Space Game with cats VS Cat Game in space

[Kiwi Shark]

Good morning gamers, I've been compelled to kickstart this discussion here on the forums. Watching the game come along and seeing people's ideas and suggestions has highlighted a sort of split in philosophies (or I'm reading too much into it). So I'm curious what you see KSA as and what qualifies under each category:
Space Game with cats in it or Cat Game that happens in space

I think the former is obviously the core idea, but some people have a fundamental issue with the kitten mascot concept and some people want every celestial body to have a feline pun for a name. If the game is going to feature cats then it makes sense to lean into that idea, otherwise they'd feel especially out of place. At the same time I don't think everything that can be cat-themed should be. At a certain point I think it would detract from the integrity of being a high-fidelity, space-exploration and space vehicle design simulator, even as a video game.

I'm sure this is going to be something RW keeps in mind as things move along. Given the hard no on cat ears on the EVA helmets it seems like there's at least some sense of balance already forming.

So where would you draw the line? Are the cat jokes best left to little details like part decals and IVA knick-knacks or should the career mode currency be balls of yarn?

 

[Donkey]

In my mind, It's a space simulation game with some sort of crew species.

Early on, I was NOT a fan of the cats and frankly, I still don't much care for them. However, after some inner searching, I find that my personal dislike of cats (being the afore mentioned species) is that I have thousands of hours in KSP and cats just feels weird. In other words, not really a valid concern, nothing to see here, move on.

So, my (personal) conclusion is that whatever species is chosen, even cats, lean way into it or the joke will fail. If it HAS TO BE the cats, just go for it. Milk it tastefully please but go ahead and milk it.

 

[Kraken]

Space game with cats in it, for sure.

As much as I adore cats, I am not sure how much the game should lean into the kitty gimmick. I’d definitely draw the line at the planets, i’d get tired fast saying I’m going to Caturn or Tuna or the Meown or whatnot.

The slapdash frankenfrogs we all love are instantly recognizable (and they didn’t pack enough delta-v to escape our hearts!). In my opinion, I dunno if a kitten in a spacesuit will have that same memorability, especially when cats are already all over the internet. So, personally, I’d imagine that the game’s creative direction could go further than just cat, maybe something more alien? I don’t really know though, it beats me.

Idea: the player could select in their savefile how cat-themed they want their game to be. If RW keeps the IRL solar system as an option, I can imagine a bunch of people would want to keep most aspects of their game to be as realistic as possible. Inversely, many would be amused by a heavy emphasis on fluffy felids, and if someone wants it to be more “cat game in space,” I don’t think they should be limited just because the alternative is (hypothetically) more favored by the community. I think it’d be a neat compromise, and it would allow more freedom in how you go about playing the game.

 

[Kiwi Shark]

Milk it tastefully please but go ahead and milk it.

More or less what I'm thinking.

Idea: the player could select in their savefile how cat-themed they want their game to be.

Interesting idea! This would be pretty funny if it was just a slider, but toggles would allow the most piecemeal approach. Not sure if it would fit in the base game but as a mod though this idea has some real potential, especially by adding extra or removing the basic cat theming.