The Cat Lady

[Grim]

 

The Cat Lady
The 47th Best PC Game of 2013 (Metacritic)

Available on Steam
http://store.steampowered.com/app/253110

Official website: http://www.thecatlady.co.uk

( Almost 30,000 voted YES for us on Greenlight, THANK YOU! http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=114327732 )




Where to get it
Steam! http://store.steampowered.com/app/253110
GOG! http://www.gog.com/gamecard/the_cat_lady
Humble! https://www.humblebundle.com/store/the-cat-lady
Fire Flower Games! http://fireflowergames.com/shop/the-cat-lady/
Phoenix Online Studios! http://store.postudios.com/products/the-cat-lady
or from us via Humble Widget! http://www.screen7.co.uk

Susan Ashworth, known in her neighbourhood as the crazy Cat Lady, is a lonely 40-year old on the verge of suicide. She has no family, no friends and no hope for a better future.

One day she discovers that five strangers will come along and change everything... But those five, "The Parasites", are also the most ruthless, deranged and cold-blooded bunch of psychopats the city has ever known. They will stop at nothing to hurt Susan. Unless, she hurts them first...

Susan's few weeks journey doesn't take her across the world and won't turn her into a hero. She has little faith in others and hardly even cares about herself. She can't fight and has never fired a gun in her life.

But she's hanging onto that thin thread of hope, that in the end, as promised, there's an ilusive reward waiting for her. Something worth trying for. Something that'll help her find an unlikely friend. Something that'll give her life a purpose...

Susan's journey takes her on a rollercoaster ride between the world of the living and the world of the dead, where the only way to survive is to overcome her biggest weakness: her own self.

[embed=480,360] <iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wx6j2I8v2Z0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> [/embed]

"A horror story that should be enjoyed for years to come" - Link Dead Gaming

The game contains themes of violence and gore, strong language and nudity and is suitable only for persons of 18 years and over.

Reviews & player bloggings:

"Despite the surreal nature of the game, the realism of the dialogue is spot on. The developer absolutely nails emotional trauma, whether it�s a character discussing her partner�s reaction to a cancer diagnosis or the painful ways in which we dig at and hurt each other when we argue with the ones we love. 4.5/5"
http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/23373

"It�s so good that it single-handedly breathes new life into the adventure game genre and shows that mature storytelling with an artistic presentation is not dead. 10/10"
http://emotionalmultimediaride.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/horror-games-week-2012-review-of-the-cat-lady-pc/

"Susan Ashworth is no heroine, she is a flawed and damaged human being, with a past so devastating it will bring you to the verge of tears."
http://www.thereticule.com/the-cat-lady-review/

"Altogether, this muddy patchwork of horrific imagery, terrifyingly real emotion and superb sound design comes together to create a horror story that should be enjoyed for years to come."
http://www.linkdeadgaming.com/that-indie-kick-the-cat-lady-fibrillation/

"If you are looking for a shallow, quick play this game is not for you. However if you are looking for a lasting experience that will most likely keep you thinking long after you have finished the game, then you�ve spent your money wisely and will not be disappointed."
http://www.pcgamereviewsandnews.com/2012/12/the-cat-lady-release-information-and.html?spref=tw

"The controlls are very easy to master, the characters are lovely, as is the voice acting."
http://goodgamefelicia.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/the-cat-lady-review-eng/

"Susan Ashworth may be one of the most human characters I�ve encountered in a game."
http://indiestatik.com/2012/12/13/impressions-the-cat-lady/

http://www.screen7.co.uk/ads/TheCatLady.swf

[an Urpney]

At last I can fully express how much I enjoyed the game and loved (almost) every little bit of it. I think the best recommendation is this: The Cat Lady managed to give me a nightmare. The actual “plot” of that dream had very little to do with the game itself (it was about a plague and dying people â€" much more like King’s Bastion) but I had it the night I finished the game and I remember a scene with text floating in the air, much like in

Spoiler

one of Susan’s memories

[close]

.
Most of what I want to say would probably contain heavy spoiler, so I’ll hide it ; )

Spoiler

What I loved:
- Most notably of all â€" port sequence. It was dark, it was stylish and it had one of most creative puzzles I’ve seen in any adventure game (the padlock code puzzle).
- My second favorite part was the tale about the Cat Widow. I laughed out loud â€" at ~1 AM â€" when Giant Zombie Cat appeared on screen.
- All little (and bigger) references â€" to Maniac Mansion, Dark Seed, Planescape: Torment, Sanitarium (still can’t decide if the monster behind the mirror is more Dark Seed or Sanitarium â€" I think I’ve seen something just like this in Cyclops chapter), Stephen King and probably many more I can’t remember now).
- To my own surprise I liked Susan. I thought I wouldn’t after her initial “quiet surrender” speech to X (people like this tend to annoy me in real life, especially when they fight like lions to defend their point of view) but her bitterness, misanthropy and sarcasm made me like her and care for her… and then I had to tell her to shot herself… and then I couldn’t stop playing before Edna and Weird Ed died in pain… then I missed my bus).
- Art style is simply amazing. Anything more realistic would hurt the story.
- The cats and how tastefully they are treated in this game â€" if something bad happens to them, it’s hinted and rarely showed (and even if â€" it was still as tasteful as it could be). And my character is never responsible for it. I know it was necessary in Downfall and was justified by Joe’s past experience, but for the whole game I was afraid I’ll have to do something similar.
- Coffe’n’Cigarette interface (although many cigs burned themselves on the ashtray and many cups of coffee went cold as I forgot about them).

What I didn’t love so much:
- Micromanagement part when Susan returns from the hospital. That’s the only part I didn’t enjoy that much â€" must try to fail in on my next playthrough.
- The florist. Of all characters he was the only one I felt was a plot device rather than a real character. He appears out of the blue, motivates Susan to tell the final piece of her story and dies without much effort. Some back-story for him would be nice.

What I still wonder about:
- Parasites. Why are they parasites? Those we met were more like predators. Of all characters those with really parasitic nature were Adam feeding on other’s life as he didn’t have his own, Lady of Maggots feeding on Susan and Susan (unwillingly) consuming lives to sustain herself.
Why were those Parasites important in grand scheme of things?
Why did Lady of Maggots want them dead and why did she want Susan to do it? If Lady of Maggots was what I think she was, she would want to keep Susan apathetic and resigned, and yet she forces her to take action and makes her practically unable to fail.
- Immortality. Why does some death take Susan to the Dark World (X, Florist, Adam’s gas) and some not (most notably Pest Control part)?
- Does The Cat Lady take place after Downfall? If so, why does nobody know about murders committed in this building (hole in the floor suggests it’s the same building)?
(BTW, I replayed Downfall after finishing The Cat Lady (v 2.0 from Gamersgate) and found a gamebreaker â€" in PASSION + SURRENDER ending, when Joe asks Ivy for help, game crashes to desktop with a message that variable “Sex with rec” is missing â€" can send a savegame if needed). A minor one - I can still open the secret room with manequin's left arm missing.

[close]

Anyways, this was a great experience and no game since Planescape: Torment gave me so much sleep deprivation.
Thanks!

[Stupot]

Congrats on release guys!

[viltaket]

Grim you're a genius!
this game is the best thing that happened to me this year:)
this game is very cinematic.on the game, you can shoot a movie

but I had one question.

Spoiler

in Chapter 3, the moment where you have to feed the cats.the first time I took the food in advance and everything was okay.
when I was playing for the second time, I went for a cat food, when the cats were in the house.
But Susan, is not allowed in the kitchen.
this is another quest, or a bug?

[close]

I loved everything in this game!)
I love the freedom to choose different actions!!)

Spoiler

But it's a pity that at the end of the game it has little effect.

[close]

Many thanks for this masterpiece!!)

p.s. I am very sorry for my bad English

p.p.s. 

Spoiler

Giant Zombie Cat-I laughed to tears.wonderful humor!!))

[close]

[LTGiants2000]

Congrats to everyone involved, I can't express how happy I am to see this completed and it is worth every single penny in download. DO YOURSELVES A FAVOUR AND DOWNLOAD THIS GAME NOW! Good luck sleeping afterwards though...

[SquirlyGirl]

Omg this makes my day off so exciting!!! bought and downloading now! I was just curious, will the dvd that is coming out later have any kind of art label on it? I know it was said before big box editions are very expensive to produce so I just wondered about the dvd

[an Urpney]

but I had one question.

Spoiler

in Chapter 3, the moment where you have to feed the cats.the first time I took the food in advance and everything was okay.
when I was playing for the second time, I went for a cat food, when the cats were in the house.
But Susan, is not allowed in the kitchen.
this is another quest, or a bug?

[close]

Spoiler

Seems it's a bug - I reproduced it myself and couldn't find any way around for some time. Easy to miss by the testers as adventure gamers are mostly serious cases of compulsive hoarding.

[close]

I love the freedom to choose different actions!!)

Spoiler

But it's a pity that at the end of the game it has little effect.

[close]

Spoiler

True, and brings another thing I wonder about - why does Susan in two instances (Joe's flat and the ending where she takes the gasmask) spontaneously falls into the Dark World without dying?

[close]

p.p.s. 

Spoiler

Giant Zombie Cat-I laughed to tears.wonderful humor!!))

[close]

Spoiler

[close]

[arj0n]

Gratz on the release Grim!

[m0ds]

when I was playing for the second time, I went for a cat food, when the cats were in the house.
But Susan, is not allowed in the kitchen.

Thanks, do you know if you have version 1.0 or 1.1 installed please?

[SquirlyGirl]

download keep breaking for me, and also it goes very slow. I had same issue when i bought summer batch but got it before all download chances were gone. I sent a email to the email it says to contact about this.

[m0ds]

download keep breaking for me, and also it goes very slow. I had same issue when i bought summer batch but got it before all download chances were gone. I sent a email to the email it says to contact about this.

Thanks, you have mail. I'm also looking into something more stable for the downloads, I have a feeling it won't come cheap but I'll keep you posted. I realize it's not always worked optimally for some people, but it's not always easy to diagnose especially when the places you're using to do it assure you it's good quality. It will of course be available other places, but it was just time to get it the hell out.. Anyway, to quote ejunkie:

We use Amazon S3 to store and serve downloads on a long-term basis, which is about as high-performance and robust a download service as one can get at the current state of the art. In the unlikely event of an outage at Amazon S3, data would be served from our Tucson data-center, which may result in less than ideal download speeds, as we need to throttle the bandwidth allocated to such downloads in order to keep the rest of our service available to the Internet at large.

[Alan v.Drake]

Congrats on completing the game Grim. 


- Alan

[viltaket]

Thanks, do you know if you have version 1.0 or 1.1 installed please?

yes,it is version 1.0!)

[Crimson Wizard]

download keep breaking for me, and also it goes very slow. I had same issue when i bought summer batch but got it before all download chances were gone. I sent a email to the email it says to contact about this.

Have you tried download manager programs (like FlashGet etc)?
I always use one, when size of file is larger than 50 mb.

[Grim]

Thanks all! It's been a busy 3 years...

an Urpney:

Spoiler

What I loved:
- Most notably of all â€" port sequence. It was dark, it was stylish and it had one of most creative puzzles I’ve seen in any adventure game (the padlock code puzzle).
- My second favorite part was the tale about the Cat Widow. I laughed out loud â€" at ~1 AM â€" when Giant Zombie Cat appeared on screen.

Thank God- I thought I went a bit too far with that... Then again, this game can't be all dark and gloomy; it needed some funny moments too!:)

- All little (and bigger) references â€" to Maniac Mansion, Dark Seed, Planescape: Torment, Sanitarium (still can’t decide if the monster behind the mirror is more Dark Seed or Sanitarium â€" I think I’ve seen something just like this in Cyclops chapter), Stephen King and probably many more I can’t remember now).

I'm glad the Maniac Mansion reference didn't go unnoticed. The whole setup of the ground floor in Pest's house is one big tribute to MM. Just thought it would be interesting to see what it would look like in a serious game... and David Firth gave a fantastic performance as both Pest Control Man and his wife, his creepy voice out of hell giving those two very unique personality. It took me weeks to persuade him, even though he initially said "yeah, I'll do it" it took a while to record his lines. He did keep his word in the end and I love that guy. If you are not familiar with his work, look up his stuff on You Tube!
And for the record, I've never played Sanitarium or Planescape, so if there are any similarities they are most accidental!:)

- To my own surprise I liked Susan. I thought I wouldn’t after her initial “quiet surrender” speech to X (people like this tend to annoy me in real life, especially when they fight like lions to defend their point of view) but her bitterness, misanthropy and sarcasm made me like her and care for her… and then I had to tell her to shot herself… and then I couldn’t stop playing before Edna and Weird Ed died in pain… then I missed my bus).

A lot of credit here should go to Lynsey Frost who will definitely have a very bright future in videogame voiceovers (although she is already a professional va artist, this is her first attempt at voicing a character in a game- and a huge role with thousands of lines too!). She would record each line up to 10 times and it was my (and mOds') job to filter them and choose the right one. I am absolutely amazed that she was able to make the same sentence sound so very difference every time she said it! Maybe that's some skill most actors have, but this was my first ever encounter with someone like that and I am very impressed...


- Art style is simply amazing. Anything more realistic would hurt the story.
- The cats and how tastefully they are treated in this game â€" if something bad happens to them, it’s hinted and rarely showed (and even if â€" it was still as tasteful as it could be). And my character is never responsible for it. I know it was necessary in Downfall and was justified by Joe’s past experience, but for the whole game I was afraid I’ll have to do something similar.

Nah, I love cats;) (and really dislike dogs!)

- Coffe’n’Cigarette interface (although many cigs burned themselves on the ashtray and many cups of coffee went cold as I forgot about them).

haha That's cool that someone actually listened to my ramblings- I probably said that in one of my interviews;) Coffee and cigarettes have been my fuel for many years now. Now that I've finished the game maybe it's time to finally give up smoking?... Then again... I probably enjoy it too much;)

What I didn’t love so much:
- Micromanagement part when Susan returns from the hospital. That’s the only part I didn’t enjoy that much â€" must try to fail in on my next playthrough.

