Scott Whiskers growing closer to multi-platform debut

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Announcements by Jack Allin
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Classic-styed, feline-themed The Search for Mr. Fumbleclaw to get a Kickstarter campaign later this year

Treasures come in all shapes and sizes, and the hunts to find them can be every bit as varied. For Scott Whiskers, the star of The Search for Mr. Fumbleclaw, the treasure in question is a whole lot furrier but no less valuable than any gold or ancient artifact.

Scott is your average "nice guy next door," who has three great passions in life: cats, Star Trek and computer games. He doesn't have a cat of his own, but he volunteers at the nearby animal shelter and hopes to adopt his "best friend," a tomcat named Jimmy, when he gets a bigger apartment. It's at the shelter where Scott sees a flyer for the missing titular feline, one of the prized pets of the wealthy Lady Longbottom. Mr. Fumbleclaw is considered one of the favourites in the upcoming beauty contest for cats, so his eccentric owner is eager to get him back. Scott has no interest in the affairs of high society, but a cat in trouble is all the motivation he needs to help, and he's just the man for the job, as "he has played enough point-and-click adventure games himself to know how best to approach such a quest."

Described as fictional but "partly autobiographical," the debut adventure from solo developer Axel Friedrich will take players all across Scott's small rural European town – assuming he can find his bus pass, that is. Presented in a hand-drawn 2.5D art style, the game is inspired by other comedic classic-styled adventures such as Monkey Island, Zak McKracken, and Runaway, promising a similar tongue-in-cheek approach. Along the way there will be plenty of puzzles to solve and amusing dialogues with a colourful cast of characters, each of them with their own "problems and desires," including the shelter director Mary, a kindhearted soul with a penchant for bad boys; the secretive chain-smoking pet hairdresser Ricky; and 11-year-old Susie, a horror fan who plans to turn her hamster into a movie monster, to name just a few of the eccentric local inhabitants who will prove to be both a help and hindrance to Scott.

Scott Whiskers in: The Search for Mr. Fumbleclaw has been in development for approximately two years already, and a demo is planned for later this year along with a Kickstarter campaign to pay for voice-overs and help complete production. If all goes well, we should see the game begin releasing in early- to mid-2024, with versions planned for Windows, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, iOS, Android and Apple TV. To follow its progress in the meantime, be sure to check out the official website for additional links and details.