Here are the basics:

So, here we are. Week 1 of Connected Games. And guess what? We’re already making a game where you and a teammate try to steal food, sabotage opponents, and dodge explosive traps—all while looking like adorable but slightly chaotic humanized animals.

Sounds fun? It is. But also, it’s a beautifully unhinged multiplayer experiment.

Let’s dive in.

Understanding Multiplayer Game Design

Game World Environment Concept (Bright, colorful, deceptive playground)

Game Environment Concept – A bright, playful arena with bridges, puddles, and the infamous "Do Not Push" button

2️⃣Character References Anthropomorphic animals (Mouse, Dog, Cat, Squirrel) with

cartoony, expressive designs for your game.

The Setup: A Two-Player Hustle

Imagine this: You and your best mate are dropped into an arena. One of you is on the ground—sprinting, dodging, and stealing food. The other? A godlike strategist, floating above, dropping spells and messing with the battlefield.

This isn’t your typical “just collect points” game. Oh no. This is deception, strategy, and pure multiplayer chaos.

• You think you’re grabbing a delicious piece of cheese, bone, or tuna for your team?

• Boom. It’s a mine. You’re flung into the sky like a rocket-powered squirrel.

The goal? Be the first team to collect your food.

The problem? You can’t tell what’s real and what’s bait. It’s a psychological battle wrapped in a cute, cartoony, physics-based mess.

The Players: Who’s Who in This Furry War?

🐭 The Seeker (a.k.a. The Food Thief)

• Runs around in 3D, collecting food.

• Can attack enemies (light jabs, heavy slams).

• Sometimes takes a camera flash—blinding opponents and revealing food identities.

🧙 The Observer (a.k.a. The Evil Genius in the Sky)

• Watches from a top-down view.

• Uses crazy abilities like flicking objects (or players) across the map, casting spotlights, and poisoning food.

• Can literally open bridges or electrify puddles to control the game.

This dynamic is inspired by Operation Tango—where one player is the agent, the other is the hacker. Except here? It’s a pet and its human-like wizard owner teaming up for total mayhem.

Character References

Meet the Animal Kingdom of Chaos

Every team is made up of anthropomorphic animals, each collecting their own special food.

🐭 Mouse → Cheese

🐶 Dog → Bones

🐱 Cat → Tuna

🐿️ Squirrel → Nuts

🐄 Cow → Grass

🐴 Horse → Hay

🦈 Shark/Bear → Fish

And just when you think you’re grabbing food, the game pulls a trick on you: all food looks the same.

You have no idea if you’re collecting your item, an enemy’s, or stepping on an explosive mine.

It’s trust and deception at its finest. 🃏

The Inspiration: Physics, Comedy, and Sheer Madness

Our game is a love letter to some of the funniest and most chaotic multiplayer games:

🎈 Gang Beasts / Human Fall Flat / Party Animals → Goofy, unpredictable physics-based movement.

🎭 Operation Tango → Asymmetric teamwork with different perspectives.

🤯 Among Us / Deceit → Hidden information that forces players to second-guess everything.

The magic sauce?

You never know what’s real, but you HAVE to commit.

One moment you’re collecting food—next, you’re watching your friend get yeeted off the map.

The Environment: A Living, Moving, Trick-Filled Playground

The world is bright, colorful, and deceptively dangerous. Imagine something that looks like a happy Saturday morning cartoon, but the more you play, the more it messes with you.

🔴 A “Do Not Push” button in the middle of the arena? Go ahead, push it. See what happens. 😏

🌀 Bridges randomly disappearing because your Observer decided to “help.”

⚡ Electrified puddles that you thought were safe.

Game Environment Concept – A bright, playful arena with bridges, puddles, and the infamous

"Do Not Push" button.

No two rounds are the same. Because the map itself fights back.

The Strategy: How Do You Win?

1️⃣ Seeker runs, grabs, fights

2️⃣ Observer manipulates, tricks, assists

3️⃣ You both try to outplay the enemy team

• First team to collect all their food wins the round.

• If time runs out, the team with the most collected food wins.

• In case of a tie? A 30-second sudden-death battle with one collectible. First team to grab it wins.

It’s fast, unpredictable, and beautifully infuriating.

Challenges We’re Tackling Right Now

💡 Balancing the Seeker vs. Observer roles → Does the Observer have too much control? Does the Seeker feel impactful enough?

💡 Latency and Networking Issues → Can real-time mechanics like “Flick” and “Spotlight” work without lag?

💡 UI/UX Clarity → How do we subtly tell players which food is real without breaking the deception?

This is where playtesting will be key.

Final Thoughts: The Road Ahead

We’re still in Week 1, and we already have a crazy, strategy-heavy, deception-based multiplayer game on our hands. It’s competitive, funny, and designed for betrayal.

Next week? We take this concept and turn it into a reality.

Stay tuned for playtesting updates, hilarious bugs, and more chaos from our Connected Games adventure. 🎮🔥