Cat-Astrophy

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• Announcements·22 Sept 2026Official

  Polo isn't just travelling through space, he's searching for who he is

  Who is Polo, really?At first glance, Cat-Astrophy is the story of a small astronaut cat travelling through a galaxy devastated by a mysterious cosmic catastrophe.But behind that journey lies something much more personal.Polo was abducted and lost his memories. Since then, he has been trying to find his way through a universe filled with unknown planets, strange encounters, and constant danger. But the further he travels, the clearer it becomes that his journey isn't only about survival.Polo isn't just looking for a way home. He's trying to discover who he used to be.🧩 The story won't give you all its answers at once.In Cat-Astrophy, the lore unfolds piece by piece. Conversations with characters, encounters with bosses, new planets, special events, and memories you uncover all provide new clues about Polo's past.We don't want every question to have an immediate answer. Some discoveries may only lead to more questions. A detail that seemed insignificant at first might take on a completely different meaning later, making you look back at an earlier moment in a new way.🌌 Every planet tells you more than just its own story.The worlds of Cat-Astrophy aren't simply places where you fight new enemies. They are part of Polo's personal journey. As you reach new areas, defeat enemies, and explore the secrets of the galaxy, you're also piecing together a much bigger picture.Some answers will be exactly where you expect them. Others are hidden in conversations, environmental details, or those moments when you decide to stop and look a little closer.We want the story to feel like a discovery, not an explanation.We don't want to simply tell you what happened. We want you to connect the pieces, ask your own questions, and build your own theory about Polo's past and what really lies behind Cat-Astrophy.🚀 Want to join Polo on this journey?Play the demo and start piecing his story together for yourself. And if you discover a clue that makes you question his past, share it with us and ...
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• Announcements·17 Sept 2026Official

  First you play it, then you dress it in stars

  How do we build a room in Cat-Astrophy?A room in Cat-Astrophy does not begin with a pretty background, a finished planet, or a pile of visual effects.It begins with a much more important question: “What fun decision will Polo have to make here?”Before we cover a scene with pixel art, atmosphere, lighting, and visual details, we first make sure the room actually works as a game space.We start with the fundamentals:Movement: Does Polo feel precise, responsive, and fun to control?Distances: Can the player understand the space and react without relying on guesswork?Enemies: Do encounters create tension while keeping the pace moving?Platforms: Do they add rhythm, challenge, and interesting movement?Side paths: Is there something worth discovering for players who look beyond the obvious route?These elements are tested, adjusted, removed, rebuilt, and tested again until the room feels right. And that's where one of our core design principles comes in: ✨ Gameplay comes first. ✨We do not want rooms that only look good in screenshots. We want spaces that are fun to move through, satisfying to master, and rewarding to explore.A good room should have its own rhythm. Maybe you start with a fight, move into a platforming section, spot something unusual in the distance, and suddenly realize there is another way forward.That is when a room starts to feel alive.Only after the gameplay feels right do we start dressing the room with its final identity, pixel art, atmosphere, visual storytelling, and personality.The goal is simple, a room should not feel like a decorated obstacle course. It should feel like a real place inside Polo's universe. 🚀 Want to see how it feels for yourself? Play the demo and explore the rooms yourself. And if you discover a route you particularly like, we'd love to hear about it. 💬 Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/yPhKcdCWc
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• Announcements·7 Sept 2026Official

  A Challenge That Teaches, Not Punishes

  ⚡ A challenge that makes you betterA good run is not about overcoming every obstacle on your first try.In Cat-Astrophy, we want every fight to teach you something. Enemies have patterns you can learn, every mistake should help you understand what happened, and every defeat should leave you with a clearer idea of how to approach your next expedition.The difficulty is not there to tell you “you can’t do it.”It is there to tell you:“Not yet. Try again.”And when you come back, you come back better.🎯 Learn to read the combatCombat revolves around precision, movement, and real time decision making.Attacks have clear signals, enemies have patterns, and your positioning can make the difference between a victory and a trip back to the ship.Sometimes you have to attack.Other times, it is better to dodge, reposition, and wait for the right moment.There is always a question to answer:Do I keep attacking, or is it time to stop?We want you to overcome challenges because you have learned to play better, not simply because your stats are higher.🌟 Every defeat should leave something behindDying is part of any roguelite, but dying and feeling like you simply wasted your time should not be.Every expedition can leave you with Star Fragments, new options for your builds, knowledge about enemies, routes waiting to be discovered, and above all, experience as a player.A boss might defeat you when it has barely any health left.A risky decision might go wrong.But when you return to the ship, you will know a little more.And that is progress too.🚀 Improve yourself. Improve Polo.Cat-Astrophy combines two types of progression.Polo improves permanently thanks to Star Fragments.You improve every time you play.You learn which modules work best together, discover new strategies, recognize patterns, and learn when taking a risk is worth it.What once seemed impossible gradually becomes something you can master.💜 Difficulty should be funCat-Astrophy is challenging, but being challenging does not mean b...
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• Announcements·4 Sept 2026Official

  The Ideas That Did Not Survive the Journey Through Space

  Not Every Idea Reaches the StarsDeveloping Cat-Astrophy has taught us many things, but there is one lesson we have learned again and again:A good idea is not always a good mechanic.Throughout development, we have tested countless systems. We modified them, combined them, rebuilt them and, in some cases, removed them completely.Some worked perfectly from a technical perspective.Others looked incredible on paper.And some, honestly, were a lot of fun.But they did not make it into the final game.Why?Because throughout the entire process, we kept coming back to the same question:Does this idea make Cat-Astrophy more fluid, more expressive, clearer and, above all, more fun?When the answer was not clear enough, we had to be willing to leave it behind.🧪 The Versions of Cat-Astrophy You Never SawToday, Cat-Astrophy has a very defined rhythm.Movement, platforming, combat, exploration, modules and the Star Cursor are designed to work together and create a cohesive experience.But it was not always like this.Throughout development, we tried minigames, alternative reward systems, completely different versions of the combat and even different approaches to the Fatigue System.Some ideas were genuinely interesting.Others were pretty wild.And some worked well on their own, but simply did not fit the rhythm and identity we wanted for Cat-Astrophy.That is where we learned a fundamental lesson:A mechanic does not have to be bad to disappear.Sometimes it simply does not belong in this game.✂️ Removing Things Is Also Part of DevelopmentOne of the hardest decisions when creating a video game is not always adding something new.Sometimes it is removing something you have already invested countless hours into.That is why every prototype had a much more important goal than simply getting something to work.We wanted to discover what role each system actually played within the complete experience.Does it change the way you play?Does it create interesting decisions?Does it reward skill?Does it fi...
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• Announcements·2 Sept 2026Official

  Cat-Astrophy is competing in the DevGAMM Awards 2026! 🏆

  We’re very happy to share some special news:🏆 Cat-Astrophy has been selected to participate in the DevGAMM Awards 2026!After years of learning, experimenting, and creating games, it’s incredible to see Cat-Astrophy become part of this international competition.A huge thank you to the DevGAMM team for considering our game and giving us this opportunity. For Heraan Studios, and especially for me as an independent developer, being able to bring Cat-Astrophy to an event at this level means so much.The games will begin to be evaluated by the judges on September 11, and the nominees will be announced on October 22.For now, all we can do is wait and keep working on Cat-Astrophy while sharing the journey with all of you. ❤️Thank you so much for joining us on this adventure.— Aaron Hernández Founder & Creative Director, Heraan Studios🔗 Learn more about the DevGAMM Awards:https://devgamm.com/awards2026
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