The observant of you will have noticed yesterday that we updated Shield Cat's store pages with a new sub-title: The Lost Conductor. What's that about? And what's the future of the game? Let's talk about it. (Note: We didn't post this announcement yesterday for obvious reasons.)

What Is It?

Shield Cat: The Lost Conductor is a game about Lance's quest to find his romantic partner Parker, who's gone missing. If you played the Shield Cat Chapter 1 Demo, you've already seen a version of this story. The issue we've been facing here is, we released a demo that takes people longer to beat than Blobun, and now that Blobun is out, we see and recognize the length and value of what we created in the past. We put a lot of work and made a completed game, so it's time to work on releasing it. (Note: Did you know that Shield Cat Chapter 1 has more screens than La Mulana?)

What About The Cat Kingdom?

We know a lot of people were excited about visiting the rest of the Cat Kingdom, but sadly, it's just not meant to be right now. SC:TLC is a reduced scope version of our original vision, and while it will be a fulfilling experience to play, it's not the grand scope of the original, and we apologize. However, releasing Blobun has made us realize the value of releasing a game, as well as the freedom you get from it. Shield Cat has been lingering over our heads for over 6 years now, and it's become a great burden - one that we need to free ourselves from.

What Changes Will You Make?

At this time, we haven't planned out everything. However, it wont just be "it's the demo but it costs money now." We're gonna go through and polish and fix stuff up, and bring the technical expertise we've learned in the last couple years to the game. That being said, when we assessed the game a few months back, we realized that we wouldn't be able to expand on it much in its current form anyways without a serious refactor, so don't expect any major changes or additions. Our plans are improved performance, better positioning of certain things (like train stations that are in out-of-the-way locations) and other small layout changes, and graphical improvements, but nothing major.

How Much Will It Cost?

Not sure yet, but considering that the game as-is has taken people anywhere from 4-8 hours to beat, which is longer than Blobun, expect anywhere from $10 to $15. Like I said above, we won't just be releasing the Chapter 1 demo as a full game and calling it a day - there will be improvements and changes, but we understand that some people may feel ripped off paying for something that was once free. The problem is, we've been stuck in limbo over this for 2 years: expand on the game and make significant changes and spend several more years on the rest of the game? Or spruce up what we put out for free and take the L over people who will be mad about it? We've decided to take the L, just so we can get the game out.

Will There Be A Shield Cat 2?

We'll see. The big thing about this is like, we realized that even if we did get a ton of money off Blobun and could afford to bring more people in to work on the game in its full scope we... don't really want to? Not right now at least. This project has been hanging over our head for way too long, and we need to just finish it and get it out there. Maybe after that, after we've been free of it for a while, we can look into a sequel. However, as I mentioned above, a lot of changes would have to happen to make a game in a much larger scope. The refactoring we'd have to do to Shield Cat as it is now would effectively make it a new game anyways, so it doesn't make sense to rewrite Shield Cat a third time just for that. We'd rather just start fresh sometime in the future.

When Will It Come Out?

We can't promise anything right now, but since the game is already fully playable as-is from start to finish, we can't imagine it'll take too long. However, we also have a lot of other stuff to do and focus on, so don't expect it any time soon. But, provided things go well, it absolutely shouldn't be any later than this year.

Are You Doing This Out Of Obligation?

Nah like, I know the general tone here is about how we want to get the game out there and be free of it, but we're still very proud of what we've been able to accomplish with Shield Cat, and are looking forward to bringing players a finalized version of it - even if it's not the original scope. We really want to see Lance finally spin clockwise.

What About Blobun?

We still plan on adding the missing features to Blobun (like input remapping) and the puzzle expansion DLC. We're taking a little bit of a break from it, but we'll be back at it before too long, so keep an eye out for news and updates about that.

In Summary

I know that people will be disappointed that they're not getting the full game that was promised, but at least you'll be getting a complete experience. I know that people will be disappointed that, essentially, they'll be paying for what was once free. But, we'll try to put a lot of effort into fixing and polishing up the game, and hopefully it'll be worth your while. If you have any questions about this, please let us know! There's a lot of stuff we don't know right now though, but we're gonna start planning out how we can get this game done and out there, so hopefully we'll have more news for you soon. PS: The key art we're using on the store pages is placeholder art until we make new art. It's from the SAGE 2020 demo and, honestly, it was refreshing to go back to that. Reminded us of back before Shield Cat got way over-scoped, and it was just a little project for fun. We want to go back to that.

[ 2025-04-02 18:22:49 CET ] [ Original post ]

Shield Cat

CyanSorcery Developer

CyanSorcery Publisher

2030 Release

Indie Adventure Singleplayer Tags

Game News Posts: 48

🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
🎮 Full Controller Support

No user reviews (0 reviews)

Steam Store

Demo Coming Soon!

Keep an eye out for it...

Shield Cat – the Game!

Shield Cat is a game starring Lance the otter! He is a mail courier for the Cat Kingdom, delivering official letters and packages. One day, Lance wakes up and finds that the Cat Kingdom is in chaos. What's worse, his friends seem to be responsible! What dark magic could be at work here? Lance will need all the help he can get on his adventure, both to save his friends and to save the Kingdom!