I thought it was extremely difficult NOT to fail this one!- I'm very surprised you actually got the good outcome in chapter 3! Well done you for not following the top-of-the-screen clues that were meant to lead you into a bad ending (so basically, to succeed you needed to disregard your objectives and do things in a bit of a different order). Just for the record- Susan did not break the mirror and cry herself to sleep at the end? Right?

- The florist. Of all characters he was the only one I felt was a plot device rather than a real character. He appears out of the blue, motivates Susan to tell the final piece of her story and dies without much effort. Some back-story for him would be nice.

Totally run out of time on this one. I did plan a backstory, and it would've been a great one... but the game was already 1GB in size and- lucky as I was to be able to cram most of ideas I wanted into it- I decided to cut this one short. I call this character a Carpenter. He was indeed not much than a plot device... but at least his death is quite a satisfying one (if there is such thing as a satisfying death!... )

What I still wonder about:
- Parasites. Why are they parasites? Those we met were more like predators. Of all characters those with really parasitic nature were Adam feeding on other’s life as he didn’t have his own, Lady of Maggots feeding on Susan and Susan (unwillingly) consuming lives to sustain herself.
Why were those Parasites important in grand scheme of things?
Why did Lady of Maggots want them dead and why did she want Susan to do it? If Lady of Maggots was what I think she was, she would want to keep Susan apathetic and resigned, and yet she forces her to take action and makes her practically unable to fail.

I guess it's left open to players' own interpretation. The way I see it, the Parasites represent all the evil of this world, all that has bothered Susan for many, many years, but in a physical form. It's not as much about a parasitic behaviour- feeding off her or others, as really about how Susan perceives other people- ugly, trecherous, back-stabbing and cruel. When you assume The Queen Of Maggots's role in the game is to personalize her depression, everything she says takes on a different meaning. She tricks Susan into thinking that she is her only friend and only she knows how Susan feels, because she watched it for years... and in a way it's all true- every single word she says- because she is a part of her. The part that is ill.

The Parasites create a challenge for Susan. They are the obstacle on her way to freeing herself and finding a way to rebuild her life, but in the same time, at the cost of destroying that obstacle she would have to destroy herself... and that's what her illness wants her to do.

- Immortality. Why does some death take Susan to the Dark World (X, Florist, Adam’s gas) and some not (most notably Pest Control part)?

The game would then take me another 3 years to make!:) and as it is already, it's pretty much 8 hours or over in lenght (which I believe is rather decent)!:)

- Does The Cat Lady take place after Downfall? If so, why does nobody know about murders committed in this building (hole in the floor suggests it’s the same building)?
(BTW, I replayed Downfall after finishing The Cat Lady (v 2.0 from Gamersgate) and found a gamebreaker â€" in PASSION + SURRENDER ending, when Joe asks Ivy for help, game crashes to desktop with a message that variable “Sex with rec” is missing â€" can send a savegame if needed). A minor one - I can still open the secret room with manequin's left arm missing.

It takes place shortly before Downfall, in which the police discover the floor was boarded up by Joe- and as it looks suspicious they decide to dig it up. All this happens before Joe goes completely mental and murders some folks at 12 Helen Rd... The strange encounter with Joe in TCL does not actually take place. Well, it does, but only in Susan's imagination;)

[close]

viltaket:

Spoiler

in Chapter 3, the moment where you have to feed the cats.the first time I took the food in advance and everything was okay.
when I was playing for the second time, I went for a cat food, when the cats were in the house.
But Susan, is not allowed in the kitchen.
this is another quest, or a bug?

Just fixed it. Uploading new version right now;)

[close]

I love the freedom to choose different actions!!)

Spoiler

But it's a pity that at the end of the game it has little effect.

And yet, if you played the game very carefully, you'll see the ripples of your decisions showing every now and then, and in the end, there's a rather special reward. It is very well hidden, though...

[close]

[Igor Hardy]

Congratulations on the release Grim!

[m0ds]

I added some reviews to Rem's post and will continue to as they come in. Also, if you're interested in the DVD's (and AdventureX and Screen 7 games), I suggest you join the new Screen 7 mailing list at http://www.screen7.co.uk/#!/page_Home - the next newsletter with details on TCL DVD's etc will be out a day or two before AdventureX. And don't forget if you come to AdvX you'll be able to find some Screen 7 discounts (and a Cat Lady DVD or 2)

[Vince Twelve]

Congrats on the release guys! 

[an Urpney]

Spoiler

Thank God- I thought I went a bit too far with that... Then again, this game can't be all dark and gloomy; it needed some funny moments too!:)

Just perfectly fit my sense of humor. And it's totally optional, so if anybody doesn't like it he's free to skip that part.

I'm glad the Maniac Mansion reference didn't go unnoticed. The whole setup of the ground floor in Pest's house is one big tribute to MM. Just thought it would be interesting to see what it would look like in a serious game... and David Firth gave a fantastic performance as both Pest Control Man and his wife, his creepy voice out of hell giving those two very unique personality. It took me weeks to persuade him, even though he initially said "yeah, I'll do it" it took a while to record his lines. He did keep his word in the end and I love that guy. If you are not familiar with his work, look up his stuff on You Tube!

It's hard not to notice, especially after the initial sequence with lights going on in the building : )
And the characters are greatly written and performed - I physically coundn't stop playing before both of them went down.


And for the record, I've never played Sanitarium or Planescape, so if there are any similarities they are most accidental!:)

If you are on GOG I'll gladly gift you one of those as a big thank you. They're really worth playing and in many ways they are similar to both Downfall and The Cat Lady (Sanitarium is about a man who has to relive his personal traumas in "another dimensions", where each dimension symbolises different trauma) and Planescape does something very similar to what you did with immortality and resurrection. But most importantly it's great narratively.

haha That's cool that someone actually listened to my ramblings- I probably said that in one of my interviews;) Coffee and cigarettes have been my fuel for many years now. Now that I've finished the game maybe it's time to finally give up smoking?... Then again... I probably enjoy it too much;)

Hey! And what about next game? : )
I know what you mean - cigs and coffee really keep me going in my idiotic corporate job.


I thought it was extremely difficult NOT to fail this one!- I'm very surprised you actually got the good outcome in chapter 3! Well done you for not following the top-of-the-screen clues that were meant to lead you into a bad ending (so basically, to succeed you needed to disregard your objectives and do things in a bit of a different order). Just for the record- Susan did not break the mirror and cry herself to sleep at the end? Right?

Well, unwillingly I kind of cheated ther. Halfway throught the chapter I had a technical problems with my computer and had to play the chapter all over again. That allowed me to skip the part with light going out and I was able to make my meal instead of burning it.
At the end Susan peacefuly went to bed.

Totally run out of time on this one. I did plan a backstory, and it would've been a great one... but the game was already 1GB in size and- lucky as I was to be able to cram most of ideas I wanted into it- I decided to cut this one short. I call this character a Carpenter. He was indeed not much than a plot device... but at least his death is quite a satisfying one (if there is such thing as a satisfying death!... )

Maybe that backstory and the character himself can be used in another project? : )
His death reminded me of one of King's shortstories... one about a killer hired to kill a cat.

I guess it's left open to players' own interpretation. The way I see it, the Parasites represent all the evil of this world, all that has bothered Susan for many, many years, but in a physical form. It's not as much about a parasitic behaviour- feeding off her or others, as really about how Susan perceives other people- ugly, trecherous, back-stabbing and cruel. When you assume The Queen Of Maggots's role in the game is to personalize her depression, everything she says takes on a different meaning. She tricks Susan into thinking that she is her only friend and only she knows how Susan feels, because she watched it for years... and in a way it's all true- every single word she says- because she is a part of her. The part that is ill.

The Parasites create a challenge for Susan. They are the obstacle on her way to freeing herself and finding a way to rebuild her life, but in the same time, at the cost of destroying that obstacle she would have to destroy herself... and that's what her illness wants her to do.

...but finally passing those challenges makes Susan stronger and able to defeat Queen - not a a smart move by Queen (BTW, one of the reasons I replayed Downfall was to check if she was the same character Agnes encounters in her dream. I guess she's not - is there any connection between those two?)
And once more - it strongly reminds me of Planescape ; )


The game would then take me another 3 years to make!:) and as it is already, it's pretty much 8 hours or over in lenght (which I believe is rather decent)!:)

OK : ) Just thought there is some deeper meaning behind it : ) Maybe a still - opened portal would be good (at least in Pest Control part) to justify Susan's returns? And the portal may remain opened as Susan at the edge of death all the time.

It takes place shortly before Downfall, in which the police discover the floor was boarded up by Joe- and as it looks suspicious they decide to dig it up. All this happens before Joe goes completely mental and murders some folks at 12 Helen Rd... The strange encounter with Joe in TCL does not actually take place. Well, it does, but only in Susan's imagination;)


Hell, I went too far with that, imagining that Billy was another of Joe's creations (his guilt and desire for punishment maybe) and the final scene of Downfall wasn't real as well.
There isn't enough time between Billy's discovery and Joe's final breakdown for the whole story of the Cat Lady.

[close]

[IndieRetroNews]

The Cat Lady - Horror Adventure Game
http://www.indieretronews.com/2012/12/the-cat-lady-horror-adventure-game.html

Your game is up on our website, looks great, well done

[Andail]

Congrats! Demo and trailer are promising. Hope it sells well!

[Mati256]

Just finished this and must say I'm really impressed.
At first I thought the game would be really linear, but I was wrong, so wrong!! You managed to create a sidescrolling nonlinear game, and with some of the best puzzles I have seen in a long time, pure art in my humble opinion. I'm not into horror or gore or nothing like that, but the story of the game caught me and I just had to finish it.

Spoiler

You made me really care about Mitzi, my favorite character by far, so I had a really tense couple of minutes at the end of the game. And when everything finished I was really sad. I haven't felt that way for a game in a long time, not even with The Walking Dead that everyone is crying for.

[close]

Congratulations, and I hope the game goes well because it deserves it. Now I will have to play Dawnfall.
Thank you!

[Grim]

IndieRetroNews: Cool:) Thanks for that!:)

Mati256: Thanks, this means a lot to me that even people who don't normally like horror can enjoy TCL;)

Spoiler

Mitzi is my favourite character too, always has been. What inspired me in her case is this music video by Porcupine Tree (this band has been one of my main sources of inspiration for many years now):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZiHTvtB118&playnext=1&list=PL3B6A10C68C34A013&feature=results_video

This unknown emo girl deserved to be developed into a fully fledged character, I though, because just her look alone tells a story, and a tragic one, too. It's strange that this kind of stories seem to interest me the most... because I assure you I'm not at all as grim as my forum name would suggest;) Anyway, this sad look of a lost teenager, faced with a cold dark world, and the train tracks- a way to escape and at the same time such a quick way to die...

That was the plan from the start- make people like her and care about her, so when something horrible- and inevitable- happens, it has a much greater emotional impact. And funnily enough, just played the last episode of The Walking Dead last night and God, was I glad there was no one home to see me fall to pieces as I said my last words to Clementine... "Don't be afraid" I said to her, just before she pulled the trigger...

[close]

[Lewis]

Only played a small portion of the demo so far. The aesthetic is fantastic, and the general goings-on wonderfully weird. I wish you'd have hired a script editor, though, as there's loads of weird punctuation in the dialogue. And I wish you'd have mastered the audio a little better - having two characters conversing at significantly different volumes in the opening scene is a bad start. Then again, it all kind of adds to the weirdness as well. I'll probably be picking up the full version soon.

[Stupot]

The demo causes my shitty laptop to overheat and crash. Not the game's fault really, just my laptop is old and dicrepit. So I'm gonna wait until I have a better machine before buying this game.  I'm a bit gutted. Been looking forward to this one

[Grim]

Lewis: Thanks;) We have since replaced the actress playing Mitzi due to some technical problems with her recording equipment... And although I think she did a great job on this demo part, the whole thing has been re-recorded and volume levels adjusted in the final release;)

Stupot+: Damn, I was hoping to get some feedback from AGS veterans like yourself... I must admit, there are some sprite-heavy moments in the demo. Maybe there's a chance you'll be gifted a new PC for Christmas? That'd be nice, wouldn't it?!;)

Then again, just remembered the end of the world is scheduled for just before that... So yeah, damn...

[Stupot]

Haha, veteran! I still feel like a newbie, looking at my list of completed games :-/
My lappy is long overdue a good clean-up, so hopefully that might sort it out.

[xenogia]

IndieRetroNews: Cool:) Thanks for that!:)

Mati256: Thanks, this means a lot to me that even people who don't normally like horror can enjoy TCL;)

Spoiler

Mitzi is my favourite character too, always has been. What inspired me in her case is this music video by Porcupine Tree (this band has been one of my main sources of inspiration for many years now):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZiHTvtB118&playnext=1&list=PL3B6A10C68C34A013&feature=results_video

This unknown emo girl deserved to be developed into a fully fledged character, I though, because just her look alone tells a story, and a tragic one, too. It's strange that this kind of stories seem to interest me the most... because I assure you I'm not at all as grim as my forum name would suggest;) Anyway, this sad look of a lost teenager, faced with a cold dark world, and the train tracks- a way to escape and at the same time such a quick way to die...

That was the plan from the start- make people like her and care about her, so when something horrible- and inevitable- happens, it has a much greater emotional impact. And funnily enough, just played the last episode of The Walking Dead last night and God, was I glad there was no one home to see me fall to pieces as I said my last words to Clementine... "Don't be afraid" I said to her, just before she pulled the trigger...

[close]

Grim I thought it was just me and I was going mad, but I thought there was a Porcupine Tree influence in there.  Not only with the general vibe of the game but with the music as well.  I was definitely getting an In Absentia vibe throughout considering that game deals with death quite extensively.  I was expecting Collapse Light Into Earth to pop up somewhere.

[Cogliostro]

Grim,

I've never moved this fast to download a game!  Made it to chapter 2 -- before sleep and life and work interrupted -- so far I'm impressed.

