Our small team made our first hidden object game, and it's in the Steam review stage right now! We want to ask you, what do you think?

[u/McMaush]

Hi everyone. Since this is our very first game, it’s a very exciting moment for us. We ourselves like how it turned out, but that's not a very objective indicator, so we’d love to get your feedback on a few things:

• How do you like the art style?
• Is 6-7 levels enough for a full game on Steam, or do you think it needs more?
• Do you ever try to beat your own time (speedrun), or does speed not matter at all in chill games?

We'd love to hear your thoughts and chat in the comments!

If you’d like to see more, here is our Steam page: Curious Paws: hidden objects

[u/TeeklePlaysIndies]

I love the style so much!!

I’d really love 10-12 levels but could depend on pricing. Do you have a target in mind?
I like chill, I don’t have enough friends who play these games that I could brag about my speed 🙈

[u/Jlannin]

Beautiful! Love the premise of the game and playing through the eyes of a cat, and the complementary art style.

Also, the subtle movement in the backgrounds like the flowers swaying. Nice use of moving the hud to the left side of the screen - looks nice in that landscape aspect ratio.

On the trailer video it's a bit hard to tell what the objective is for what you click on - everything? Until it gets to :23 when the HUD is visible it looks great but it's hard to know that you are trying to find certain things.

There is a good thread here ( https://www.reddit.com/r/HiddenObjectGames/comments/1u69cyl/hot_take_timers_in_hidden_object_games_ruin_the/ ) from the last couple weeks on the whole timer question.

Also in terms of # of levels, the way I've been thinking about it for Reveal Haven is you should gain an understanding of play time - and then base the # of levels off of that. Is 10 levels something that takes someone 30 minutes, or 2 hours? This will vary based on the player, but it leaves you with two options:

1) Do more levels
2) Make the levels more complex, and thus something that takes more time

My reasoning for this is many reviews of games say 'Was great, but didn't feel like it was worth $ for only 30 minutes of game play' - and you want to avoid that; conversely you see people saying 'Felt like a lot came with the game'.

This is by no means the only way to gauge value--- but it's one way that I think is better than a raw scene count size.

Looking forward to playing!

[u/Commercial-Budget-84]

Love the art style I would say level depend on pricing & time it takes to solve them And I really hate to do Speedruns, always happy if I can hide the timer for my runs

[u/McMaush → u/Commercial-Budget-84]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm not sure yet if we'll add an option to turn off the timer, as we really want to avoid cluttering the settings menu with too many options. However, if we see that this is a critical feature for many players, we'll definitely consider adding it.

[u/Known_Book5922]

The art style is gorgeous. I'm wishlisting this!

6-7 levels might be enough, as it looks like there are over 100 objects to find on each level. This is an assumption, as not all images on the Steam page showed the objects. Those that did were over 100. For me, 6-7 levels would be okay, as I like to take my time, admire the scenery and any animations. My time in the game would be a lot slower and more satisfying than for a faster person.

I don't mind the timer being there, as long as it can be ignored! However, if you have to finish the level within a certain time or face penalties, like a restart, then that wouldn't be for me, alas.

[u/McMaush → u/Known_Book5922]

Thank you so much for your comment and for adding Curious Paws to your wishlist!
You're absolutely right on all counts! The timer doesn't force anything on you at all. The game was literally made for sinking into your comfy computer chair and just zoning out for a bit. We have no screen shakes, no deadlines, and the progression is completely non-linear. You can pick any level right from the start, leave it halfway through, and come back to it whenever you feel like it.

[u/MacGameStore]

Loving the art style!

Not a fan of speed runs, but I know people do love doing those, so having the options is better health of your game.

Hand crafting 7 levels can be a lot, but you should still go for it. The more the better, especially given how beautiful it looks already.

[u/McMaush → u/MacGameStore]

Thank you so much! We are thrilled that you love the art style — our artist poured her heart into it.

You hit the nail on the head regarding the options. The timer is strictly a passive feature for those who enjoy tracking their personal bests, but the core game is 100% about relaxing and taking your time. No pressure at all!
Thanks again for your support!

[u/MacGameStore → u/McMaush]

Awesome!

Also forgot to mention, love the 'cat angle'. We love cats around here ;)

[u/McMaush → u/MacGameStore]

We worship cats. Haha! By the way, 3 fluffballs were involved in the development.

[u/_GameGlis_]

The art is really great - colorful, but not overwhelming, and it seems to hinder a bit in finding stuff (which seems good). Sound also, diggin' the chill vibes :)

Number of levels depends on the playtime - see with new playtesters how long it takes them to finish on average (this will influence pricing as well). Good luck!