Cat Game - Devlog #2: Start Menu Upgrade

After working on the start menu in my first devlog, I decided that it needed more work.

The old version was not looking very good, so I started improving it.

This time, I mainly focused on the visual style of the menu.

Step #1 - Improving the Background

First, I changed the background and made it a night time scene.

I added:

• A moon
• Clouds
• Stars

The old background was very simple, so I wanted to make the start menu feel more like a real game.

Improving the Title and Buttons

I also changed the style of the title text.

After that, I changed all 3 buttons:

• Start
• Settings
• Quit

I wanted the buttons to fit the new style of the background better.

I also improved the hover animation.

The old animation felt a little slow, so I made it faster and smoother.

Improving the Start Animation

I also changed the start animation.

Now, the background details appears from the upper part of the scene when the game starts.

This makes the menu feel more interesting than simply showing everything immediately.

What Is Next?

The start menu is looking much better now, but I still want to improve it more.

My next goal is to finish the custom cat paw cursor and start working on the first minigame.

I am planning to make the first minigame a platformer.

The start menu is not perfect yet, but it is slowly becoming closer to what I imagined.

More updates soon!

Cat Game - Devlog #1: My First Step into Godot

This is my first devlog about my Cat Game project.

At the beginning, I looked through all the mission guide steps and quickly understood one thing:

Trying to make a game without knowing Godot and GDScript is not a good idea.

I have a little experience with Unity. I made some small mini-games with it before. But Godot is completely new for me, so I needed to start from the beginning.

Step #1 - Finding the Best Way to Learn

First, I searched YouTube for some Godot courses and lessons. But after watching some of them, I realized this was not the best way for me to learn.

I don’t want to learn random things and then try to make a game. I already have a game in my mind. I need to learn only the tools and knowledge I need for my own game.

I decided to use AI as my teacher and learn step by step while building.

First, I gave the mission guide to ChatGPT and asked it to help me create a master prompt. I asked ChatGPT to ask me questions first, so it could understand what I wanted. After answering, I got a prompt describing my game.

I used ChatGPT for this because it mastered on textes. I decided to use ChatGPT mainly for creating the prompt.

After that, I used the finished master prompt with DeepSeek in Expert Mode.

I use AI tools only on free plans, so I did not want to stop if I reached a limit. I also thought DeepSeek could be useful for working with a large prompt.

Starting the Game

After sending the master prompt, I started building.

My first step was learning:

• How to organize folders
• How to create scenes
• How to navigate around the editor

After that, I started making my main menu.

I wanted 3 buttons and a background image. Each button needed 3 styles:

• Normal
• Hover
• Clicked

I made the pixel art using LibreSprite. I created the background and buttons, then saved as .png files.

I added the images using Theme Overrides -> Styles.

At first, everything worked, but the hover effect was too simple.

So I decided to try animations.

Adding Animations

I explained my idea to the AI, and it helped me understand animations in Godot.

I created an entrance animation where the buttons appear when the scene starts. I also made hover animations for when the mouse moves over and leaves.

Then I wrote two scripts:

• One for entrance
• One for hover in and out

I had problems. The code was often correct. The real problem was that I did not fully understand how things worked.

I used:

mouse_entered.connect(_on_hover)
mouse_entered.connect(_on_unhover)

At first, I did not know about mouse_exited. After searching and asking questions, I found it and fixed my script.

Adding a Cat Paw Cursor

I wanted to add a custom cat paw cursor. I explained the idea to the AI, learned how to make it, and got it working.

You can see the result in the video below.

What I Want to Improve

The background needs more details, and the button colors do not look very good yet. Honestly, the current version is still a little ugly.

But I am not only making a game. I am also learning a completely new skill and learning how to use Godot. This process is already a very good experience for me.

I am still learning, but step by step, I am turning the game from my imagination into something real.

More updates soon!