- Cogliostro

[Grim]

Grim I thought it was just me and I was going mad, but I thought there was a Porcupine Tree influence in there.  Not only with the general vibe of the game but with the music as well.  I was definitely getting an In Absentia vibe throughout considering that game deals with death quite extensively.  I was expecting Collapse Light Into Earth to pop up somewhere.

xenogia: Ah, of course! It is their (arguably) best album to date! And- it tells stories of serial murderers and ghosts and such, or at least that's what I always thought (it's actually very clear in songs like The Creator Has A Mastertape or The Blackest Eyes), which is exactly the kind of stuff that inspires me. There's more references to PT throughout, in one of which Mitzi actually quotes a title of one of their older songs;)

Cogliostro: Thanks! I remember playing your game 9 Hours To Dawn and liking it;) (it's been a long time though, I hope you've got a new project in the works!)

[an Urpney]

Grim, you may want to read this:
http://www.cdaction.pl/news-30021/the-cat-lady-polak-tworca-ciekawego-indyka-dla-doroslych.html
Even here you get some recognition : )

[Grim]

Grim, you may want to read this:
http://www.cdaction.pl/news-30021/the-cat-lady-polak-tworca-ciekawego-indyka-dla-doroslych.html
Even here you get some recognition : )

Oh, nice one!;) I remember reading their magazine from time to time when I lived in Poland. And now I'm in it!!!:)

[m0ds]

Available at Desura! http://www.desura.com/games/the-cat-lady

You can now get it on DVD-rom from the official website or Screen 7.co.uk! 1 disc or 2 disc set with audio CD. You get the game as a digital download too.

If you bought the game before today (or today), enter your original transaction ID [typically 16 digits] in the "discount" box & update the cart so that you don't pay for the game twice, just the cost to make the DVD.

Please allow 7 days delivery (USA) and up to 15 elsewhere for the DVD-rom. Digital download is of course distributed instantly! Oh, and there's 10% off when you spend over £10 so a small reduction on the cost of the DVD's this Christmas

Desura update: http://www.desura.com/games/the-cat-lady
Fireflower update: This website has been under construction, it's very nearly ready...
Zodiac-Store update: The game should appear there at the beginning of 2013.
Translations: The first free translation, Francais, will be available in the near future thanks to Herve!

[Miguel R. Fervenza]

My laptop become hotter running the demo than playing a threesome video. This is the first AGS game I can't play because of that (it's a pity you can't reduce the game detail in configuration menu). By the way, it seems very interesting, I'll play it in the future (several years, I hope; laptop, don't die soon, I need you).

[Grim]

My laptop become hotter running the demo than playing a threesome video. This is the first AGS game I can't play because of that (it's a pity you can't reduce the game detail in configuration menu). By the way, it seems very interesting, I'll play it in the future (several years, I hope; laptop, don't die soon, I need you).

Well, it's a very hot game! It doesn't quite have the same system requirements as Crysis 3, but it definitely runs better on newer machines;) Now give your laptop a cold flannel and tell it to pull itself together (and no threesomes for a week!). 

[RitakaRex]

I can say this over and over again and it'll never cease to be true:
This game is amazing. Hands down.
Visuals, atmosphere, story, everything. This game nails it all.
It'll definitely have you on the edge of your seat.

If there's anyone on the fence about this game, then I can assure you that it's well worth it.

Fantastic job, Rem.

[Crimson Wizard]

Just finished the game, and I must say, I am totally impressed. It's very different from Downfall in terms of atmosphere, probably because most of the time the world is far more real (or close to real).
Downfall had depressive story and gruesome places, yet it was not scary real much for me. In Cat Lady there's always a feeling in the air that something bad will happen any moment.
By the way, I found Susan's appartaments most scary place in the game. Those pictures in her bedroom gave me creeps. No wonder she was so unhappy .
One thing that actually made me jump was

Spoiler

MIZEREEEE!!! lol quite a disturbing voice really.

[close]

I really liked storytelling. The switches between past and present is done very clever.

Spoiler

Probably, only time I got little confused is when Susan woke up in the psycho couple's house. However, when the game started switching between womans talk and Susan looking for gas ingredients I felt like watching a movie. When I saw a speech option to promise Mitzie that Susan will never try to kill herself, I immediately recalled the words about how sorry she is not to keep some promise, so I decided to play up and chose that right away .

[close]

The game progression I had was quite steady. I really stuck only once,

Spoiler

in the hospital, when trying to find out Ann Burton's name. First I thought it may be mentioned in those files on nurse's table. Then I made a guess that it should be written on mirror, but could not figure out what to do with it. So I checked hints forums and oversaw few words about "turning hot water"; that gave me a starting point .

[close]

Most of the time puzzles are solved with a combination of plain logic and intuituve decisions.
The two doll-guardian puzzle is one of my favourites

Spoiler

but unfortunately I solved this puzzle already in the past, so I just had to remember the solution. Still nice to see something like that in the game.

[close]

Padlock puzzle was interesting.

Spoiler

However, there's a curious detail: there's number "4" scratched on the door itself, don't know if that's intentional or occasional. It confused me a bit for the first time.

[close]

There were a number of options during the game, which made a lot of possible combinations in total, but their effect on the course of the story remained unclear to me.

Spoiler

1. At the beginning I have a choice to either follow Queen's orders, or "do it my way". The first time I played the game I chose the latter. The Queen shouted something like "you'll be sorry", etc, but still I was able to get a good ending (I guess it's good, it is the one where Mitzi survives the encounter with Adam).
Later I reloaded and checked other option. The Queen seemed very pleased and gave few tips about how to blow candles and run the machine. Is there any far-going difference between those two options?
2. Doctor X's questions.
3. Puzzle with doll-guardians. If I solve it right I get table with flowers. Otherwise I don't.
4. Whether to strangle Joe's "wife" or refuse.
5. In the end Queen tells Susan to blow one of the candles. I can choose any or refuse. I tried all options, and the ending still seem the same (depends on the use of gas mask and your actions in Adam's room).

Also I don't quite understand why Susan is still transfered to other world if she uses gas mask and let Mitzie die.

[close]

Hmm, is there anything else to mention...

Spoiler

The Teacup, - I thought her role would be more important for some reason. When Susan was crying on her bed after quarell with bald man, there was Teacup watching from behind the window (IIRC), and on the next day Mitzie appeared. For the first time I thought that Mitzi was Teacup who took human form to help Susan .

I found Maniac Mansion house clone pretty amusing. There's one thing though, at some point the evil wife (?) appeared when I was passing the kitchen, and there was no way to predict it or evade being killed. I think that's spoils the game play a bit.

The poor crazy Joe Davis. Since I played Downfall before, I was almost sure he will reappear in the end, murdering everyone in the building.

[close]

I found choice of controls pretty good too. There are no "stacked" objects on screen, so basically only horizontal dimension matters. And you do not have to wait when character walks close to hotspot, since you'll have to do that on your own anyway, so you always both feel connected to player character, and have more precise control over what she does and where she walks.
There's one thing that bothered me, though, is that it is impossible to discard the action menu other than by stepping left or right - that looks like something not quite thought through. IMO it would be better if Escape key could be used for that too.
Also, I believe that shortcuts would really benefit the gameplay, like 'E' for examine, etc.

Savegames is, in my opinion, a biggest technical problem, the feature itself appears to be broken. It does let you save up to 50 files, but does not let you delete these to free space, nor overwrite existing ones. Unless you know where the saves are stored on the disk, you will be unable to save anymore - at all.
I believe it must be corrected, otherwise you'll receive more complaints by angry users.
Also, it is non-intuitive that you have to press 'Right' to cancel loading or saving. Would be better if Escape worked too.

I may be overthinking, but I wonder why the savedgames become so large as the game progresses... is it AGS issue or your game's? I can't think of anything but non-released dynamic sprites, or something like that. Or is the amount of rooms with saved state really that huge?
Just being curious. Something to investigate, in my opinion.

There are number of minor glitches I met throughout in the game.

Spoiler

For example, in the episode One a deer reappears at one forest location, it does not move anywhere just stands there, and when walking over him the character sprite sometimes blinks and becomes covered by deer's.
In the Old' Lady's house, there's a pitch black passage way near the candles - when I walk near sometimes character's head dissapears - seems to be covered by some black object or something.
In the hospital when you pass near mirror, there's reflection even above the missing piece (which was broken). And when you turn hot water on, the whole rectangular gets smoky, even the hole.
There were couple of voice-overs missing. The one that I do remember is one line when Susan and Mitzi are sitting tied in the bathroom speaking about how Susan survived after being hit by the hammer.

[close]

Save/Load menu has graphical problem - it misses border on bottom and right - not important, yet a bit annoying detail.

There are also probably few times when the scene is not made good enough, from theatrical point of view.

Spoiler

In the scene of Liz's suicide on the roof, Liz stood so that her head is not visible, and that really looked silly.
Sometime characters just talk while standing so that Susan is covered by an object (like wall). In the chapter's One forest, if you enter the place with Raven on the cross from opposite direction (from the right), the crow is covered by foreground tree and so its flying sequence looks a bit awkward.
In the scene where Mitzi was hanged, after Susan pushes the chair for her to stand on something and starts walking towards the kitchen, the chair "moves out" out of Mitzi's legs, because the object and character are on different paralax planes, so there appears to be a difference in their location on screen.

[close]

[an Urpney]

Spoiler

5. In the end Queen tells Susan to blow one of the candles. I can choose any or refuse. I tried all options, and the ending still seem the same (depends on the use of gas mask and your actions in Adam's room).

[close]

Spoiler

If you choose to blow the candle, Mitzi dies of her cancer. If you refuse, she gets better and gives you the best ending I've found so far

[close]

[Crimson Wizard]

Spoiler

If you choose to blow the candle, Mitzi dies of her cancer. If you refuse, she gets better and gives you the best ending I've found so far

[close]

Hmm, that was the first option I chose and yet it was like the others. Perhaps there are some other requirements?..

[an Urpney]

Hmm, that was the first option I chose and yet it was like the others. Perhaps there are some other requirements?..

Spoiler

- Give Mitzi the gas mask,
- Refuse to blow a candle,
- Convince Mitzi to let Adam live.

[close]

With those choices I got the best ending. Maybe there was something earlier?

[viltaket]

With those choices I got the best ending. Maybe there was something earlier?

Spoiler

at the end of your Mitzi remains alive and does not die from cancer?

in all of my endings
only change in Susan words  on a black background.
wants to find the hidden end: D

[close]

[an Urpney]

Spoiler

at the end of your Mitzi remains alive and does not die from cancer?
in all of my endings
only change in Susan words  on a black background.
wants to find the hidden end: D

[close]

Yes, and that was the first ending I've seen (doing things I'd do or say in real life or closest to whad I'd do) so I don't think it was that secret : )

Choices I can remember:

Spoiler

- Dead father, good mother in conversation with X,
- Kill X and free the girl,
- Susan doesn't have a breakdown after conversation with Bryan,
- Refuse to strangle Ivy,
- Give Mitzi the gas mask,
- Refuse to blow a candle,
- Convince Mitzi to let Adan live.

Choices I know to be significant:
- Keep the mask for yourself - Mitzi suffocates.
- Blow a candle - Mitzi dies of her cancer.
- Let Mitzi kill Adam - Mitzi dies when the room explodes.

At my ending Susan meets Mitzi at the cementary gate and they leave together.

[close]

[Crimson Wizard]

Spoiler

- Give Mitzi the gas mask,
- Refuse to blow a candle,
- Convince Mitzi to let Adam live.

[close]

Yes, I did the same...

Hmm, on other choices... I did this:

Spoiler

- Refuse to follow Queen of Maggot's orders,
- Good father, good mother,
- Kill X and free the girl, -- (was there OTHER option??)
- Susan DOES have a breakdown after conversation with Bryan,
- Solve doll-guardians puzzle and get the "prize"
- Refuse to strangle Ivy,
- Give Mitzi the gas mask,
- Refuse to blow a candle,
- Convince Mitzi to let Adan live.
At my ending Mitzi dies from cancer.

[close]

[an Urpney]

Hmm, on other choices... I did this:

Spoiler

- Refuse to follow Queen of Maggot's orders,
//I decided to follow her orders.
- Kill X and free the girl, -- (was there OTHER option??)
//You can find a key in dead nurse's pocket and Susan muses she can leave now and forget about everything that happened. I decided to follow Queen's orders, so I killed X.
- Solve doll-guardians puzzle and get the "prize"
//I did the same and Crow gave me a mocking speech.

[close]

So one more thing I did differently. Of all those, maybe it's the

Spoiler

breakdown

[close]

that triggers the best ending?

[Mati256]

Choices I can remember:

Spoiler

- Dead father, good mother in conversation with X,
- Kill X and free the girl,
- Susan doesn't have a breakdown after conversation with Bryan,
- Refuse to strangle Ivy,
- Give Mitzi the gas mask,
- Refuse to blow a candle,
- Convince Mitzi to let Adan live.

Choices I know to be significant:
- Keep the mask for yourself - Mitzi suffocates.
- Blow a candle - Mitzi dies of her cancer.
- Let Mitzi kill Adam - Mitzi dies when the room explodes.

At my ending Susan meets Mitzi at the cementary gate and they leave together.

[close]

Spoiler

Those are the same choices I did, but I
- Had a breakdown after conversation with Bryan
- Strangled Ivy

Mitzi died from cancer.

[close]

[an Urpney]

Spoiler

I hope that ending wasn't cut - I played pre-relase version and really liked how heartwarming this ending was.
It's funny with Susan's breakdown - I wanted to swich from speakers to headsed half-way through this chapter and the game crashed when I tried to minimalize it. Playing that chapter again I knew what to avoid and saved Susan from having a breakdown.

[close]

[Grim]

Guys, you seem to be forgetting about one more very important choice in the game:

Spoiler

Liz.

The thing about Liz is that the result of that conversation on the roof isn't instantly clear. She asks you three questions and you will only know the right answers if you opened up to her the first night in the hospital. Even if you answer all three correctly, she still jumps, but before she does... she says she'll come back and help you when you need her. And that she does. In Doctor X's lair, where her dead body is hanging on the bars, she leaves a little "gift" - with it it's possible to avoid killing Doc completely!;) AND it's one of the conditions required for "Mitzi beats cancer" ending! - I'm guesing an Urpney must've done it, otherwise it's not possible to get the best ending.