Abilities

Along the way, Lance will find abilities that can help him on his quest. You can equip and upgrade these abilities to enhance Lance's strength and allow him to use more tools on his quest. Here are just some of the many Abilities you can learn:

Tubular Twister: Lance's spin attack! Use this move to get over big gaps, attack enemies, hit gears and levers, open treasure chests, and much more. Lance will never get dizzy, so use it as much as you like!
Shield: Lance can throw his shield to hit enemies from far away. He can also use it to solve puzzles, and upgrade it to give it more distance and range when he throws it.
Cards: Lance throws a continual stream of cards from a seemingly endless deck. He can use this ability to take down multiple enemies at once.
Dagger: Lance can aim this dagger and hit enemies from a great distance. This ability is good for people who like stealth – enemies wont even know what hit them!
Boomerang: Lance throws a boomerang which circles around him, protecting him from incoming enemy attacks. He can also use this to hit things around corners that he couldn't otherwise get to.
Passive Abilities: You can find and equip passive abilities which grant you bonuses as long as they're equipped, such as increased movement speed, surviving enemy combos, increasing the drop rate of goodies, and more! Be warned though – Equipping these passive abilities takes from your magic for as long as they're equipped. Watch your magic meter!
Upgrades: Lance can find upgrades to his health, magic, and attack that permanently boost his stats.

Collectibles

During your quest, you will find several types of collectibles! Here are some of the collectibles you can find:

Pretty Petals: The currency of the Cat Kingdom. Use these to buy abilities and upgrades at shops.
Fish Scales: Each stage has a fixed number of Fish Scales. Use these to access new locations by train. Can you find all of them in each stage?
LANCE Letters: Each stage has 5 LANCE letters for you to find. However, the stages are pretty big – you'll have to check every nook and cranny if you want to find these!
Cat Coin: Special currency of the Cat Kingdom. Use these to open doors and gain access to new areas.
Key: Each stage has a set of keys that are only useful for that stage. If you find a locked door, keep an eye out for a key!
Treasure Chest: Find treasure chests scattered throughout the land. It is a mystery what each one contains, but it (most likely) will aide you on your quest! If you find an ability you already have, you can sell it at the shop for Pretty Petals!

Locations

During your quest, you will visit many locations throughout the Cat Kingdom. Here are just some of the places you'll visit:

Cat Castle Town: The central town of the Cat Kingdom. Here you will find many shops with items that will help you on your journey, as well as mini-games to pass the time with.
Roo Express: The train that serves the Cat Kingdom. Ride this train to get around to different areas!
Underground Forest: A place underground with plenty of trees and views of the sky above.
Mt. Bophades: A volcanic mountain in the snowy north.

More locations are planned, but don't have official names yet.

Friends

Along the way, you'll meet many friends and make more friends. Here are just some of the people you'll meet:

Parker: Lance's partner and also lead engineer of the Roo Express. Parker is a Kangaroo/Deer with a love of trains and the power to create magic portals.
Ruby: A yee-haw beaver who has power over water, Ruby is in charge of the Aquatic Exhibit and studies marine life and liquid Metamagic.
Suzette: A stoic leopard gecko who has power over the earth, Suzette can tunnel through the earth with ease. She lives in the Underground Forest and studies rocks and other hard Metamagic. Despite being so grounded, Suzette's girlfriend Olivia is a bird who flies in the sky!
Trent: A mischievous fox with the power over fire and ice, Trent lives in Mt. Bophades and helps keep the volcano under control – a job Trent does well, despite being slightly irresponsible.
Olivia: A cockatiel who flies through the skies and has power over the wind, Olivia is the leader of the Sky Cat Airship Fleet, the Cat Kingdom's air travel service.
Claire: The leader of the Knights of the Shield Cats, Claire takes her job seriously and does whatever she can to help protect the kingdom.
King King Cat the Cat: The king of the Cat Kingdom, King King Cat the Cat was elected to rule and, despite being clumsy and forgetful, does his job well.
Willow: Willow is a magical fox that appears to some people. It is said that she can record your journey and come to you in times of trouble to give you a second chance.
Marcus: A digital fox that lives inside of the Fox Box, a small communications device that citizens of the Cat Kingdom use to talk to each other over long distances.

Game Modes

The game supports different difficulty levels and play modes, which are detailed below! Please note that achievements will only be given on the lowest difficulty used on that play file.

Difficulty – Chill: An easier mode where enemies do less damage and are less aggressive, and drop more items and whatnot to help you on your journey. For younger players or players who just want to enoy the game.
Difficulty – Regular: The intended game experience, exactly as it was designed.
Difficulty – Tough: Enemies are tougher and also tougher to defeat, and drop less items and whatnot. This mode is for people who really want to test their skills.
Difficulty – Wild: In this mode, Lance's attack is doubled, but so are enemy attacks! This mode is for people who like fast paced action and is the ultimate test of players skills.
Difficulty – Custom: Experience the game the way you like! Change Lance and enemy modifiers, drop rates, and more! Note that achievements cannot be obtained in this mode – It's just for fun!
Speedrun Options: Various options can be enabled for speedrunners, including an in-game timer, automatically skipping cutscenes, reduced scene transition times, and a quick restart button that erases your file and starts from the beginning.

Platforms

Development builds of Shield Cat are currently available on the following platforms. Please note that certain distribution channels only support specific versions of the game.

Windows: The game is supported in Windows 10. Older versions of Windows may work, but are not officially supported and no help can be given with these versions. The game supports XInput and DirectInput gamepads, as well as keyboard and mouse input.
Linux: The game is supported in Debian-based versions of Linux, such as Ubuntu and Linux Mint. It also works in Arch Linux, but may not work in Red Had Linux. Some additional dependencies may need to be installed depending on your version. The Steam version of Shield Cat only supports x64 builds of Shield Cat for Linux.

Thank you!

Thank you for checking out my game!

MINIMAL SETUPOS: Debian Based
Processor: 64Bit RequiredMemory: 2 GB RAM
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: OpenGL 2.0 Compatible
Storage: 1 GB available space

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