Better Hurry Up by Iriska

made by Iriska for Ludum Dare 58 (JAM)

IMG<em>20251007</em>001732_402.png

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Better Hurry Up

“Better Hurry Up” is a pixel 2D platformer created for Ludum Dare under the theme “Collector”.

A hungry cat mom, who hasn’t eaten for a week, wanders in search for food to feed herself and her kittens. But remember, you have only 3 and a half minutes to collect as much food as possible!

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Learning to play (IMPORTANT)

To complete level 1, you need to collect 10 pieces of ONLY food in 3 and a half minutes.
Break objects to get loot from them
If you pick up bones, 1 unit of food will be taken away from you.
It's best to avoid rats, as stepping on one will also take away 1 unit of food.
When you enter level 2, break the object and take the key. Return to level 1, open the chest, and take the bone. Return to level 2 and throw the bone on the F button as far away from the doghouse as possible.
E- grab
X or LMB - break
R - restart in case something went wrong
F - throw (only level 2;)

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Else

This is our first attempt at making a game. We worked really hard on it, so please don’t judge too harshly, and hope you enjoy it!

BE AWARE OF PICKLES!!!!!

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Full Game on YouTube

https://youtu.be/F2C6LrNrOwg

Link	https://irisonchik.itch.io/better-hurry-up
Original URL	https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/58/better-hurry-up

Ratings

Overall	181^th	3.817⭐	65🧑‍⚖️
Fun	298^th	3.492⭐	65🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	539^th	3⭐	65🧑‍⚖️
Theme	257^th	3.885⭐	67🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	129^th	4.288⭐	68🧑‍⚖️
Humor	447^th	2.858⭐	62🧑‍⚖️
Mood	166^th	3.929⭐	65🧑‍⚖️
Given		112🗳️	141🗨️

Feedback

Wishes

Oct 07th · 01:59 UTC

Really beautiful and atmospheric platformer with a tragic story

Ira Baciu

Oct 07th · 09:38 UTC

YAY YAY YAY YA !!! I am so excited to play

Ira Baciu

Oct 07th · 10:01 UTC

THIS. IS. AMAZING. Girls, you deserve *five* stars in almost every category. A really good job, I hope you are proud of yourselves. Forget about the actually ratings, because this shit is unfair. You made a really top tier game

DmitriyCI

Oct 07th · 13:56 UTC

An excellent game.
The visuals are impressive, and the sound design is pleasant. Truly a work worthy of commendation!

florianCohen

Oct 07th · 14:31 UTC

Nice DA !

🎤 Iriska

Oct 07th · 14:33 UTC

Thank you all so much 💜 ⭐ 💜

Mk.han

Oct 07th · 14:47 UTC

Really like this style! Especially transition between menu and cutscene! Great work and my congrats!

P.s. Animation when cat see this green thing is gorgeous

thejackimonster

Oct 07th · 15:00 UTC

Very beautiful game! I like all the different details and interactions of the cat with its environment. Pickles are truly dangerous.

Damyyr

Oct 07th · 15:52 UTC

Love the first level, I liked the design choices for the movement, climbing on pieces of cloth and all. The cucumber/pickle/kryptonite was a very clever thing to add haha

However, I did not understand the second level, is it bug on my laptop or I'm just very slow to understand thing ?
I tried `F` everywhere, before breaking the jar, after breaking it, on the item that fell from the jar, after consuming the said item, etc. -> nothing work. Since I don't know what it's supposed to happen, I'm curious of what I'm missing here. Is it related to the chest in the level 1 ?

Once explained (or given an hint at least, pretty please), I'd gladly come back to finish it :)

Sheepolution

Oct 07th · 16:08 UTC

Nice game. I love the rainy mood, and the art looks nice. Though it's sometimes difficult to see what is part of the level and what not. Try changing the background so that it's less saturated. I also am confused what I'm supposed to do in the second level. Not sure if it's a bug, or if I'm missing something. Anyway, good job on your first game!

🎤 Iriska

Oct 07th · 16:14 UTC

@damyyr When you enter level 2, break the object and take the key. Return to level 1, open the chest, and take the bone. Return to level 2 and throw the bone on the F button as far away from the doghouse as possible.

🎤 Iriska

Oct 07th · 16:14 UTC

@sheepolution When you enter level 2, break the object and take the key. Return to level 1, open the chest, and take the bone. Return to level 2 and throw the bone on the F button as far away from the doghouse as possible.

Sheepolution

Oct 07th · 16:19 UTC

@iriska Aah, I see. I beat the game now! One more thing I forgot to say is that the controls feel a bit awkward. I need to move my hand/finger up and down from X to E.