I shouldn't reveal this, but since you guys have picked the whole game-choices structure apart I'll tell you what are the 5 things you need to do to achieve that ending:
- Tell Queen Of Maggots to get stuffed,
- Prove to Liz that you've listened,
- solve the dolls-at-the-door riddle,
- not have a breakdown in chapter 3,
- give Mitzi the mask,
- refuse to blow out candles in chapter 7,

Wait... That's 6 things!!! Something's wrong here...

But, as in Telltale's The Walking Dead, some choices are in place to give players a certain ammount of freedom as to how they want to approach different situations- whether based on their own personalities or how they imagine Susan would have acted. Also, in some parts, choices create a slightly different backstory- not just the father/mother part, but there are several moments when Susan will tell pieces of stories and opinions that add to the overall image of the world, which you could otherwise miss entirely... - but that's the whole point- you will come out of this experience with a story that in some way will be your own, but you won't miss out on not seeing massive parts of the game. If you've played Heavy Rain and Walking Dead several times, you'll notice that that is exactly what they've done, the good old smoke and mirrors thing. After Heavy Rain I've decided never to replay this kind of games. I think part of the fun is believing you could've gone and done something completely different and if you replay them, you begin to realize that there are limitations and in the end a lot of things that were meant to happen, will happen anyway;)

[close]

-

[JSH]

Wee, turns out I got the best ending without even knowing how to!

And I must say to Grim & Team - Congratulations on delivering an absolutely superb game! This is now up among my favorite AGS games ever together with Donna, Resonance and the Blackwells.

The story and characters were great, I loved the Silent Hill influences, the puzzles were good, got stuck a few times but not too bad and it was my own fault every time The voice actors did a great job, very convincing performances across the board. The game is very long, one of the longest AGS games I've played. The chapters just kept on ticking up I'd say Donna is the only AGS game in the same league as The Cat Lady purely length wise.

I enjoyed the different choices and how they affected the ending of the game. I wasn't sure how to get the "best" ending when I played, but I used my gut when deciding and it rewarded me in the end, I hate games where sometimes completely unrelated things affect the ending. (Silent Hills, I'm looking at you!) Another thing is that the game kept me guessing whether or not it was all in Susan's head, what's real and what's not which was great. The art direction was stellar as well, I love the black and white with color added here and there for emphasis. It's a really powerful effect. The audio fit perfectly as well, vocalized songs come in at just the right moment, making some scenes very touching and memorable!

The annoying bits were mostly technical issues, like how you have to skip item interactions by walking left/right and how characters jitter when walking on scrolling backgrounds, although that is an actual engine issue and not really specific for this game. I also agree with the previous posts about the florist, it felt a bit forced. Not being able to skip any cutscenes or interactions can be quite annoying as well, especially when just moving between areas and having to watch transition animations over and over or loading savegames and such and having to rewatch the same cutscenes again.

But in the grand scheme of things these are minor issues and I'm going to spread the word, recommending The Cat Lady to all horror/adventure game fans I know

[an Urpney]

Guys, you seem to be forgetting about one more very important choice in the game:

Spoiler

Liz.

The thing about Liz is that the result of that conversation on the roof isn't instantly clear. She asks you three questions and you will only know the right answers if you opened up to her the first night in the hospital. Even if you answer all three correctly, she still jumps, but before she does... she says she'll come back and help you when you need her. And that she does. In Doctor X's lair, where her dead body is hanging on the bars, she leaves a little "gift" - with it it's possible to avoid killing Doc completely!;) AND it's one of the conditions required for "Mitzi beats cancer" ending! - I'm guesing an Urpney must've done it, otherwise it's not possible to get the best ending.

[close]

Spoiler

Yes I did : ) That's why I mentioned another choice: "- Kill X and free the girl" which I wouldn't have if I've screwed up Liz sequence. I opened the door but decided to go back and kill that bastard anyway - which still gave me the best ending.
And, with the Queen - I think I decided to follow her... at least she told me about blood and soul sacrifices I need to make if I want to go back.

[close]

[m0ds]

If you enjoyed it, please do vote for it for the awards at http://www.indiedb.com/games/the-cat-lady

Only a day and a half left of voting.

Thank you!

[viltaket]

Spoiler

interestingly
by theory
if there is a very good ending
there is a very bad end? ( for example:all die, even Susan?)

[close]

[an Urpney]

If you enjoyed it, please do vote for it for the awards at http://www.indiedb.com/games/the-cat-lady

Only a day and a half left of voting.

Thank you!

Voted long time ago : )

Spoiler

interestingly
by theory
if there is a very good ending
there is a very bad end? ( for example:all die, even Susan?)

[close]

Spoiler

If there is - it's hidden much better than the good ending.

[close]

[Grim]

Krusbert: Wow, thanks! I don't think a small game developer making games in a tiny corner of his living room can wish for a better comment!;) Being a gamer pretty much all my life I try to create something I'd enjoy playing myself most of all, and sometimes it can result in a terrible mess of a situation... But it seems I did get some things right after all!:)

viltaket & an Urpney:

Spoiler

This game just couldn't have a full-on bad ending. It would be too much. It would deprive people of hope, and I want to believe there is always hope, no matter how bad things have been. I did consider this for a moment, but when I decided, the decision was final- there is a message there, maybe not for everyone, but there will be people playing it who suffer from depression or suicidal thoughts, and I want them to learn something from the experience. Or to try, at least. As most of us, I've had my share of shitty moments in life too, and one thing that always got me through all of them was my strong belief that we can overcome everything if we just keep going and don't give up. I read this poem when I was about 17, and it's really changed my whole life, tought me how to live. It's probably a bit silly to post it here... But what the hell, I will anyway;) If you don't like it, don't read it :p

The Envoy of Mr Cogito

Go where those others went to the dark boundary
for the golden fleece of nothingness your last prize

go upright among those who are on their knees
among those with their backs turned and those toppled in the dust

you were saved not in order to live
you have little time you must give testimony

be courageous when the mind deceives you be courageous
in the final account only this is important

and let your helpless Anger be like the sea
whenever your hear the voice of the insulted and beaten

let you sister Scorn not leave you
for the informers executioners cowards - they will win
they will go to your funeral with relief will throw a lump of earth
the woodborer will write your smoothed-over biography

and do not forgive truly it is not in your power
to forgive in the name of those betrayed at dawn

beware however of unnecessary pride
keep looking at your clown's face in the mirror
repeat: I was called - weren't there better ones than I

beware of dryness of heart love the morning spring
the bird with an unknown name the winter oak
light on a wall the splendour of the sky
they don't need your warm breath
they are there to say: no one will console you

be vigilant - when the light on the mountains gives the sign- arise and go
as long as blood turns in the breast your dark star

repeat old incantations of humanity fables and legends
because this is how you will attain the good you will not attain
repeat great words repeat them stubbornly
like those crossing the desert who perished in the sand

and they will reward you with what they have at hand
with the whip of laughter with murder on a garbage heap

go because only in this way you will be admitted to the company of cold skulls
to the company of your ancestors: Gilgamesh Hector Roland
the defenders of the kingdom without limit and the city of ashes

Be faithful Go


Zbigniew Herbert 

[close]

[an Urpney]

viltaket & an Urpney:

Spoiler

This game just couldn't have a full-on bad ending. It would be too much. It would deprive people of hope, and I want to believe there is always hope, no matter how bad things have been. I did consider this for a moment, but when I decided, the decision was final- there is a message there, maybe not for everyone, but there will be people playing it who suffer from depression or suicidal thoughts, and I want them to learn something from the experience. Or to try, at least. As most of us, I've had my share of shitty moments in life too, and one thing that always got me through all of them was my strong belief that we can overcome everything if we just keep going and don't give up.

[close]

Spoiler

I think  that's good - and now I can stop looking for it. Certailny I felt bad when Susan had a breakdown in Chapter 3, especially knowing how to avoid it. Felt kind of guilty causing it.

[close]

Spoiler

I read this poem when I was about 17, and it's really changed my whole life, tought me how to live. It's probably a bit silly to post it here... But what the hell, I will anyway;) If you don't like it, don't read it :p

The Envoy of Mr Cogito

Go where those others went to the dark boundary
for the golden fleece of nothingness your last prize

go upright among those who are on their knees
among those with their backs turned and those toppled in the dust

you were saved not in order to live
you have little time you must give testimony

be courageous when the mind deceives you be courageous
in the final account only this is important

and let your helpless Anger be like the sea
whenever your hear the voice of the insulted and beaten

let you sister Scorn not leave you
for the informers executioners cowards - they will win
they will go to your funeral with relief will throw a lump of earth
the woodborer will write your smoothed-over biography

and do not forgive truly it is not in your power
to forgive in the name of those betrayed at dawn

beware however of unnecessary pride
keep looking at your clown's face in the mirror
repeat: I was called - weren't there better ones than I

beware of dryness of heart love the morning spring
the bird with an unknown name the winter oak
light on a wall the splendour of the sky
they don't need your warm breath
they are there to say: no one will console you

be vigilant - when the light on the mountains gives the sign- arise and go
as long as blood turns in the breast your dark star

repeat old incantations of humanity fables and legends
because this is how you will attain the good you will not attain
repeat great words repeat them stubbornly
like those crossing the desert who perished in the sand

and they will reward you with what they have at hand
with the whip of laughter with murder on a garbage heap

go because only in this way you will be admitted to the company of cold skulls
to the company of your ancestors: Gilgamesh Hector Roland
the defenders of the kingdom without limit and the city of ashes

Be faithful Go


Zbigniew Herbert 

[close]

Spoiler

It's hard not to know it here in Poland, ecpecially since it's been misused in political dispute.
One I thought about - ecpecially playing Downfall - was Leśmian's The Maiden (unfortunately I can't find any translation).

[close]

[EchosofNezhyt]

A friend of mine wanted a vote on the indie db and I saw that your game was on there and I had to stop in and say that it looks very interesting and quality. I haven't played it yet but I think I will soon!

Grats man!

[m0ds]

A very favorable new review to read at Adventure Gamers! http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/23373

[Goldmund]

Heard about GOG refusing to carry it, this is ridiculous. :-(

[an Urpney]

My little rant on their forums caused someone to wishlist it here.
You can vote for it if you're on GOG; )

[Grim]

My little rant on their forums caused someone to wishlist it here.
You can vote for it if you're on GOG; )

So it was you?!? Thanks for what you said there- and I can't believe you managed to stay a gentleman after some of the people there were ready to attack you like sharks!:) Anyway, it makes me think, the fact that so many people want to go back and replay the old games on GOG, and whenever I do so, I always end up being disappointed... The way I remembered them is just much better, and I'm trying not ruin those memories again. There's got to be room for new titles and new ideas. Too many developers are also trying to look back in the past and copy what was once upon a time a successful game, hoping to reach those looking at their gaming past through pink-tinted glasses.

Anyway... Some new reviews to share with you guys!!! I'm obviously still over the moon about the AdventureGamers review- which meant a lot to me!:) -but a couple more just appeared out of the blue.

INDIE STATIK: "Susan Ashworth may be one of the most human characters I’ve encountered in a game (...)"

FUTURE SACK: "(...) A true masterpiece of interactive storytelling (...)"

And it seems like TCL has entered another stage of the Indie Game Of The Year contest on indie db (thanks to all people who voted!:))- we are now in the top hundred and the voting continues until new year. If you have a free minute, why not click on that big red button one more time before the end of the world?

[an Urpney]

So it was you?!? Thanks for what you said there- and I can't believe you managed to stay a gentleman after some of the people there were ready to attack you like sharks!:)

Yeap, that was me : ) It's almost impossible to make me lose my temper in real life and there was nothing really bad they said - starting a flame war over it would do nothing good. And now someone bought the game and it's doing pretty well on the wishlist : )
EDIT. Just got you a potential customer for Downfall in that thread : ) BTW, can we count on fixing that surrender ending bug? : )

Anyway, it makes me think, the fact that so many people want to go back and replay the old games on GOG, and whenever I do so, I always end up being disappointed... The way I remembered them is just much better, and I'm trying not ruin those memories again. There's got to be room for new titles and new ideas. Too many developers are also trying to look back in the past and copy what was once upon a time a successful game, hoping to reach those looking at their gaming past through pink-tinted glasses.

There are some games I tend to replay once a couple of years and it's always almost as fun as the first time.Grim Fandango is like a good movie. In Planescape: Tormen I still find new things every time I replay it. KotOR 2 is constantly fixed by modders at it was relased unfinished - and it's the darkest, most moraly ambiguous tale in Star Wars universe. Sanitarium - probably just sentimental value and I still can't get why Aztecs were relevant for curing the plague.
Cat Lady is probably joining those in my collection : )

And it seems like TCL has entered another stage of the Indie Game Of The Year contest on indie db (thanks to all people who voted!:))- we are now in the top hundred and the voting continues until new year. If you have a free minute, why not click on that big red button one more time before the end of the world?

Voted.
EDIT2: One more little press mention: http://videogamepotpourri.blogspot.com/2012/12/interview-with-agustin-cordes-lead.html
(just a short mention in an interwiev, but still nice)

[m0ds]

Please help us Greenlight the game on Steam! Thank you
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=114327732

Hot topics:
1) Yes, we hope to have it so you can buy one copy and own the rest!
2) We're looking into the Save games issues, I realize it's been a concern for many
3) Thank you for your support getting it places (like Steam) and all the interest & kind words

[m0ds]

A quick message to those who have already bought the game and may pick the info up here:

Did you already pre-order or buy The Cat Lady from Screen 7? Then you've got a copy waiting for you on Desura!

Just use your original transaction ID (usually a 16 digit number) over at Desura. (Scroll down the main page to find Activate Gift)

Not bought the game yet? A Desura key is included with every new digital download or DVD purchase when you buy at Screen 7.co.uk and the games official page http://www.thecatlady.co.uk/

Don't forget our Steam Greenlight page for the game - all our customers will also be eligible for free Steam keys when/IF the time comes! http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=114327732

Problemo? Contact support <at> screen7.co.uk

Thanks

[m0ds]

Save game woes with the 50 slot limit? Sadly there's nothing WE can do about it, but YOU can.

Go to folder:

WinXP: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\<name of game>

or

Win7: C:\Users\<username>\Saved Games\<name of game>\

And delete some of the files in that folder to free up save game slots.

[Surdy]

Hi everybody,

The Apocalypse is over. Pfff! Stop agonizing, pals.

