Remember Tamagotchi? It was (and indeed, still is) a petite egg-shaped device proffering all the endearing charms, worries, and frustrations of owning a pet — digitally. With three buttons you could amuse and care for a digital friend…one that you could cherish and maintain, or one you could accidentally kill with your unforgivable neglect. What if…Tamagotchi was cool for adults? What if…Tamagotchi was streamlined and modernized? What if…Tamagotchi was translated into a video game you could play on your PC?!
Tony Coculuzzi‘s Noa Noa is game-ception at its finest. A virtual-virtual pet simulator, Noa Noa features an unmistakably nostalgic design and gameplay style. Coculuzzi has this written on Noa Noa‘s itch.io game page:
“A virtual pet simulator! Play games, buy things, and keep your pet alive. Yaaaay? I came up with the idea a few weeks before Ludum Dare 34. I really wanted to make a virtual pet sim, but held off. I knew Ludum Dare was around the corner, and figured I could put the idea on the backburner until then. LD34 came around, and I voted yes on only two themes, “Growing” and “Two Button Controls” I figured if one of them was chosen, I’d make this game. When the results came in, and I saw that they both tied, I figured I had to jam. This is the result. I’m considering working more on this, if people like it. Enjoy!”
As Coculuzzi is the lead developer for Cuphead and lead programmer for Florence, it’s safe to say this pint-sized project is worth the time to enjoy. Furthermore, per the master himself via Twitter, we’ll soon have an updated version of Noa Noa to take on the go:
“…we’re releasing a much more polished version for iOS and Android soon.”
Game Pilgrim 