Howdy Cowboy Joe

During the Fall of 2023 I was enrolled in a course called Digital Game Cultures (FILM 155) at UC Berkeley. Each week we focused on learning about how people interact with video games and the different types of genres that exist. During the course we had labs where we tested out exisitng games to understand gameplay but also worked on developing a game of our own using a simple application for our final project. I built my game on Flick. Howdy Cowboy Joe is meant to be a simple game 

Play ~ Howdy Cowboy Joe ~ ↗

I am a huge fan of Western-styled settings in games and movies mixed with Sci-Fi elements. The game I created is inspired by these Space Western elements while not being too over the top like the large amount of existing media that has cowboys with ray guns. Instead, I chose to create a game where the setting is ambiguous, the characters don’t exactly seem human, shaped more like aliens but the land is typical to what might be found on farmland or a typical southern small town on Earth. The intended plot and theme of the game is about Cowboy Joe, a lonesome alien cat, going through towns in the wild “west”. During Cowboy Joe’s adventures through each city, he is given tasks by locals who have situations only cool Cowboy Joe can solve himself. The game is a hidden object genre similar to Where’s Waldo where players need to keep an eye out for suspicious-looking characters. Completing tasks from the locals gives him rewards that advance him to the next task.

It may be a bit buggy given its my first ever game, but its the spirit that counts!