Thanks to Grim & Mods I am working on the CL french translation. It's a long job & it takes a lot of my time. Probably finished in mid-January 2013 and I need a proofreader (or two) to help me.

You can contact me or Grim or Mods (Screen 7).

Merry Christmas & make the force be with us guys and don't forget to eat the turkey or she eats you

[m0ds]

Thanks Herve! And to others who have offered to help with translations. Some new year prices and slightly better identification of what you get from Screen 7. A couple of new, non English reviews:

http://www.adventure-treff.de/artikel/tests.php?id=311/ (German)
http://ragequit.gr/reviews/item/the-cat-lady (Greek)

Get a Desura only copy


Or one of our special deals

[m0ds]

A short and sweet (English) review from Beefjack, with a complimentary rating of:


(click for the very short review)

[m0ds]

DVD's available from the website/Screen 7. Keep an eye out for thrilling discounts

http://www.thecatlady.co.uk

[The Suitor]

I totally just ordered the the 2-disc DVD-Rom. Thanks! 

[Frodo]

Just bought the game, thanks.  Can't wait for it to arrive.   

I've been tempted by this for ages - there's never been a better time to get it.   

[arj0n]

Just ordered the 2-disc version.

[m0ds]

Just updating with a few new reviews!

A+ at JustAdventure
http://www.justadventure.com/article/319/reviews-the-cat-lady

4.2/5 at Mashthosebuttons
http://mashthosebuttons.com/review/the-cat-lady-review/

82% at Adventures United (German review)
http://www.adventures-united.com/index.php/reviews-a-previews/reviews/204-review-thecatlady

80% at Adventure Treff (German review)
http://www.adventure-treff.de/artikel/tests.php?id=311/

[JoelMayer]

Hey!

I stayed up till 3 AM yesterday night because i couldn't stop playing. It's really an awesome experience!

This might be a bit personal to post on a forum about a Game Making software but to be honest, i had a rough year in 2012 and even though i was of course not at all in the state of a low-down like the character Susan, your game really gave me a lot of optimism in the end and thats something which no blockbuster triple A title so far has managed

So, great work! It's surely a game to remember.

[Grim]

That's fantastic!;) It seems this game really hits home with people who have either had a bad time or suffered from depression/suicidal thoughts. And since most of us had a bad time in 2012... it's something most people can relate to!;) Glad you played and enjoyed The Cat Lady!;)

[arj0n]

Physical copy arrived today, love the design of the 2nd disc print!

[m0ds]

Thanks Arj0n! Good old Teacup

[The Suitor]

So, I received my copy, and I must say...

I have a total crush on Susan Ashworth...!!

In all seriousness, the immersion is superb, and the whole game is simply one of a kind. Thanks for making such a great game.

[Frodo]

Got my copy today.  Thanks.   

[Grim]

The thing about Teacup... Some people said it's a weird name for a cat. The fact is, Teacup was named after one of the forum members posted a story about his cat going missing and suspecting a family of Chinese people had eaten him... That cat's name was Tika... I hope he doesn't mind me using it. I thought I could give his poor kitty a second life and immortalise him in my game!;) Well, if you ever read this mate, please forgive me for this and know that your friend found new adventures alongside Susan Ashworth- and he saved her life too;)

[NEO117]

This game is amazing so far but I have a problem.

In Chapter 6, when I'm about to cut the cable, I get this error.

---------------------------
Adventure Game Studio
---------------------------
An error has occurred. Please contact the game author for support, as this is likely to be a scripting error and not a bug in AGS.
(ACI version 3.21.1115)

in "GlobalScript.asc", line 3798

Error: ObjectOff: invalid object specified

---------------------------
OK   
---------------------------

I use Windows 8 32bits Wat do?

[m0ds]

Thanks for the report, will try and get you the save game you ask for through the week.

For the record, here's where you can find some of the other tracks in the game (by Warmer, Jesse Gunn, who plays Joe) - please do support the artist and buy a track or three, or the album!

http://warmer.bandcamp.com

and the end credits theme by Siah
http://5iah.bandcamp.com/track/forever

[Grim]

Bug report noted- thanks;) (and sorry! - this is the first one since release and I'm gonna be looking into it)

In the meantime, someone posted some wonderful fan art on Harvester Games Facebook page and I thought I'd share it here!;)

[an Urpney]

I can see the giant zombie cat gets some well-deserved love : )

[NEO117]

You rock guys! Thank you.

[Frodo]

Think I found something weird at st start of the game.   

Spoiler

After watching the intro, getting the key from Susan's dead body, and roof collapsing on her, I arrive back at the house with the locked door - but there's a deer there now.  Instead of using the key to unlock the door, I follow the deer, which leads me to the tree with Susan's hanging body.  Nothing I can do here at the moment - the body is too high up, and I can't untie the rope.  So I head back to the house with the locked door... but there's a gate blocking my way.  Obviously, the key won't work here, cos it's meant for the house.  So I'm trapped between the gate and the hanging body.  Can't seem to do anything.   

[close]

Is that a bug, of have I missed something?  I know it's near the start, and I could start again, but thought I should mention it anyway.   

[m0ds]

Not a bug, so all you need is a hint - you just need to follow some more things in the forest, good luck!

[NEO117]

So err... about my issue? Would it be possible for someone to PM a save to me? Just after you cut the cable in chapter 6.

I'm really dying to finish the game.

[m0ds]

Rem, can you help? ^

Afraid all my save games are from an old version, they can't be used with the current version.

[Grim]

So err... about my issue? Would it be possible for someone to PM a save to me? Just after you cut the cable in chapter 6.
I'm really dying to finish the game.

Yep, sorry about that!;) I'll get that save to you ASAP.

EDIT: PM sent with a saved game.

[m0ds]

A small update:

The bad news: Unfortunately, the US postal service has just doubled the cost of sending a small package internationally. As our DVD's are produced and shipped from the USA, this affects us. We're looking into a solution to keep the cost of getting a DVD down.

The good news: The game is coming to GOG very soon! After an initial rejection, they noticed the positive reviews and decided to give the game a look. Thanks to everyone who's been reporting on the game and helping it reach where it's reaching! It could be a matter of hours before it's available at FireFlowerGames, the English copy is available digitally at Zodiac-Store (Italy) and they are also working on an Italian localization.

Our free to download French subtitle translation by Hervé Appriou is complete and being proof-read!

Also, the game has won some praise at Adventure-Treff. Thanks to Axel for the info!
http://www.adventure-treff.de/artikel/features/adventures12_treff.php

Lots of people have been asking, so here's a list and some info about the additional music in the game!

Spoiler

Original soundtrack by micAmic (Michal Michalski)

Additional (vocal) songs by Warmer, except the credits song, which is a track called Forever by Siah Orsie.

1."Susan's arm gets chopped off"- "Inside"
2."Doctor stabs Susan"- "Don't you worry love"
3."Susan's breakdown"- "In my head its like hell"
4."Van drives towards the house"- "The will"
5."Susan doesn't have a breakdown"- "Good lord knows that I'm greedy"
6."Susan restores elevator power and goes underwater"- "What's the whole world"
7."Susan listens to music playing from behind Jesse's door"- "Thumbwar"
8."Susan looks up at sky and credits roll"- "Forever", by Siah Orsie


The menu music is a snippet from the track "The Noises She Make In Their Bed" by Warmer
http://warmer.bandcamp.com/track/the-noises-she-make-in-their-bed

Buy the albums digitally at:
http://warmer.bandcamp.com/
http://warmer.bandcamp.com/album/rocket-009-2

And the credits track:
http://5iah.bandcamp.com/track/forever

[close]

[an Urpney]

Great to hear about GOG - finaly they came to their senses. Certainly will get another copy from them as promised.
I can help with polish translation (hope I'm not the only Pole interested in playing this game) if that can help in any way.

Spoiler

And about the music - what's the tune Susan plays to summon the cats in Chapter 3?

[close]

[Grim]

Spoiler

And about the music - what's the tune Susan plays to summon the cats in Chapter 3?

[close]

Spoiler

It's a track by Micamic and it's included in the game's soundtrack.

[close]

[Frodo]

Great news to hear it will be on GOG   

I'll be looking out for it.   

[Dave Gilbert]

A small update:

The bad news: Unfortunately, the US postal service has just doubled the cost of sending a small package internationally. As our DVD's are produced and shipped from the USA, this affects us. We're looking into a solution to keep the cost of getting a DVD down.

This has been my issue as well, which is why I went back to doing the DVD snapcase for Primordia. One option you can try is see about getting a bulk shipping rate to a warehouse in Europe, and then ship the items from there. By the time I thought of that option, it was way too late in the process.

[m0ds]

Hi Dave, thanks. It's certainly an option and would be something I'd perhaps look into if this were a bigger operation. But for me the fact the manufacturers are doing the labeling, packaging and delivery is really, really useful. As we briefly discussed at AdvX the DVD fulfillment world is a bit of an odd thing at the moment. I think that's because it's still a fairly new process, still growing up. Give it a few years and there will probably be some real competition there as more people run their own smaller businesses.

I did some investigation and see why DVD-roms are hit with the charge. But after a few days, I concluded - I'd only end up spending a similar amount on the materials myself to post items or hiring someone else to do it, let alone need to find the time to do that, so for now am shrugging off the price hikes. But I'm interested to know, when you say a warehouse in Europe, do you mean there are specifically businesses/people who will take your bulk order and distribute it out to individuals? What are those businesses known as? Or are you considering buying a European warehouse?

[Dave Gilbert]

Hah. No, don't buy a warehouse. Usually they are called fulfillment services, or "pick and pack." That's probably what you are using in America. They pack up the items, address them, and then ship them. But instead of getting them indivudally shipped from America, you'd ship ALL of them to a warehouse in Europe, and then get them shipped individually out from there. It could be cheaper, depending what the shipping costs within Europe are. I meant to look into it, but as I said I ran out of time.

edit: And by "ship them all to a warehouse" I don't mean sending all of them individually to one place. You'd put all of them into one box (or two, depending on how many there are) and ship that to a warehouse in Europe. Then the European warehouse will take out the items and individually ship from there. The cost of shipping 1-2 large boxes might not be that much.

edit2: And this is way off topic. Drop me a PM if you want to talk more about this. I used to do shipping for a garment manufacturer so I know a lot about this crap.

[Lewis]

Finally got around to grabbing a copy of this. Up to Chapter 5 so far, and I have to say, this is absolutely marvelous. Grungy and dark, like someone mixed a sort of weird nightmare state with a Quentin Tarantino movie, then set it somewhere in England that's both familiar and nondescript. And then put a lot of blood in it. A LOT of blood.

The further I've got into the game, the smarter it's become, too - stuff that was faintly weird early on starts to have more significance, and the way the story unravels is incredibly deft. And the slight low-budgetness about it - that scratchy low-fi stuff it has going on - is a fabulous way of turning budgetary and technical limitations into a completely unique style.

I'd heard lots of good things about this. But I don't think I expected something quite this interesting.

[Surdy]

Hi guys,

I don't know if anything is interested but the french localization is done. The proofreading is over now. Moreover, I send the french file to Mods. Thanks, pal Don't forget to credite me on AGS, please and put my name on Harvester & Screen7 websites. P.S: Don't forget my adress for the game

I'm glad TCL is on GOG too.

[m0ds]

Thanks Herve! Once Rem has it working in game and is good for distribution I'll honor you the stuff, cos it may need to be sent back to you for us to get it working (the line spacing in your file is different to the original file, may be a problem?). But your AGS credit is up for now at least! Will email you when we've got it working a-ok

A note to others, thanks to Surdy's work the French translation will be free to download and can be added to your existing English copy, and a  Spanish translation is also about to be be worked on which will also be freely available. Russians and Italians will be able to get localized versions of the games but not directly through us I'm afraid. They're being kindly handled and are exclusive to Zodiac Store (Italy) and Akella (Russia & territories)

And thank you Lewis! Glad you're enjoying it...and good to know it kept you gripped since you loaded it!

[m0ds]

I keep forgetting to focus giveaways here so to spread some valentines love (cringe)...  3 copies up for grabs via Desura!

Once they're gone they're gone. Activation keys below!

Spoiler

sorry they is all gone now

[close]

Other items from us are 30% off today.

[The Last To Know]

Thanks! I took the first one.

[Catch22Alk3]

Thank You! I took the third one. I suspect the second one is still available

[Wapcaplet]

Grabbed the second one.  Thanks!

[m0ds]

Great, enjoy!

The Cat Lady has been revealed as the mystery game for groupee's BMA bundle. A bunch of cool games and bonuses certainly if you spend $5 minimum. Just 100 away from unlocking another bonus. But hurry! It's going to end on 28th Feb

http://www.groupees.com/bma

In other news - The Cat Lady also won an award today! 

http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/24014

[m0ds]

Come and have a chat with Remi on Sunday evening!

[Xzyj]

Hello, Grim.

Spoiler

I registered here just to give you some feedback, after i finished your beautiful game.
I think your game is pretty awesome, i'm especially glad about voice-work of Susan, Mitzi and that dude-killer with his "beautiful" wife

But i have one thing that bothers me very much.
After i finished "The cat lady" i got ending where Mitzi still dies due to her cancer (which i excepted well, cause it was very logical ending). But when i searched on forums and read that you can get "awesome ending" where Mitzi doesn't die i was quite confused. When i read your solutions how to get that ending, i was really surprised by one arcticle.

"- Prove to Liz that you've listened"
I was playing this game as Susan, and i was roleplaying as it finest, due to my pretty good knowing of psychology i was doing (how i feel) everything what susan would do, when you give her a choise. But really, after she just almost commited suicide, and after she was told there will be many people that will want to be friends with her, and he was in coma, should she want to talk to some random Liz who bothers her when she barely can open her eyes? I just kept silent when she was asking me everything, and didn't listened her well enough to get the answers (and as i suspect this is logical things to do when you barely didn't died). Due to that i waesn't be able to answer her questions right, but everything besides that i made right, and now i feel some frustration, due to fact i was roleplaying as best as i can, and get second-good ending, due to fact i just didn't listened to never-stop-speaking girl Liz, do you really think it's nessescairy option to listen to her to let Mitzi live? I just feel like this game have some kind of "teaching" structure, when you're rude and alone person at start, and then became more open and have feeling to Mitzi and care about her, i think it's reasonable to be kind of "close person" at start, and then open up.

