a night out
- pick where to go on the map scrap pinned by the tunnel
- rummage bins, dig up flower beds, shake trees, check under bushes. each spot has its own kind of loot
- a candle burns down while you're out. get home before the sky goes pink
- climb fences, fire escapes and drainpipes to get to the roof spots, the good stuff is up there
the neighbours
- porch lights, a sleepy neighbour at the window, two dogs called biscuit and brutus
- downtown has pepper the alley cat sitting on the dumpster you want, and a garbage truck that comes by on a timer
- hide in bushes, boxes and under benches. they give up after a few seconds
- getting caught isn't a big deal. you scurry off and maybe drop a thing or two. your den, your caps and your friends are always safe
trading
- money is bottle caps
- the crow runs a pawn shop out of a satellite dish on a rooftop. don formaggio runs the rat tavern downtown
- every trader loves some things and can't stand others. a spoon is junk to one and treasure to the next
- they ask for something different every night, and their shelves change too
- do favours, bring gifts, and they start to like you. better prices, the back room, the odd present
your den
- a cardboard-and-crate hideout you furnish however you like
- put finds on the shelves, hang them on the wall, stack a teacup on a spool table on a dresser
- build little furniture at the workbench out of what you found: a matchbox bed, a bottle cap rug
- finish a set and you get a small bonus for your nights out
- friends send you mail. you can write back
the critters
- start as a raccoon, a possum or a black cat
- each one is good at something different, and each one gets along better with different traders
what's in it so far
- two areas to start, maple lane and downtown, with more of town opening up as you go
- 60 things to find, sets to finish, a den to fill
- play on keyboard or controller. there's a cozy mode, captions for sounds and colour-blind marks
- pixel art drawn in code, music and sounds synthesized in code
- i'm aiming for a demo at steam next fest in february 2027. wishlist if you want to know when it's up <3
