Magic Cat Academy

Magic Cat Academy is a browser game created as a Google Doodle and released on October 30, 2016.[1] The game, made playable in place of the logo on the Google website, was created in celebration of Halloween. Four years later, on October 30, 2020, and also to celebrate the same holiday, Google launched Magic Cat Academy 2.

Magic Cat Academy
The 2016 doodle
Developer(s)Google
Publisher(s)Google
SeriesMagic Cat Academy
Platform(s)Browser
ReleaseOctober 30, 2016
Genre(s)Adventure, strategy
Mode(s)Single-player

Story and gameplay

Magic Cat Academy

Players control Momo, a sorcerer cat. She goes to a magic school and defeats a ghost that steals her spellbook.[2] Momo fights ghosts and bosses throughout five levels, taking place in the school's library, a cafeteria, a classroom, a gymnasium, and on the rooftop. Ghosts are defeated by clicking and swiping the mouse in certain directions, pertaining to the symbol atop the ghosts' heads.[1] The swiping directions include an horizontal line, a vertical line, a "v" shape, a "ĘŚ" shape, and a lightning bolt, the latter-most of which summons lightning that destroys onscreen enemies. On occasion, the player will be allowed to swipe in a heart-like shape to regain health.[3]

Magic Cat Academy 2

The objective and the development of the game are exactly the same, only that the action takes place under the sea, since a ghost managed to escape from Momo after winning the first part, reaching the ocean and possessing various marine animals.[4] Momo fights enemies in five stages, each at a deeper level, against ghosts and possessed animals such as an immortal jellyfish, a bank of bogues, a vampire squid and an anglerfish, until reaching the final boss, which is an underwater volcano.[4] This game includes two new movements: a circle, by which the player gets a shield, and a spiral, by which the player pushes back all monsters.[4] The shield lasts for only one attack.[4]

Development

The creation of the game was coordinated amongst four different design groups, relating to art design, engineering, production, and music.[5] The original concept for the game involved Momo making soup that resurrects dead spirits.[6] The game's development involved many rejected concepts and ideas, including elaborate symbols to draw (such as a "Cat Hat" spell),[7] as well as boss enemies like a chef ghost and a Venn diagram ghost.[8]

The character of Momo was based on a real-life cat belonging to Google Doodler Juliana Chen.[1][2]

History

The first version of the game included soup that was so good it brought the dead back to life.[3] However, connecting soup with Halloween was far fetched, therefore the Google Doodlers decided to use a plot that stars Momo as a wizard.

References
  1. Burlacu, Alexandra (30 October 2016). "Trick Or Treat! Google Halloween Doodle 2016 Launches Cute Game With Ghosts And A Magic Cat". Tech Times. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  2. Good, Owen S. (30 October 2016). "Google's playable Halloween doodle is pretty neat". Polygon. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  3. "Halloween 2016". www.google.com. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  4. "Halloween 2020". www.google.com. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  5. Gesenhues, Amy (30 October 2016). "Halloween Google Doodle treats searchers to Magic Cat Academy game a day early". SearchEngineLand. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  6. Seiger, Theresa (31 October 2016). "Ghosts invade Magic Cat Academy in Halloween Google Doodle game". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  7. Jao, Charline (31 October 2016). "Defeat Ghosts as a Magical Cat on Google's Cutest Halloween Doodle". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  8. "Halloween 2016". Google. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
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