Well, i said what i wanted, i just feel like it waesn't quite logical to listen Liz, and especially that Mitzi died because of that just feels doesn't right to me.
Besides all of that your game is beautiful, i really enjoyed by the story, especially the "River" part cut-scenes on the bridge touched me deep.
Thank you very much.

[close]

[Grim]

Xzyj:

Spoiler

But you got the good ending!;) The ending in which Mitzi does not die is a "secret" ending. A bonus one. Talking of logic, it really doesn't make much sense for a terminally ill patient to get well suddenly, right? It was my intention from the start to have the game end this way and besides, The Cat Lady frequently fucks with players' expectations and often makes you feel guilty about choices you've made. The whole point of that scene on the roof was to make you feel bad about not listening to a fictional character in a game. There was no warning that such thing would happen, so you couldn't have expected it... So in a way, it evoked certain emotions you've probably never felt before playing a game!;)

[close]

[Xzyj]

Spoiler

Yea, i rethinked it later, and i guess it makes sence, i even thought that if i would get the "best ending" i would be highly dissapointed by "fairytaleness" of the game, after it was pretty tough and kinda depressive. But i just doesn't wanted to lose Mitzi, after everything, i guess, so i feel bad about getting not "best ending" but it's totally make sence, i understand...
Can you please explain to me one more thing, i didn't played Downfall yet(I guess maybe that's the reason), but i didn't understanded the whole dude with his wife part, because there is scene with him and his wife close to the end, that didn't affect gameplay (because we want talk to him ever again and this scene doesn't really reveal much to me). Maybe it's just because i didn't read Stephen King's Misery? Or there is the other reason for this Cut-scenes with his wife? (besides descision about killing his wife affecting ending)

[close]

Sorry for my pretty bad english, i'm not really well at this, but i really enjoyed your game and i feel like i want to understand more about it.

[an Urpney]

Spoiler

Can you please explain to me one more thing, i didn't played Downfall yet(I guess maybe that's the reason), but i didn't understanded the whole dude with his wife part, because there is scene with him and his wife close to the end, that didn't affect gameplay (because we want talk to him ever again and this scene doesn't really reveal much to me). Maybe it's just because i didn't read Stephen King's Misery? Or there is the other reason for this Cut-scenes with his wife? (besides descision about killing his wife affecting ending)

[close]

Spoiler

Joe and Ivy are main characters in Downfall - Ivy has been captured by an insane ghost\paranormal entity and Joe tries to rescue her from said ghost's dimension. Or so it seems at the beginning.
Have you noticed Joe's mood changes? That's a hint on what's really going on.
Misery has nothing to do with it, but it's a great book - give it a try if you have a chance!

[close]

[Grim]

Thanks an Urpney for explaining that;)

Now, I made a new little trailer to boost votes on Greenlight. Cry featured it at the start of his LP last night, which was perfect, since that means 100.000+ people will see that!;) As a result of this, we've already entered the Greenlight top 100, and with a massive BANG, too!;)

Well, without a further ado, here it is (share it guys, it helps a lot!:)):

[embed=640,480] <iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/j-RmTKGeg_0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> [/embed]

[LTGiants2000]

Sorry you didn't get any of the AGS Awards Grim (I have a feeling the timing of the released played into that among other things (such as Resonance existing LOL)). I will do my best to promote and share the greenlight information as I still the TCL was a great game and I'm proud to be a (small) part of it.

-Rob M.

[an Urpney]

I second that - while Resonance is an outstanding game, I really hopet TCL will score at least "Best story". First surprise came when Mitzi didn't qualify for "Best NPC"...

[m0ds]

The game arrived at GOG today! http://www.gog.com/gamecard/the_cat_lady with an introductory price of just $7.49, bargain if you haven't got it yet.

Great that they choose to reach out to some of these newer indie devs.

For a limited period only: Spot the typo on the first line.... !!!?11 My fault.

Steam Greenlight is still going strong, and Cry's 'lets play' videos have been well received in the last couple of weeks.

Translations are still a way off I'm afraid, but hope to bring some good news on that front very soon!

[an Urpney]

Congratulations on the release! The Cat Lady is geting some good reviews on GOG and slowly climbing up on their bestsellers list.
You could've used different picture for this ad though - it's hard enough to convince some GOG folks that there is more about this game than gore and dirt ; )

[Mounrou]

Got it in GOG. It was so good that it made me register here. Good Job!

So after the Cat Lady, I went and got Downfall too (I'd like to see it on GOG too but what with the last time with TCL already.....). But after I finished it too something just hit me and I really had to ask:

Spoiler

Did Joe killed Susan and Mitzi?

I mean since the timeline of Downfall should've happened just a while after TCL, and in Downfall Joe killed 4 "Sophies" (not counting the final boss) when there's exactly 4 females (including Mitzi) in the apartments; Also three males died in Downfall, while there were 2 living male characters (Apartment 5 & 8) we've seen in TCL (except for apartment 1 which we've only saw the old lady from, and she had a husband too? And I'm not sure but there's also a daughter or not?); And then there's the gutted cat (TEACUP!?)......

According to the endings, it seemed that Susan and Co. had never moved out after TCL.....

So maybe the "Good Ending" really isn't that good?

[close]

Might be a stretch, but it seemed pretty plausible.

[an Urpney]

Spoiler

Did Joe killed Susan and Mitzi?

I mean since the timeline of Downfall should've happened just a while after TCL, and in Downfall Joe killed 4 "Sophies" (not counting the final boss) when there's exactly 4 females (including Mitzi) in the apartments; Also three males died in Downfall, while there were 2 living male characters (Apartment 5 & 8) we've seen in TCL (except for apartment 1 which we've only saw the old lady from, and she had a husband too? And I'm not sure but there's also a daughter or not?); And then there's the gutted cat (TEACUP!?)......

According to the endings, it seemed that Susan and Co. had never moved out after TCL.....

So maybe the "Good Ending" really isn't that good?

[close]

Spoiler

I guess he didn't. When we meet Joe in TCL, he's pretty much on the edge. Then some time passes (the last scene seems to take place at least some months after Adam's death) and Susan \ Mitzi and Susan are alive and well on the cementary. They must've moved out or missed Joe's killing spree.
The poor cat was Lucifer, Ivy's cat. Joe refers to killing Lucifer when meeting Susan, so that must've happened before the events of TCL.

[close]

[jenimad]

Major Downfall spoilers/Rather Minor Cat Lady spoilers, silly thought-

Spoiler

Did anyone else have a weird thought pertaining to Downfall-
That the reason why Joe's hallucination/whatever that he's going through for most of Downfall contains having to kill a cat to get a key is because there's a key to his apartment hidden in a cat statue (which you 'kill'/break to get it in The Cat Lady)?

[close]

[Crimson Wizard]

Major Downfall spoilers/Rather Minor Cat Lady spoilers, silly thought-

Spoiler

Did anyone else have a weird thought pertaining to Downfall-

[close]

I did .

[an Urpney]

Major Downfall spoilers/Rather Minor Cat Lady spoilers, silly thought-

Spoiler

Did anyone else have a weird thought pertaining to Downfall-
That the reason why Joe's hallucination/whatever that he's going through for most of Downfall contains having to kill a cat to get a key is because there's a key to his apartment hidden in a cat statue (which you 'kill'/break to get it in The Cat Lady)?

[close]

Spoiler

Actually that scene is reminded several more times:
- (Downfall) Joe kills the cat,
- (Downfall) Joe, in his nightmare, has to mercykill the cat and Ivy finds him doing it,
- (Downfall) Billy finds dead cat in Joe's (real) flat,
- (The Cat Lady) Susan mentions she hasn't seen Lucifer for some time,
- (The Cat Lady) Susan finds the key to Joe's flat in a cat statue,
- (The Cat Lady) If Susan says she entered Joe's flat because she's lost her cat, Joe says he's looking for a cat that swallowed his key).
Those I remember ; )

[close]

[m0ds]

If anyone has some save games (preferably from chapter 5 onwards) they can send me, please PM me or email them to me right away! mark at screen7.co.uk

Many thanks. I lost all mine during my recent PC madness period (time of year where all PC things go a bit wrong so I spend a few weeks fixing it all up so it works again for another year and a half) and Remi's are all of a version newer than the released one. I realize some players are having a few frustrations with the save features so need to send some out to them too.

Got some now thanks Crimson wizard!

Discount code whilst I'm here And just a few days until the album...for those who are interested. Akella Russian version still in the works and so is Italian version with Zodiac Store, but I'm yet to get a date on those.

Spoiler

£1.50 off the DRM-free copy (usually £6.99) with discount code "OFFTHERADAR" to celebrate our Radar review, at the official site  http://www.thecatlady.co.uk and http://www.screen7.co.uk

[close]

[Sgrondo]

The italian version will be online 9 May on Zodiac.

[m0ds]

The italian version will be online 9 May on Zodiac.

Meraviglioso!

(not that I can pronounce that)

Italian version is exclusive to Zodiac Store and available here:
http://www.zodiac-store.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=621


Many have asked for the music, which is currently all available in digital format (from our website and the artists) and now we have a unique collectors album for those who are interested:

...and possibly coming soon to iTunes, Spotify and many others.

see "CD Soundtracks" page

[The Fool]

OK, I'm slightly drunk now, but that trailer looks amazing. I need to play this one.
And music is brilliant too.
-----
Bought, downloading, ready for feels.

[The Fool]

Liiitle, different (okay, a lot different ) than what drunk me expected, but still solid portion of creepiness and nightmares

[The Last To Know]

Finished the game last night. I think it was really good. Although I didn't like the beginning much, the game got better and better over the time. My personal highlight was the scene in the "Maniac Mansion". I can't believe nobody here mentioned this before. ;-)
Now I have to search my old harddrives for my Downfall-Download which I bought years ago (or so) on the wadjet eye site and never played. Because after finishing The Cat Lady, I want to know what happend in Downfall. :-)

[jenimad]

I bought the newest soundtrack (I've had the other one since I bought the game when it first came out) and I've been enjoying it. It's great to have all the songs in one place~
Just...
Probably the most superfluous spoiler question ever-

Spoiler

Does Track 13 have a name? Just to satisfy my curiosity/for when I put the CD on my ipod.

...sort of wish there was a picture of the album cover floating around for the latter too, but I can always use the original soundtrack's pic if it bugs me too much.

[close]

[Igor Hardy]

The italian version will be online 9 May on Zodiac.

It should be called The Giallo version.

[m0ds]

Ascovel: Ha! Crime and fiction mystery eh

Jenimad:

Spoiler

Thumb War



And FYI: The digital version will also appear (on iTunes, Spotify etc) with the main "Cat Lady" title picture, rather than the one on the CD cover.

[close]

[Igor Hardy]

More like disturbing surreal horror fantasy branch of Giallo with the popular Giallo themes of madness and alienation.

[jenimad]

Mods:

Spoiler

Thank you so much for the track title- those silly little details like that drive me nuts- and for going above and beyond by posting the cover art!

[close]

[Sgrondo]

@Grim: i appreciated a lot the game, so my only question is: Are you making another game now? If not, if you are taking some rest, have you already some idea for the next one?

[m0ds]

After some request, Downfall drm-free with OST:

http://www.quiethavenhotel.co.uk

Only £2.22 until the end of the month. And as we have a promotion on, here are 3 keys for The Cat Lady on Desura When they're gone they're gone:

Spoiler

08r4gy84tng
53j6405984y57h
g034yh3890t532

[close]

[an Urpney]

After some request, Downfall drm-free with OST:

http://www.quiethavenhotel.co.uk

Only £2.22 until the end of the month. And as we have a promotion on, here are 3 keys for The Cat Lady on Desura When they're gone they're gone:

All right... I hope I won't regret not waiting for Quiet Haven deal

Spoiler

- My download link says v1.4. Wasn't version 2.0 the newest one?
- Hope that those nasty bugs (multiple shotguns, broken 'Surrender' endings) are gone?
- Is it possible to generate a gift code? I'd like to make you a little campaign on GOG, just like with The Cat Lady

[close]

[jenimad]

Yay, I've been looking forward to the Downfall release ever since I found out it came with a soundtrack~

Spoiler

Hidden for whining/venting. ^_^;
Unfortunately, Paypal hates me and it always 'hangs' during the checkout process- doesn't reject my card or give an error or anything... I just can't submit the credit card info and the page endlessly refreshes.
It's the weirdest darned error because I bought The Cat Lady album when it came out, as well as The Cat Lady from the same site with no problems.
Tried three different web browsers, tried waiting a day or two, tried using a different computer- no dice. 
So my only conclusion is that Paypal is being persnickety and I just have to wait and hope (Maybe it doesn't like that I'm in the United States/there's a currency error? I don't even know at this point).
...but enough of my whining. Suffice it to say, as soon as I can, I'm going to buy Downfall.
This has been a useless rant, but it made me feel better XD  Maybe the world will decide to make me look like an idiot and the problem will solve itself because I ranted about it in public.

[close]

[m0ds]

Urpney, 1.4 is the version Rem wanted me to sell saying he thinks its the most intact one. No idea on previous version numbers myself, sorry. I'll PM you in a few days about a promotion. The deal is for Desura key, it's pending approval there at the moment. It won't be possible to get the soundtrack via Desura. I'll be happy to upgrade you and other customers of the DRM-free copy (via S7) to Quiet Haven deal in due course (and for free).

jenimad, sorry to hear that. As you say, it's likely a PayPal issue of some kind OR perhaps you have some settings preventing secure pages/requests to be loaded or something? Sometimes "https" pages can be blocked, though I have no reason why. Like you, I couldn't log into my bank on various occasions, just getting a blank screen when it was trying to load a https page. Through trial and error (or just waiting) it started working again. You might want to check PayPal is in your firewall exceptions.

[an Urpney]

Urpney, 1.4 is the version Rem wanted me to sell saying he thinks its the most intact one. No idea on previous version numbers myself, sorry. I'll PM you in a few days about a promotion. The deal is for Desura key, it's pending approval there at the moment. It won't be possible to get the soundtrack via Desura. I'll be happy to upgrade you and other customers of the DRM-free copy (via S7) to Quiet Haven deal in due course (and for free).

