Gangster mice, finger guns and classic rubber hose animation
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to make a splash among a sea of game announcements. An estimated 14,000- plus games were released on Steam alone in 2023, with that number only expected to rise in the years to come. To combat this, one indie developer has already attracted the attention of millions by looking to the past for inspiration.
Mouse, a new first-person shooter that utilises the ‘rubber hose’ animation style of the 1930s, has seen massive interest since early development footage surfaced online. Developed by Warsaw-based Fumi Games, players control a private detective who battles their way through a chaotic city full of criminal rodents, utilising an assortment of cartoonlike weapons to stamp out the corrupt politicians. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the studio’s roots stem from animation with Fumi Games CEO and co-founder Mateusz Michalak spending 15 years in the industry.
“We were trying to break into game development, but the main trigger was the pandemic,” he tells me in interview. “Many contracts were suspended or cancelled in the animation industry. That’s when the idea to seriously enter game development emerged.” Michalak still operates Fumi Studio, which creates artistic animations for short films. It’s only by accident that the initial idea for Mousecame about.
“The first prototype was created in Godot, where the player shot at gangster mice,” he says. “It was pretty basic but it gave us an idea of what the game could be like.” Mousehas certainly evoked a distinct flavour, taking off after a programmer uploaded a video to TikTok.
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That social media post would be the first of many that brought eyes to Mouse. Most notably, IGN uploaded a teaser in May 2023 that accumulated more than 3 million views, while a TikTok video of gameplay in December of that same year went on to be watched by upwards of 5.5 million times. PlaySide Publishing revealed upon its signing of the developer that the same trailer had been viewed by “tens of millions of fans, earned global coverage across the largest games media outlets in the world, and been highlighted by some of the most influential creators” on the web. It’s hard to deny that the art style didn’t help its appeal.
“The 1930s are a profoundly fascinating period when it comes to culture, music, events and film,” Fumi Games’ art producer Grzegorz Pamula says. “They encapsulate many intriguing elements, sparking the imagination and serving as a wellspring of inspiration.” The studio “couldn’t imagine” anything other than taking advantage of the rubber hose art style.
“Not only does
