Content Warnings

Themes of death. Suited for ages 10 and up.

Project Introduction

Warm Hello:
Hi Indie Cup! Thanks for reading our application. ‘Copycat’ is the debut game created by Ukrainian/Australian indie studio ‘Spoonful of Wonder’.

Elevator Pitch:
Copycat can be described as ‘Stray’ (BlueTwelve Studio, 2022) meets ‘Life Is Strange’ (Square Enix, 2015) in ‘The Stanley Parable’ (Galactic Cafe, 2013) universe.

Theme and Purpose:
Be guided by your moral compass and explore a three-act story told effortlessly through four hours of video game narrative. Celebrate the moments of bringing a pet home for the first time, and learn how cats can improve the mental health of their owners. Cherish life's precious pet-human bond while reflecting on the dark side of animal displacement. Copycat has an accessible surface story while delivering profound ethical and philosophical lessons to catch audiences off-guard.

Game Mechanics:
See the world through cat eyes. Climb trees, fight dogs, and explore the neighbourhood with intuitive, smooth cat-like controls. Make mischief, knock things on the ground, hide in boxes, run through the long grass, and meow at everything that moves. The key game mechanics of Copycat combine world exploration, casual puzzle solving, endless runners, hunting, stealthy encounters and fun cat-inspired mini-games. It also features moral choice mechanics, inviting players to decide what’s right and what’s wrong as they progress through the narrative.

Level Design:
We have designed 38 scenes that take players on a journey throughout suburban Australia. Our level design includes the cozy family house, sunkissed backyard, creepy alleyways, and lush national parks.

Art Direction:
Copycat comes with a colourful, stylised visual treatment that helps elevate the emotional beats of the story. The game’s colour palette contrasts rich golden, autumnal tones with cold, industrial blues tones to represent the warmth and coolness of home and homelessness.

Sound Design and Music:
The game is fully voice-acted featuring hours of dialogue with a talented cast of 25 unique characters. Copycat’s score is personal, visceral, and cathartic helping players bond with a non-verbal protagonist on an transformative narrative journey. Through three hours of gameplay, experience a stylistically diverse score spanning jazz, lullaby music and tribal music. The score’s lightness ended up deeply enhancing the more serious plot points such as grappling with displacement and abandonment.

Awards:
• Winner / PAX Australia 2023 - Aus Indie Showcase.
• Bronze / Art Directors Club New York 2024 - Best Narrative.
• Finalist / Art Directors Club New York 2024 - Best Indie Game.
• Finalist / SXSW Sydney 2023 - Game of the Year.
• Finalist / Taipei Game Show 2024 - Best Narrative.
• Finalist / Debug Awards 2024 - Most Anticipated.
• Official Selection / Six One Indie 2024 - Showcase.
• Official Selection / Tokyo Indie Games Summit 2024 - Showcase.
• Official Selection / Dames for Games 2024 - Showcase.
• Official Selection / Brazil Game Show 2023 - Showcase.
• Official Selection / INDIE Live Expo 2023 - Showcase.
• Official Selection / WePlay Expo China 2023 - Showcase.

About Developer

Hey there! We're Samantha and Kostia, a Kiwi and a Ukrainian - first-time game makers and full-time creatives. But we also happily hold the titles of innovators, articulators, and mischief-makers. Welcome to our gaming collective called Spoonful of Wonder. Here you can find us tinkering on our debut game Copycat. Our vision is to develop video games that ignite imagination, spark nostalgia and speak to the soul. Our creative practice sits at the alchemy of optimism, metaphor and magic—with the ambition to unearth the stronger side of humanity. We believe every game needs a spoonful of the sweet stuff.