The one I had was 2.0, currently sold at GamersGate It removes save\load\exit parts form the game screen, fixes multiple shotgun bug near the end and adds one really nasty bug (crash due to a missing variable) near in one of the endings. One you sell keeps the GUI elements on screen (I don't mind them) and fixes both those nasty bugs, so it's far superior to the one I had It still has few typos \ syntax mistakes ("I can't use X on the Sophie" or suspension points expressed by number of dots other than three) and one walk behind area problem, but I guess you have to look for those to find it I know no update is currently planned, but if you ever decide to release 1.5, I'll be happy to send you a more detailed list
For now, thanks for bringing Downfall back!

[fire]

Mods, is there another way to buy from the Screen 7 site? The current PayPal checkout is consistently broken for me. Or, if I could somehow PayPal you the money directly and get the games.

[m0ds]

Sorry to hear that. Not currently no, sorry we don't have other options - but it may be some issue their end this week as you're the second person to ask! This has happened once before (multiple people saying they can't checkout) and it resolved itself in about a weeks time if I remember correctly. So do try again soon, or do you suffer this with ALL paypal usage (outside of Screen 7)?

If you want Downfall, you can also get it from Wadjet Eye Games or GamersGate, and they'll have some non-paypal format I'm sure. Also, Cat Lady is on Desura (does not require paypal) and Downfall will hopefully be by the end of next week too (fingers crossed) but I'm sorry the OST's don't come with Desura-only copies.

Are you having the same issue as jenimad (see above) ?

PS Urpney, thanks for the detailed info! Good to know. Let me know if anything goes horribly wrong!

PPS I worked on the French (subtitles) translation provided by Hervé last night, and it's stable. That reminds me, I need to post for some help on tech board now....

[fire]

Sorry to hear that. Not currently no, sorry we don't have other options - but it may be some issue their end this week as you're the second person to ask! This has happened once before (multiple people saying they can't checkout) and it resolved itself in about a weeks time if I remember correctly. So do try again soon, or do you suffer this with ALL paypal usage (outside of Screen 7)?

[...]

Are you having the same issue as jenimad (see above) ?

No, just here. I checked a couple of places that do work, and their PayPal checkouts have a "cmd=_express-checkout" and the Screen7 checkout has a "cmd=_flow". So, I figure it's a country/currency issue like jenimad suggested, or the checkout method giving me trouble.

I wanted those OSTs, yeah, and I'd rather buy direct. I'll cross my fingers that it fixes itself. Thanks, Mods.

[m0ds]

Thanks for the info. My business is too small to have express checkout at this point I'm afraid, it comes with its own prices and unique challenges. Always a gamble that whoever you use someone is going to have an issue of some kind. I'll try and look into it over the next couple of days, both how other merchants have solved issues like yours and jenimad and also at the feasibility and cost of upgrading to express checkout. Hopefully find some solution or yes the gremlins in the cmd=flow machine will sort themselves out

[jenimad]

I don't know if you changed anything yet or if Paypal just stopped being difficult- but I tried to buy Downfall again and it worked this time Sorry if there was any hassle- that was all just the -weirdest- problem I've ever had paying for something (I still don't know what the heck was wrong).
...I bought Nancy too while I was at it 

[m0ds]

Nothing my end, so as predicted, time clears the gremlins in the PayPal system Good stuff tho, thanks for letting me know!

ps. Jenimad just in case you noticed it wasn't there, your "thank you" page will now have the Desura key for your recent purchase. (thanks for pointing that out to me jugwhisky)

[fire]

Same here. Thanks for not doing anything, Mods!

[El34]

I only discovered The Cat Lady got released half a year ago today (guess when I finished it as well )! I was watching it on the harvestergames website until the domain expired? So I thought maybe the game wasn't being produced after all, only to my surprise while watching random horror let's plays, I see one for The Cat Lady.. at first I was just going to watch the LP and be happy with it but I soon decided that would be impossible. I played Downfall back in 2009 and I remember I e-mailed Grim asking for a walkthrough (at the time there weren't any) and he said his next game wouldn't have the free used sound effects like Downfall.. but that's not quite true!

Anyway, enough of that. Spoilers for the whole game in the hidden post:

Spoiler

I thought Warmer - Inside was a perfect kickoff to start the game for when Susan has her arm chopped off. And WOW, Doctor X's 'gallery'? That was some seriously sick stuff, his portryal as a completely psychotic serial killer was stomach turning for sure, I wish I had more satisfaction killing him (I liked that you got two choices of weapons to kill him though, I tried both and found the spear more satisfying.

I did find the final confrontation a bit underwhelming but expected, if that makes sense. It seems to be a formula for captivating mysteries broken up into chapters to start with something very grisly and then change into something more 'intellectual'. I did manage to get the best secret ending on the first go, but I agreed to do what the Queen of Maggots wanted Susan to do (everything else I seemed to have fulfilled as forum posters mentioned).

I didn't even figure out that the neighbors 'J and I' were the Joe and Ivy from Downfall! Not until I got into the dream sequence and heard about her being in the room a week... boy talk about SLOW. It has been a while since I played Downfall though, so I guess I wasn't expecting them to make an appearance again (along with door 666 - FINALLY I got to see what's inside! the image of the woman by the toilet was right creepy!) I really did appreciate his cameo appearance though. Seeing two very messed up worlds collide like that was interesting.

Also, the Queen of Maggots isn't the same entity as the one from Downfall? I thought they were this whole time! I'd have to play again to see.

[close]

I also found the controls a bit of a hassle at times, usually bouncing in and out of the items menu and even the save/load screen. However, I didn't pay much heed to it, likely because of the fantasic story this game has. Downfall for all its macabre and grisly atmosphere made an impression on me, but I honestly didn't expect The Cat Lady to be this good (I can't imagine a third game being able to top this). A huge part of it is Susan. I can't think of the last time (or any time) a woman in her 40's was used as a protagonist and portrayed so well. That's not to say the other characters aren't either, but there is so much life breathed into the main character and supporting cast, particularly Mitzi, that it's impossible not to be taken in. The issues of depression made it all the more real. Basically, the writing is beyond brilliant.

I've also played Resonance the day before, and I enjoyed The Cat Lady far more, (of course, it lacks the ability to appeal to a more general audience ) though these types of stories are more my cup of tea. The Cat Lady also had far easier puzzles though, and these days I don't particularly like puzzles in games that are too complex.

In the end, the game was worth more than what I spent on it, and I'm glad I didn't decide to just watch an LP and have the atmosphere and immersion ruined. Big props to Harvester Games, and if there's a third game coming, I hope I don't miss out on it for this long again!

[Diath]

Since I love horror and eerie games(hence the only type of game I ever made), I finally Purchased it. This was a well done game. The Surreal environments and the music was perfect for a game like this. A few thoughts I had during the game

Spoiler

1. I like how you left some things ambiguous, but the overall message clear to the player!

2. I was second guessing myself the whole time in the hospital on who the parasite was. You opened both to the Nurse and the Doctor, so both had the "getting close to you before hurting you" aspect that the maggot queen warned you about.

3. I performed the correct actions to have the nurse leave you a parting gift down in the hospital basement, but I felt I would have had horrid repercussions if I didn't do as the maggot queen requested(which is excellent since she symbolizes depression)

4.Out of all the parasites, I found the pest control couple to be the most interesting. I wondered if the wife was actually demonic or not or if she actually existed since it was not in the other realm were the cat lady often visited. 

5. I know now after reading earlier on this thread that the developer said there wasn't time to do a fully developed story to the man that visited you with flowers, but I initially thought when I answered the door that it was the man from years ago that tried to ruin your previous marriage. Well...until he tried talking when he wanted you to play the piano hah.

6. I was thinking the whole time that the neighbor was a parasite and wondered why he wasn't dealt with until I read that he was a nod to Downfall

7. I thought the monotone babysitter associated was hilarious!

[close]

I figured the developer would be interested on a players initial thinking when they played his game so there ya go! And as I said before, a very well done game!

[m0ds]

Thanks for weighing in duane

New cusomers...our site now accepts direct cc payments. No more paypal signups.

[m0ds]

From 11th-14th July only you can pay what you want at IndieGameStand. You will get a Desura key and a GOG key. So it's a great time to get the game via GOG if that's your thing. Thanks to Cesar, Katie and the Phoenix team for doing all the hard work

Small update: No official word on the Russian version yet as our contact is out of office til next week, but they have released official artwork for it.



If anyone would like to playtest the French translation for me please PM me. It's just French subtitles but I need someone to spot if it goes off the rails at some point through the game. And then that will be ready for distribution of some kind. Thank you

[Mati256]

Hi. I have a couple of questions.
Is there going to be a Spanish translation? Is there any ETA on that?
If someone would buy the game now, from Indie Game Stand or from the Screen 7 site, would it be entitled to a translated version in the future?
For example, I preordered the game, but lets say I would like to play it in French or Spanish. Could I download an updated version with subtitles?

[m0ds]

Hi Mati! Sure, hiding it because it's not official, but FYI:

Spoiler

French subtitles is 100% complete, waiting testing
Spanish subtitles is 90% complete, waiting to put the translation into AGS and then have it tested
German subtitles is 10% complete

When all three are done there will be a Version 1.3, which has the three translations, an update to the vSync (horizontal tearing issue) and minor update to the save & load screen. This version uses a different font to the original English version, and the translation files cannot be used with the original version 1.2 (you can try, but the font is messed up and doesn't show any of the special é or á style characters)

The plan was for it to have been a free download for the .tra translation files (tiny things, 10kb). But that's not the case, the .tra files cannot be distributed alone - the whole game (minus audio elements) has to be redistributed (300mb roughly) for people to get full use of the vsync and translations.

So whether this v1.3 will be distributed as a free or paid update is unknown at this point. I'm still testing all the distribution stuff out, and don't want to make a promise I can't keep about it.

So really it's "watch this space" on that one. Sorry to be vague. Mind you, the max benefits should come to you if you're a specific Screen 7 customer as you say you are

ETA though... Latest I want to have it released is TCL's 1st birthday.

[close]

[Peder 🚀]

Spoiler

Are you saying the next game update might be charged for? :O

[close]

[m0ds]

Just a small update as it's been on the cards and people have been a-wondering: French, Spanish & German translations are complete! Thank you to the gentlemen for their help (Français - Hervé Appriou, Deutsche - Thomas Schneiders & Español - Ignacio Parentella), If you would like to proof-read (in game) to make sure it's working in your language, please get in touch with me via PM, thank you

From here testing of the translations begin and our aim is to release a new deluxe version of the game around end of Oct or early Nov. More information on this soon enough (please don't ask Peder, I don't know yet )

[fire]

Congratulations!

[an Urpney]

Excellent! Well done!

[Vince Twelve]

Awesome!  Congrats guys!

[m0ds]

Thank you

[CosmoQueen]

Yay congrats! !!!!!

[m0ds]

You can now download a free update for your DRM-free copy of the game here:
http://agsarchives.com/thecatlady.html (direct download) or more info at http://www.thecatlady.co.uk/updates

(any problems do let me know please!)

Essentially adds French, German + Spanish subtitles, so some people may not want/need to update their copy.

Thanks to Hervé Appriou for French translation, Thomas Schneiders for German translation and Ignacio Parentella for Spanish and his help with testing stuff..
Thanks to Peder Johnsen for hosting the file..
And thanks to Ali for the tip to use Patch Maker

The game will be available on Steam from Dec 4th, with achievements and trading cards and stuff, thank you to Michael (monkey_05_06) for his help with that

[m0ds]

The Cat Lady is 1 year old today from its release, so here's a silly video to celebrate With strong language...as you'd expect from let's players and youtube comments...

[embed=480,360] <iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/m9vf2KP7NBI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> [/embed]

Steam is just around the corner! S7 customers should get their keys emailed to them in the next few days before 4th. On release day there, do keep an eye out for a 10 minute special video by Remi

[embed=480,360] <iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sb9biBAP5VY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> [/embed]

[m0ds]

It's available now on Steam*!  http://store.steampowered.com/app/253110

And a special 10 minute video for fans of the game (to celebrate the Steam release...whoop!)

[embed=480,360] <iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5Ls5AnvZFnQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> [/embed]

*Phew. What a long epic not so fun experience that is far from over. Please direct your questions about keys to the moon. Thank you.

[Surdy]

Hey Mods,

What are the new things in the Steam Edition?

[m0ds]

Nothing new beyond achievements, trading cards and the translations really...

[Grim]

Hey Mods,

What are the new things in the Steam Edition?

I finally fixed the "deer" bug!!!;)

And I like the look of the new fonts and improved save system.

[m0ds]

Oh, but it's still 50 save slots Turns out that didn't work trying to remove that limit. Maybe Michael can take a look at that for the Steam version.. Changing one integer from "50" to "150" in AGS obviously wasn't the solution Wonder what that broke... sorry rem!

[Grim]

It looks better though!;)

[qptain Nemo]

I kinda miss the old font. The new one is prettier and more readable, sure, but the old one really fit the character of the game. I think. Or maybe I'm just being conservative again.

Also damn, I love that

Spoiler

you can tell Dr. X that both your parents committed suicide when you were little :'D

[close]

[maximilianxs]

This is probably the best game I've played so far. The reason I liked this game so much is probably because I also did try suiciding before. Anyway, I am sorry but I had to stop at the start of Chapter Six. My HDD died out all of a sudden. I madly need a save file of the beginning of Chapter Six. If my decisions change the ending, I refused The Queen of Maggots. Any help with save file will be much appreciated.

If you like to help me, location of your save files is;
WinXP: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\<name of game>
Win7: C:\Users\<username>\Saved Games\<name of game>\

Thanks in advance, I also thank you Harvester Games for such an increadible game and I strongly demand another gloomy, dark and obscure game in 2014!

[Grim]

Also damn, I love that

Spoiler

you can tell Dr. X that both your parents committed suicide when you were little :'D

[close]

Which creates the best sub-story somehow...

This is probably the best game I've played so far. The reason I liked this game so much is probably because I also did try suiciding before. Anyway, I am sorry but I had to stop at the start of Chapter Six. My HDD died out all of a sudden. I madly need a save file of the beginning of Chapter Six. If my decisions change the ending, I refused The Queen of Maggots. Any help with save file will be much appreciated.

