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Clockwork Cat
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  Information
Link: Pixel Love
Developer Patrick Traynor
Released: August 26, 2013[1]
Featured: September 2, 2013
Platform Flash
Control scheme: Keyboard
No. of levels: 14
Data saved: None
Genre(s): Platform
Website(s): Newgrounds
Development time: 48 hours

Clockwork Cat is a puzzle-platformer by Patrick Traynor created for Ludum Dare 27. It was featured on Pixel Love on September 2, 2013. The player controls a cat who must solve puzzles in between the checkpoints before the clock strikes twelve. Most of the game involves timing and doing things in a certain order.

Controls[]

  • Left.png Right.png Left and right arrow keys - Move
  • Up.png Up arrow key - Jump
  • X key - Use wrench

Gameplay[]

The goal of the cat is to make it to the next checkpoint before the clock's second hand moves to twelve. By using the wrench, the cat touches the checkpoint, and will respawn there if time runs out. The wrench not only turns back time, but also moving blocks.

Levels[]

Different stages are set between the clock nodes, where the player must reach within the ten second time limit.

Click [show] to view this video


  1. After pressing the X key to start, the player is taught the controls in a text tutorial. By pressing the arrow keys, they must guide the cat to the right, using the X key to use the wrench. The first node will be in view within the screen.
  2. To get to the second checkpoint, the player needs to move the cat over the single block by jumping, then pressing the X key to activate the checkpoint.
  3. Jumping over the small indent created by a low-elevated block, the cat needs to go up to the floating platform forming a staircase shape to the player's right. The node will be at the top step.
  4. The next few gaps lead to open space if the cat falls. The cat has to jump over them. The second of these gaps is the width of two blocks, but the adjacent platform can still be reached by jumping. Then, the player can reach the next checkpoint by guiding the cat up another three-step staircase sitting on a column of blocks.
  5. The cat must fall to solid ground formed by a row of blocks, then leap up the steps created by other protruding blocks. The next node is adjacent to a moving block.
  6. The player is introduced to moving blocks. By resetting the time, the block will move until it touches the column it is in line with. Using this, the player can guide the cat onto the block, then jump off it as it nears the next checkpoint.
  7. A moving block is seen traversing in a vertical motion. Resetting the time starts the block at the bottom of the screen. As the block is rising, the cat must quickly jump off it, then travel down the staircase formed by blocks to activate the next node.
  8. The cat must get the key, which is sitting in a small enclosed area surrounded by blocks. The cat has to then jump up, move to the right, unlock the door and reach the next checkpoint.
  9. The next key is sitting on a block that will move to the right while the time is running. To get it, the player should wait until the block has moved inwards towards the group of other stacked blocks. This results in the key being pushed off the block and onto the ground. The player should then reset their time and collect the key, allowing them to unlock the door and pass the next checkpoint.
  10. The player must collect the next key on a platform that can only be accessed by jumping onto the moving block below the previous checkpoint. As the time resets, the block gets pushed farther to the right from the player's perspective. The cat should jump on the moving block as it goes towards midpoint. This allows the player to have the cat jump immediately off the block to collect the key. There is a node that is located next to the key.
  11. Holding the X key moves the moving block back to the end of the other platform. From there, the cat can jump on the block while it is moving to the left. As the gap between the block and the platform on the left is close, the cat should jump to land on the platform and quickly reactivate the same checkpoint they did before going on the moving block. If the cat falls, the player must remember to collect the key again, because it will be lost.
  12. Going to the right with the key, the cat will unlock the locked block. The checkpoint is located next to the two block tall column from the ground.
  13. The cat has to jump over several large gaps between floating platforms, some of which are three blocks long. The player needs to keep moving, since the distance between the two checkpoints is longer in terms of horizontal travel.
  14. Down five steps, the next checkpoint will be in view. Unlike the previous checkpoints, when the player presses the X key, there will be a pause before the cat takes action with the node. The ending is displayed after.

Ending[]

This navigational box contains a spoiler. Click [show] to open.

At the last checkpoint, the cat pauses, then attaches the wrench to a hook, securing it in place. The clock stops at five seconds before twelve as the cat lies down and rests next to the node.

The text reads, "Clockwork Cat", with additional text about the game. Just above the sleeping cat, the time it took the player to complete the game is shown.

Pressing the X key on the end screen causes additional cats to appear and attach wrenches to the finishing node. The cats will then go to sleep behind the first cat.

Interactive objects[]

  • Keys - Unlocks locked blocks.
  • Moving blocks - Move in a constant horizontal or vertical direction.
  • Clock - Indicates the duration of time players have to move to a checkpoint.

Soundtrack[]

Clockwork Cat's theme.

Clockwork Cat has one music track.

References[]

  1. Clockwork Cat - patrickgh3 - 48 Hour Compo Entry, August 23-26, 2013, retrieved September 2, 2013.

External links[]

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