Overview

Designed, balanced, and implemented core gameplay systems for The Cat in the Hat: Rainy Day Mayhem, a 1-to-4 player family party game featuring 18 unique minigames, a 14-room hide-and-seek mode, and an in-game sticker book progression system. Focused on family-friendly difficulty scaling, playtesting iterations, and implementing the book.

Key Technical & Design Contributions

Minigame Design & Spatial Hazard Balancing

Hazard & Pattern Logic: Authored dynamic spawn sequences and directional ball patterns (e.g., multi-directional pipe launches on a 5x5 grid), ensuring every randomized layout remained 100% solvable while escalating tension.
Scalable Difficulty Curves: Programmed and balanced game speed, time, and obstacle density curves to ensure rounds remain accessible for younger players while ramping up challenge near completion.
Equalizer & RNG Balancing: Fine-tuned chance-based mechanics and catch-up variables across all 18 minigames to maintain a competitive, fair playing field for multi-generational play groups.

Systems Implementation

In-Game Book: Integrated the In-Game Book, page-turn logic and visuals.

Playtesting

Demographic Feedback Loops: Conducted playtesting passes focusing on family readability, difficulty scaling and young player engagement across the minigames.
Rapid Iteration & Polish: Utilized playtest feedback to fine-tune hitboxes, timers and scoring thresholds, smoothing out difficulty spikes in a short production window.