If you like to help me, location of your save files is;
WinXP: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\<name of game>
Win7: C:\Users\<username>\Saved Games\<name of game>\

Thanks in advance, I also thank you Harvester Games for such an increadible game and I strongly demand another gloomy, dark and obscure game in 2014!

Try Steam's community hub- I noticed a lot of people there exchange savegames. I'm sure someone will help you there. I'm sorry I can't provide that- there's been so many different versions of the game my savegames would not work anymore... Also- thanks for kind comments;)

[Crimson Wizard]

I do not have Steam version, but there was certain quirk with savedgames in the earlier version, maybe this information still valid.
The Cat Lady makes large save files as story progresses further (ending with about 25 MB per save) (I was planning to find out why this happens, but did not get to that yet).
What I found is that these large files are compressed by 99% due to the nature of data inside them. I was able to compress about 1.5 GB of saves to only 4.6 MB 7z archive! Just wanted to let you know .

PS. I have saves only from older version.

[m0ds]

Someone used discount code CHRISJONESAGS again and it still makes me chuckle and then I realized I'm being an xmas scrooge. so

5 Steam only copies, grab em whilst they're hot like a hot cup of coffee

Spoiler

ZIR49-4TTH7-M89B4
4GP9Q-I5QVT-YTV3Y
L0T4K-J5HBJ-T5XTX
QHX67-MNBH0-LEWW6
GWYYJ-N9VRL-LG3HF

[close]

and if it doesn't work out for you, the first 5 people to PM me "Teh Cat Lady" (case and spelling sensitive) can have one

Comments: I hate cats and watched part of this game. I loved hearing the story of their misery. Is there a good ending where the cat mother doesn't get revenge but suffers more?

I don't really want to buy it if the only ending is that the cat(s) win

Serious inquiry here. I _loathe_ cats and the story seemed funny enough while I watched

[Crimson Wizard]

Oh, but it's still 50 save slots Turns out that didn't work trying to remove that limit. Maybe Michael can take a look at that for the Steam version.. Changing one integer from "50" to "150" in AGS obviously wasn't the solution Wonder what that broke... sorry rem!

Did not see this post before... I think you need to make a custom list control for this to work, manually reading save descriptions and screenshots. I do not think this is too difficult.
See Game.GetSaveSlotDescription and DynamicSprite.CreateFromSaveGame.
This way you will be able to have as much as 999 saves.

Regarding changing in the engine: there might be few places where you need to hack things... but don't do that please, people won't be able to play this game with recent engine ports .

[Tabata]

   I am still palying and it is a really well done story.
Despite the serious gloomy story I had to smile when I saw the blue cup.
And when I first entered the living room of one of the houses it directly attracted my attention ~ I suspected what (m-)mansion the interieur came from.
So I hasseled over to find the rest of the rooms right where and how they should be (including a nice allusion when I looked for the secret transition - you know what I mean   )
Need to go on now        â€" just wanted to tell about my facination      *shudder* 

             

[Chicky]

Oh wow! I tried one of the keys you provided Mark and it hadn't been taken yet

The key I used is: ZIR49-4TTH7-M89B4

Thanks dude, super awesome! I'll be sure to write up a mini review once i've finished. Loved the demo, psyched to play the finished release and not sure why it's taken me this long

[DoorKnobHandle]

Also got one (the fourth code still wasn't taken)! Thanks Mark!

[Babar]

I also found the 2nd key working. Now installing The Cat Lady (will get to it after Gemini Rue).
Lets see if this will be the first horror game that actually horrors me.

[Surdy]

Happy new year to Grim & Mods.

Any ideas for a new Harvester adventure game for the future? Grim? Mods?

[Grim]

Hi Surdy, yes- we have plenty of ideas- but they don't really belong in this thread!;) I'll send you an email soon;)

I'm glad more members of the community have picked up TCL recently on Steam- Tabata, Chicky, Babar, DKH- I hope you like it;)

[Ghost]

Thanks to m0ds I got myself a copy too. Awesome game so far, Grim!

Also featured on the Tropes now http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/TheCatLady

[Grim]

Thanks to m0ds I got myself a copy too. Awesome game so far, Grim!

Also featured on the Tropes now http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/TheCatLady

I'm glad;)

But that Tropes thing has been there for a while now. It puzzles me that there are people who know more about my game than I do... The game's Golden Ending (I didn't even know that that's what it's called) is now common knowledge to most Cat Lady fans. Back when I did it, I remember considering giving out a special prize to the first person who managed to get it (a notebook that contains sketches, doodles, scribbles, to-dos and dialog WIPs from the game; since I never went with that idea it's still resting on a pile of junk on top of my fridge;) )

[an Urpney]

The game's Golden Ending (I didn't even know that that's what it's called) is now common knowledge to most Cat Lady fans. Back when I did it, I remember considering giving out a special prize to the first person who managed to get it (a notebook that contains sketches, doodles, scribbles, to-dos and dialog WIPs from the game; since I never went with that idea it's still resting on a pile of junk on top of my fridge;) ) )

I'm afraid I would've broken this competition - had that ending before the game even came out (due to pre-order 'week ahead of everybody' promo) and - as mentioned earlier in this topic - wasn't even aware it's something special

[Grim]

The game's Golden Ending (I didn't even know that that's what it's called) is now common knowledge to most Cat Lady fans. Back when I did it, I remember considering giving out a special prize to the first person who managed to get it (a notebook that contains sketches, doodles, scribbles, to-dos and dialog WIPs from the game; since I never went with that idea it's still resting on a pile of junk on top of my fridge;) ) )

I'm afraid I would've broken this competition - had that ending before the game even came out (due to pre-order 'week ahead of everybody' promo) and - as mentioned earlier in this topic - wasn't even aware it's something special

Cheater....

[an Urpney]

You know, you can always scan the thing and add it as bonus material for Steam and GOG buyers (not sure if Desu supports such thing as bonus material). I'd certainly love to see this

[Grim]

You know, you can always scan the thing and add it as bonus material for Steam and GOG buyers (not sure if Desu supports such thing as bonus material). I'd certainly love to see this

Scanning 80 or so pages?... Sounds like fun!;) At least I could leave out a page with my PayPal details written down;)

[m0ds]

Ha - Yes, you should definitely grab a coffee and go scan it, and we can submit it as bonus material or post it to me and I'll scan it.

[Ghost]

+1 on that; bonus material is always great. I love stuff lie Dev Comments, Behind-the-Scenes and scanned notebooks retrieved from fridges!

[Gribbler]

Well, I've just finished it. Here are my afterthoughts in the form of pros and cons (spoilers):

Spoiler

Cons:
-lack of some kind of indicator that you can scroll inventory sideways. I got stuck a few times just because I forgot I have more items at my disposal.
-hard rock music was immersion breaking for me. But it's just a matter of taste I guess.
-game was a bit too wordy sometimes. The fight between Susan and her husband for example or dialogue between Susan in the tub and Mitzi making pancakes.
-I found the story a little confusing. First it was about five people Susan had to kill and then it sort of changed into the search for Eye of Adam. When credits rolled I had no idea who the old lady in "netherworld" was and what was it all really about. Original MacGuffin slowly
vanished...
-poor voice acting of secondary characters. Annie in hospital for example.
-some puzzles seemed a little off. Like the key for the van hidden in the head of a dead guy in the tub.
-I found a few bugs. For example I read the letter to Pauline when I was all alone in Joe's apartment and Susan started talking to invisible Mitzi (who went upstairs to get the power cord). Invisible Mitzi talked back.

Pros:
-fantastic atmosphere. Very spooky.
-absorbing gameplay
-I loved jump scares
-great graphics. I loved the style and it's overall grittiness.
-very intuitive interface. I totally did not expect it was gonna be keyboard based so at first I was taken a little aback. But it changed very quickly and the gameplay went super smooth.
-creepy ambient sounds were spot on. Reminded me of early Silent Hills.
-I loved muli-layered scrolling and special effects (lights, fog, etc.). It all made the game very film-like.
-The game is well worth the price. It took me about 10 hours to finish it.
-The game was just about the right level of difficulty. I got stuck only because of the inventory interface.
-Also, I don't know if that's a plus, depends how you look at it, but the game is very dark and contains some heavy stuff. Seriously, do not play this if you're feeling depressed or sad. Personally, I  think it's a huge plus. To be able to make the player feel such burden... Grim, you mastered it

[close]

[Crimson Wizard]

Akinator knows Susan Ashworth

[Grim]

Yes, he does!;)

Somebody else has shown me that before. Pretty freaky;)

[GMD1984]

I brought it while back on GOG. Very unique game in many ways! And yes puzzles are done very well. I had to really look up for the walkthrough on once. While many others just make senses (sometime in very insane way ) IMO to playing the game with only one hand on the keyboard is very suite my liking.

By stretched out the scene into a 2D sidescroll is eliminated all the chance of pixel hunting or player missing a hotspot! So, 2D control does give this game more than a unique style. It's also served functionality.

Also, the voice acting are great! Even though I spot the different between Mitzy and Susan's voice quality / recording environment. But, the acting is there and it's played out so well.
Anyway, congrats on available on Steam! I just can't wait for another game from you guys!

And I'm not much of a Fan-art do-er. But after I've done the game I just feels that I have to draw the two main characters. so I did it.

[Tabata]

                
@GMD
WOW!  Now that's an incredibly cool piece of fan-art.
I really like how you did the chars. 
BRAVO! 

[GMD1984]

                
@GMD
WOW!  Now that's an incredibly cool piece of fan-art.
I really like how you did the chars. 
BRAVO! 

Thanks Tabata. All credits goes to Grim and Harvester Game for such well written characters

[Grim]

Thanks, GMD1984;) I've seen your piece already, actually. The Tumblr community is such a fantastic outlet for artists and it has been produced a lot of great TCL fan-art, which is a pleasure to look at, read, listen to...

For those who are interested, just try #the cat lady tag.

[GMD1984]

Thanks, GMD1984;) I've seen your piece already, actually. The Tumblr community is such a fantastic outlet for artists and it has been produced a lot of great TCL fan-art, which is a pleasure to look at, read, listen to...

For those who are interested, just try #the cat lady tag.

Your welcome, Grim! Hopefully this is not a spoiler But one of my fav part of the game is...

Spoiler

The Psychologist interview sessions. Even-though the choices might not change the course of the game much. But, I found that I feels it's really me who's been interview. And instead of being Susan character. In that moment, all the choice and answer that I gave to the doctor were actually mines/my background. Which is pretty awesome.

[close]

[Janos Biro]

First of all, congratulations for the great success of this release. What follows is my personal impression.

I'm having a hard time playing The Cat Lady. Not with the puzzles, they are quite easy. I don't play horror games at all, but the real problem is: I think I have a "cat lady" aunt. I'm very close to her, I feel like she is a second mother to me, even though she lives alone with her cats. She is the one that influenced me to read poetry and such. When I play, I remember her, and it's kind of hard to see the disturbing parts. I'm playing as if Susan was my aunt, and it's getting very scary. I'm afraid of playing it. I fear the ending, even though I have no idea what it will be. It might take a little while to play it to end.

Just a personal account for you to know.

[Grim]

janosbiro: this game is a tribute to all the cat ladies out there. I too love cats. And ladies. And if I put them through some tough time it's only to show how strong they really are.

[Janos Biro]

Good point. And beautifully said.

[Janos Biro]

Grim,

I'm so glad I didn't gave up playing it! I was so afraid the ending would be depressing, but it was perfect! The music was great too. I still didn't changed my mind about horror games, but i'm happy to say this is one of my favorite games. I could do it without the scary parts, but it is beautiful anyway. Thank you.

[Ben X]

Now available in this bundle, along with at least two other stone-cold classics:

http://www.bundlestars.com/all-bundles/fusion-bundle

[monkey0506]

The Cat Lady is coming to Steam for Linux! If you're a Linux user and are interested in helping with a beta test, please PM me for details.

[qptain Nemo]

Hey thanks for making it available from Linux!

Actually monkey_05_06, seeing as you clearly have already compiled x86 and x86_64 binaries of AGS for linux, can you publicly share them? I think all AGS developers (and players) would benefit from that.

Edit: Derp, right after writing that, I realized that I can just look in the folder where the Cat Lady is installed and find them there, which indeed was the case. So, thanks twice as much.

I still think they should be, like, posted somewhere on the forums and like highlighted so the developers know that they can relatively easily make Linux versions of their games.

Edit 2: You guys don't mind if I borrow the shell script you use for platform selection too, right?

[monkey0506]

The shell script was the one provided with the AGS source by BigMC I think, but not by me. I modified it to symlink the appropriate AGSteam plugin just-in-time, but I don't see why there would be any issues with you using it. Dump an AGS game in the data folder and you should be good to go on any Debian 7 compatible platform (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, etc.), unless they use plugins which will have to be either recompiled or a stub created for them.

[m0ds]

Just to let folks know the game is available in a bundle for a few more days along with 11th Hour and Lume

https://www.indiegala.com/weekly

But of course thanks to those who have bought via this page using the Screen 7 site(s) and that CHRISJONESAGS discount code (for this game and others)

[Kitty Trouble]

This was a very, very good game. Definitely worth the price, though someone else gave me a key so I could play it. I loved the concept, story, voice acting, endings, music, and everything else about the game.

A couple minor things:

Sometimes the voice acting would have a character end a sentence in the way that made it sound like a question (with the voice raised at the end like they were asking something) when in fact it was a statement. Mostly I noticed this with Susan, not sure if any of the other characters did it as well. But the voice acting was good, this was just a minor thing.

Also a minor 'examine' thing I noticed.

Spoiler

After getting the drink with Mitzi, the description of the cabinet still says you haven't drank since Eric

[close]

[m0ds]

Only $1.50 for the next 24 hours at Chrono.gg -- https://www.chrono.gg/

Own the 47th Best PC Game of 2013 (Metacritic) for yourself today at discount price!

I also cleaned up the links on the first page. Thanks to everyone who still buys and supports this game, after quite a few years now!! :thumbsup:

For additional news about some Harvester Games and Screen 7 stuff, please check out this recent newsletter: https://t.co/GR8nmD9pAz