DirtyOlive

Oct 07th · 17:37 UTC

Whoever made the digital art deserves to be praised! Also the controls of moving. It was really smooth. But it took me some time to get used to the "E""X" because these two keys are used in combination. I think it would be better if these two actions are both controlled by pressing "E" or two adjacent keys? (just a thought) Overall, this game is really perfect :heart_eyes:

Damyyr

Oct 07th · 17:38 UTC

@iriska Thanks for the reply. I did come back playing it, and now I know what I missed the first time: I didn't understand that item was a key. From a distance it looked like fish bones; my bad!

I share the point of @sheepolution about the little awkward position of the _action_ button.

Cool game nevertheless, good job to the whole team :)

Baluj

Oct 07th · 19:07 UTC

I liked it, although I found character control quite difficult.

preef

Oct 07th · 20:30 UTC

really beautiful art and ambience! the character model and animations were great

ildfuglen

Oct 07th · 20:30 UTC

Very nice aesthetics!!

Faust_Mi

Oct 07th · 20:36 UTC

A heart-wrenching story. The music and visuals complement it perfectly!
I wonder why RMB (not LMB?) - break.

Guys - good job! Thanks for the gaming experience!

breadstick

Oct 07th · 20:39 UTC

please put a horror warning on this game... there I was, just opening cans and eating shrimp, when suddenly I saw a 😱😨😩pickle😱😨💀 this was so shocking to my catlike sensibilities that my heart rate still hasn't returned to baseline...

(lovely game and artstyle... the sound plus the art really comes together to make something that feels special!)

Ultraviolet

Oct 07th · 20:46 UTC

Beautiful graphics, interesting setting. Pleasant sound design

Fravinci

Oct 07th · 20:48 UTC

Very cool artstyle, looks so good!
I would love if the trash hitting would be on Left Mouse button.

tercs

Oct 07th · 20:53 UTC

Really cool art, and the gameplay is great too! It just wasn’t clear at first that you’re not supposed to pick up all the food.

🎤 Iriska

Oct 07th · 20:56 UTC

@faust-mi @fravinci
We changed the right mouse button to the left mouse button!!!💜⭐💜

naru

Oct 07th · 21:04 UTC

Beautiful art! ^^

MaxineY

Oct 07th · 21:10 UTC

This art style is truly beautiful. I love this clean yet emotional pixel art style. As an artist who is also working on pixel art games, I have to say I must learn from you! It's so awesome!

LDJam user 314423

Oct 07th · 21:18 UTC

Lovely graphics with cohesive atmospheric sound effects. High quality; surprising for a first game!

If I can make some suggestions for your next game, please put the instructions or at least controls in-game (so it's easier to relate the controls with what they do).
And it looks like WASD is supported for movement, but the keybinds aren't using 'physical' keys, which means on a non-QWERTY keyboard the WASD layout is messed up. (You definitely aren't alone on this, probably a quarter to half of the entries I try have this problem :))

Fis

Oct 07th · 21:29 UTC

![Screenshot from 2025-10-07 23-22-22.png](///raw/321/d/z/6ec31.png)

Beautiful graphics, wonderful music - but the best part: it has meowing cats. Well done!

Antarktis

Oct 07th · 21:38 UTC

The art is amazing!! And the game is also very interesting! I really like it！！！！

basic_eagles

Oct 08th · 00:12 UTC

Cool concept

Prussichger

Oct 08th · 02:37 UTC

I was lost many times, but feeding mother cat and kittens was my mission :sunglasses:

Ciphereo

Oct 08th · 05:54 UTC

The art is just too strong! Love it!

woona

Oct 08th · 07:48 UTC

Nice game! It was a bit unclear at first how food collection mechanic works (to be precise, why sometimes food counter goes does) but eventually I figured it out and managed to beat the game.

Maybe you could have inserted more in-game floating text tips (similar to press F to drop in level 2), for example at the start of the game a tip "LMB to break the can, E to grab food" would help me out. I mean, you already use these types of hints, why not go all the way?

Also, I think the game would be more fun with more dangerous monsters or animals. For example, a mouse feels like an annoyance rather than danger. Especially compared to a dog. So I think outwitting and evading threats would make the game more exciting.

SnowPriestess

Oct 08th · 08:43 UTC

Love the graphics, and it's really impressive that it's your first attempt at making a game!!
Unfortunately I didn't manage to complete level 1, I didn't understand that some other food than pickles were not meant to be collected lol! Maybe it could be interesting to make food items that are breakable more visible so that they stand out better from the background! Cheers

Colouredshoes

Oct 08th · 11:32 UTC

What an astonishing game! Stunning art, amazing visual style, and incredibly engaging gameplay. I had such a great time playing it! Great job devs!!

