She Remembers Caterpillars: Exploring Loss through Puzzles
Death and loss are inevitable in life, and in between stages of the colorful game She Remembers Caterpillars these themes are explored. The game itself is broken into 40 stages, small dioramas floating in space with different colored bridges and gates interspersed across the paths. The goal is to get every creature to a launch pad to progress to the next level, and red creatures can cross red bridges but not red gates, and the same rules apply to blue creatures, gates and bridges. Game designer David Priemer explains in the video below:
The first few stages, like in the video above, can be beaten very quickly. Soon the difficulty ramps up, and the player must combine creatures to form purple to get past obstacles. The player will find themselves pausing, planning four moves in advance to get all the creatures to their goals. Fortunately, the game gives you beautiful scenery to gaze at as you strategize.
I encourage you to check out the game’s demo here. Two things occurred to me as I played it. *First, I was worried that a color blind player would not be able to play. Jumpsuits addressed this concern:
Even though the game is colour-based it remains playable for the colour-blind without using filters. Inclusive game-design is still not common ground and especially when it comes to the combination of colours and symbols. Every colour in She Remembered Caterpillars is associated with a unique symbol where even mixing colours is possible: Combining a red square with a blue circle creates a purple D-shape! It is not immediately obvious but it works. We have confirmed this with Able Gamers and colour-blind playtesters.
Secondly, although this game will be releasing in November on Steam, I could really see this game being a great iPad game. Fortunately it will also be released for iOS and Android early next year as well. Check out the demo for yourself, and as always, stay tuned to TheButtonSmashers.com for news about games like this and all your nerdy entertainment needs.
Hey, thank you for the article. However, there is one important correction. Even though the game is colour-based it remains playable for the colour-blind without using filters. Inclusive game-design is still not common ground and especially when it comes to the combination of colours and symbols. Every colour in She Remembered Caterpillars is associated with a unique symbol where even mixing colours is possible: Combining a red square with a blue circle creates a purple D-shape! It is not immediately obvious but it works. We have confirmed this with Able Gamers and colour-blind playtesters.
Cheers,
the jumpsuits
Thank you for checking out my article, and I appreciate the correction. I will update the article immediately.