“Little Brats!”, scheduled for September 18, 2024

This time it's official: Little Brats! will be released on September 18. Makes sense to release a playground simulator during the back-to-school month!

For the occasion, the official trailer has been unveiled!

What is that game?

If, graphically, my style already used in the point and click Superfluous Returnz is used once again, the type of game will be radically different: Little Brats! will be a fast-paced action game, mainly aimed at multiplayer (although it will also be playable solo).

You'll be controlling your brat through a school playground. Your goal? To have as much fun as possible. To do this, you'll have at your disposal both fixed games (swings, turnstiles, etc.) and portable toys (yo-yos, skipping ropes, etc.). The catch, of course, is that since there are only a few of these, you'll have to battle it out with the other brats... slapping while avoiding being slapped, keeping your toys as long as possible, stealing those of others while not getting caught by the teacher... playtime is gonna be no picnic.

How do you play?

The game will be available on Windows/macOS/Linux. Ports to Android and Nintendo Switch are under consideration.

It can be played using a keyboard (optionally with a mouse) or a gamepad. Multiplayer will be online or in LAN. I may implement a split-screen version later.

The game is relatively casual, with a fast learning curve and a reduced number of buttons to use: direction buttons (or the stick on a controller), an action button, a secondary action button, and a sprint button, and that's it.

Each game lasts a few minutes, just long enough for recess. At the end of the game, the bell will ring and you'll have to line up in pairs to return to class. You'll then be presented with a podium and a scoreboard, with titles awarded according to whether you've been particularly nice, nasty, etc.

In addition to the people playing with you, the other brats will be directed by the computer, with randomly drawn names and skins: note that the names are those most given in 2018 (hence the Jackson, Isabelle, etc.). The game takes place in 2024, with children aged around 6...

Come as you are

Particular attention has been paid to the customization of your brat: you can select their appearance, from their outfit to their hairstyle and their skin color.

There is deliberately no selection of the gender of your little brat: when drawing, I usually associate face shape 1 (the one with the big nose) with boys/men and shape 2 (round with a pointed nose) with girls/women, but you're free to choose the look that suits you.

Other variants will undoubtedly be added in future updates.

Collect cards

A parody of Pokémon is included: some fifty little creatures can be collected in the form of “cards”, which will be scattered by the bots during gameplay. They will obviously be more or less rare, and will also bring you more or less fun.

For the time being, they're mainly designed as a humorous addition, and don't have their own use in the game, but I'm thinking about developing mechanics around them (exchanges, etc.). The difficulty will be to integrate them without breaking the fast pace of the game. Just wait and see.

I can't hide the fact that I can't wait for you to discover them, because I've included a lot of silly things that I'm proud of :D

An evolving game

Unlike Superfluous Returnz, which was an adventure with a beginning and an end, Little Brats! will be enriched with content over the coming months. Please note that this will not be paid DLC, but updates included with the purchase of the game.

As I said above, other skin variants will be added as updates come in, but not only: I'm also planning to add new fixed games, portable toys and a whole lot of other stuff.

I'm also thinking about adding other game modes (goal list game, team game, “protect the leader” game, etc.) and mini-games (small soccer field, etc.). We'll see, and I'll keep you posted –and certainly ask for your opinions– on what comes next.

Price, license

The game will be available for $4. It's a very low price, but one that bets on numbers, i.e. on “selling better” than Superfluous Returnz, which was in a much more niche genre (point and click) and sold for more when it came out ($15 then, down to $10 now).

In terms of licensing, it'll be following the same model as Superflu Riteurnz: the game will first be released under a proprietary license, and then as an open source software after a certain period of time (probably a year, but this hasn't been fully determined yet). Note that it is based on the [Godot] engine (https://godotengine.org/), which is indeed under free license.

See you soon

See you in September for the game's release. Until then, don't forget to add it to your Wishlist on Steam or follow its Itch.io page. As for me, I've got a busy schedule ahead of me to finish V1 of this game which, let me tell you, I'm already having a lot of fun with!

I hope you have a great summer, and I'll see you soon...