a silly endless runner depicting the 1:1 experience of a hamster
I mean hey it's free...
Created by Ethan Heffan
Art, Music, and Design by Kenneth Knott
Release Trailer
June 11th, 2024
Created in Premiere Pro & After Effects
Filmed at Furball Critters in Scotts Valley
Teaser 2
May 18th, 2024
Teaser 1
May 12th, 2024
Edited by Charlie "cyu" Kohn
Tools
About the Project
Throughout my life, a desire has persisted deep in my core to create something I can point to and confidently say “this is what I’m capable of”. Time after time, sudden bursts of inspiration would well up and soon dissipate, leaving unremarkable fluff in its stead. The reason? I fundamentally was not capable yet as a person. After years of discovering myself, exploring the world, and fostering a continuous love of life to the point of habit, I can now proudly state that nothing is more testament to the fruits of my labor than the release of my mobile game, HAMSTER GAME.
It began as a simple arcade game for school, but soon after release, my friends and family continued playing it unprompted. Once the professor awarded it his favorite project of the entire class, I knew it had potential. I recruited my friend Kenneth to create the art, music, and assist in design, and throughout the project I had to become proficient in long-term project planning, team coordination, playtesting, app publishing, maintaining a large codebase, and marketing. Fast-forward a year later, it’s out on iOS with 250+ downloads, 4.6 stars, and a community of dedicated players, with an Android release and big update on the way. It boasts a unique yet intuitive appeal. It’s addictive, but not demanding of your time or wallet. It has online leaderboards, achievements, custom shaders, a daily mode, things my previous self couldn’t possibly dream of creating, and yet every time someone taps start, loses a moment later, and then without hesitation taps again for another go, I see living, undeniable proof of how much I’ve grown and what I’m capable of achieving. I’m especially proud of my success in experimenting with community-driven design. While it’s a single-player game, the shared leaderboards, daily challenge, and lack of hand-holding in explaining its surprisingly in-depth mechanics were all intentional design choices meant to give people natural excuses to talk to each other, whether it’s to share a secret tip for achieving a better high score or to jovially compete in the daily challenge. I’m very proud of what I achieved, but of course this is merely the beginning and I hope to take what I learned to create something even better.
Special Thanks To My Playtesters
Elias Heffan
Ari Jacobs
Jackson Kohn
Alfred Li
Sharon Rong
Matthew Blake
Ian Suelter-Davison
Qirong Yao
Natalie Phanco
Chance Sullivan
Gyamfiah Boateng
Katya Sullivan
Kira Jacobs
Alex Oshima
Ryan Josafat
Bryce Raizes
Sasha Gusev
Eric Li
Matt Wong
Amanda Yee
Igor Bessa
Ella Laun
Jimmy Toriz
Aaron Rong
Anastasiya Kirmas
and of course, my most dedicated playtester, my father
Jeffrey Heffan
and all the 250+ people who've downloaded it so far...
2.0 Update
Coming Soon
