. Johnson's
been creating games since 1983 and is responsible for titles like
Starfight , ToeJam and Earl , Doki-Doki Universe , and many more. His
wife, Sirena, is a builder of model houses — miniature worlds not
unlike the village in Kimono Cats . And the game's concept was a
reaction to the early days of COVID-19 lockdowns. "When we started
building this in 2020, everybody was under so much weight and
pressure," he says. "We felt like this was a good antidote."
To start creating the game, Johnson turned to artist and longtime
collaborator Ferry Halim, as well as Tanta Vorawatanakul and Ferrari
Duanghathai, a pair of developers who happen to be married. "Tanta and
Ferrari would provide these charming little characters, and Ferry
would come in to add animations — like moving their eyes," says
Johnson. "We iterated a lot on animating the bubbles — how fast they
were moving, how many there were, how they were obscured. That was the
product of a lot of testing and listening all throughout the
development process."
When we started with this in 2020, everybody was under so much weight
and pressure. We felt like this was a good antidote.
Greg Johnson, Kimono Cats
Johnson notes that players can select characters without gender
distinction — a detail that he and the Kimono Cats team prioritized
from day one. "Whenever any companion kisses the player character on
the cheek, a subtle rainbow will appear in the sky over their heads,"
Johnson says. "This allows the gender of the cat characters to be open
to interpretation by the users."
Kimono Cats was designed with the simple goal of bringing smiles. "The
core concept of throwing darts at bubbles isn't an earth-shaking idea
by any stretch," says Johnson, "but it was a way to interact with the
storytelling that I hadn't seen before, and the festival setting felt
like a natural match."
Learn more about Kimono Cats
Download Kimono Cats from Apple Arcade
Behind the Design is a series that explores design practices and
philosophies from each of the winners and finalists of the Apple
Design Awards. In each story, we go behind the screens with the
developers and designers of these award-winning apps and games to
discover how they brought their remarkable creations to life.
Explore more of the 2023 Behind the Design series