Schatzi

Oct 08th · 12:25 UTC

Amazing pixel art!!

Andy Wang

Oct 08th · 12:45 UTC

The game freezed after the first slide. Is it only me?

yungfrv

Oct 08th · 13:16 UTC

vibes are on point but for some reason i cant jump high

🎤 Iriska

Oct 08th · 14:15 UTC

@andy-wang Most likely the problem is with you, since we checked everything and everything works as it should!💜⭐💜

🎤 Iriska

Oct 08th · 14:17 UTC

@yungfrv Double jump in our game works the same as in others - double-tap the space button! 💜⭐💜

stefaink

Oct 08th · 17:19 UTC

The fokin cucuber ruined my life several times
i love this game for what it contains

Feodor

Oct 08th · 17:34 UTC

Cool concept and visuals. Love the game, hate the mice :mouse2:

nexyisan

Oct 08th · 17:56 UTC

The atmosphere, graphics, and music are awesome. I struggled with the buttons for a long time and didn't understand how to kill mice, but I still really enjoyed the game.

🎤 Iriska

Oct 08th · 18:04 UTC

@nexyisan You don't have to kill mice 💜⭐💜

nexyisan

Oct 08th · 18:11 UTC

They were hard to avoid and I thought they could be killed and eaten.

leo____miracles

Oct 08th · 18:48 UTC

The art style is absolutely wonderful!

ZelenkaS

Oct 08th · 19:03 UTC

Great game! I really enjoyed it, even though I'm terrible at action games. I didn't make it past the first level, but I can tell it's a solid game with excellent level design. It would be even better with in-game instructions. As a sound designer, here's a suggestion: reducing the cat meow loop and making it a trigger sound for finding food, while adding mouse squeaks as a trigger sound for encountering them, would make the audio more engaging. Thank you so much for creating this—what a great team!

Nomus

Oct 08th · 21:06 UTC

Really nice game, it was a bit hard to really know what was an obstacle or a wall but really sweet nonetheless, loved the cinematics.

TimeLost

Oct 09th · 20:52 UTC

Very nice game did not realize I could double jump until a bit of figuring out. The atmosphere of it was perfect and fits the tone well. The meow sound is pretty good. The cinematics were great. The cucumber was fun to encounter occasionally. The level design was mostly intuitive.

Merrick

Oct 09th · 22:50 UTC

Awesome game, especially loved the atmosphere from the sound and art.

Huaqing

Oct 10th · 05:56 UTC

The mama cat has such a tough job! :')

Khamekaze

Oct 10th · 09:43 UTC

Amazing art and atmosphere! I love the small little details like the how the cat reacts to finding cucumbers 😂

dumchevdev

Oct 10th · 12:05 UTC

The game has really cool aesthetics and visuals, thank you!

Kagegona

Oct 10th · 12:48 UTC

great ambience and art! Even though I found a bit hard to understand the level design, there was a huge work done on all the assets and there is a lot of little things (like the cat being afraid animation) that adds to the coherency of the world, nice work!

jscommander

Oct 10th · 13:56 UTC

I really like your game. Especially how the opening sequence hooks the player and explains the importance of the task. Really liked the color palette and character animation. Very good sounds. It wasn't always clear where the wall was and where the platform was, but I managed. Great joke about the cucumber (that's a green cucumber scaring the cat, right?)

6Knowledge

Oct 10th · 16:30 UTC

For a first jam this is quite impressive. Not many can even get a proper build working in that amount of time. The graphics and atmosphere are without a doubt the highlight of this game. Well done overall.

Sceef

Oct 10th · 18:09 UTC

Very cute in all aspects - a platformer about a cat. Stray tensed to the side.

PatUwU

Oct 11th · 15:09 UTC

Beautiful graphics and sad story. Great job!

lukk_batun

Oct 12th · 19:42 UTC

nice game, girls!!!!!

tardis2snej

Oct 12th · 23:36 UTC

Great game for the first attempt!! The graphics is cute, the story is touching, and the gameplay is quite interesting. I enjoyed this!

YibiRabbit007

Oct 18th · 01:40 UTC

The dreamy collection process and the meowing cats are really lovable! Your game reminds me of my first Itch.io game, and I present it to you!

![Art_draft_attack1catGif.gif](///raw/afd/36/z/6f74a.gif)

![Art_draft_sleep1catbiggif.gif](///raw/afd/36/z/6f74b.gif)

anaticula

Oct 22nd · 01:49 UTC

Amazing game! Loved how cat climbs on cloth and gets frightened by cucumber! Perfectly executed and very polished, intro art and overall is beautiful, music fits really well! Top notch entry!