Barry McLaughlin and Jason Lautenschleger on bringing a blast of positivity to the games aisle with Feelin’ Cute

Guys, it’s always a treat to chat. We’re here to discuss your latest game, Feelin’ Cute, published by Hootenanny Games. For anyone new to it, how would you pitch it?
Barry McLaughin: It’s a game where you rank animals on a spectrum of cuteness – and try to guess how the other players will rank them. There’s a ‘Cuteness Meter’ that goes from ‘Feelin’ Not So Cute’ to ‘Feelin’ Really Cute’. As you flip over animal cards, you have to think about where you’d put them on the scale… So let’s say you start with this Green Sea Turtle. You now have to decide if this American Shorthaired Cat is more cute or less cute than the Turtle. And the other players must guess where you’ll be putting it on the Cuteness Meter.

Jason Lautenschleger: Once we stumbled upon the subjectivity of the cuteness spectrum, that was a real ‘aha!’ moment. You really learn what people feel about reptiles versus mammals – and some people are like: ‘If it’s not fuzzy, it’s not for me!’

Barry: I mean, look at this one – here we have a meat eater like the Sumatran Tiger. Is that cute or is it scary?

It’s a handsome animal isn’t it! But handsome isn’t cute – there’s an important difference there…
Jason: The tiger is my spirit animal so I’m always going to be partial to the beauty and majesty of the tiger.

We’re getting to know your tastes Jason; that’ll prove useful when we play this game together.
Jason: Exactly – I’ve given you a leg up there.

So how did this idea come about?
Barry: It’s always centred on cute animal cards from the start, but the game went through many different versions. It started life as a game called Cuteness: The Smothering – it was a take on Magic: The Gathering but with cute animals. Then we had a version that was numbers-based – more in the UNO space… The only constant was the cards with cute animals. It took a while, but the game took shape, and then a company optioned it. We spent around a year with them, going through different iterations, but we couldn’t make it work together so the game came back to us.

Then, as soon as we came up with this version, we knew it’d be perfect for Hootenanny. They were the first company we pitched it to and they loved it. They immediately play-tested it over the weekend and we had a deal by Monday, cancelling our other scheduled pitch meetings.

Jason: Whitney Kimerling set up play-testing sessions at around eight neighbours’ houses that weekend. The feedback she kept getting was: ‘Let’s play again, let’s play again!’ So that enthusiastic response helped things – and Hootenanny have been amazing. The effort and heart they put in is so appreciated by inventors, including us. We love them.

Barry: And look at the group of inventors that they’ve worked with in their past two years – it’s a real who’s who! We talked to some of the inventors they worked with before and everybody had glowing praise for Whitney and Alex.

Absolutely – they are gems. And their games are terrific – from design to quality to box art.
Barry: Super high quality! They worked with a company called St8ment on the art design of Feelin’ Cute, and it’s turned out beautifully.

Now, not a question I get to ask everyone: Is there an animal that’s proved to be a good source of debate when it comes to cuteness?
Barry: We have these Blob Fish tokens in the game and these animals that are commonly seen as “ugly” tend to divide people. Some find them endearingly cute – I’m definitely one of those weirdos.

Jason: I’ll add, if you’re ever playing Feelin’ Cute with Barry, never underestimate the cuteness of the Naked Mole-Rat.

Ha! One man’s mole-rat is another man’s labrador.
Jason: Well, to some, dog trumps all.

I think I fall into that camp.
Barry: For me, in this game, dogs are lower on the Cuteness Meter. We see dogs every day – including my own adorable pup – so I’d say this Screaming Hairy Armadillo is cuter than this Labrador Retriever.

Controversial! Now, the game feels evergreen, but also trendy – maybe the name feeds into that. Did any trends play a part in how you developed this?
Jason: Our default setting is to always make sure whatever we’re working on is somewhat evergreen and from your lips to God’s ears as far as it being both evergreen and trendy – that’s the Venn diagram we all aim to hit if we can. For us, the core idea of the game is centred in positivity and that’s just what we need more of. I guess you could argue that is a response to a trend, but only in the sense that we want to put light into a world that needs it right now.

Barry: I think the name helps too – and Hootenanny came up with that.

Jason: Yes, the name is in the zeitgeist. Feelin’ Cute or ‘Felt Cute Might Delete Later’. I think there’s a t-shirt that says ‘Feeling Cute Might Poop Later’.

I’ll take your word for that Jason.
Jason: Ha! I’ll send you one! But there are a lot of riffs on the Feelin’ Cute wave – moments of empowerment where people are posting shots of themselves saying ‘feeling cute’. It’s great to jump on that and have this game embrace that phrase.

Absolutely. And it’s interesting what you said about the game being this vehicle for positivity, but I suppose it’s rare for a judging game to have this kind of super positive bent. You’d maybe associate judging game mechanics with spikier adult games.
Barry: It was important to us. The game’s spectrum isn’t ‘Ugly to Cute’, it’s ‘Feelin’ Not So Cute’ to ‘Feelin’ Really Cute’. We wanted this to be a super positive game. Having these cute animal cards on the table really makes people feel good. This game feels like a hug – and I think that’s also why it resonated so much with Hootenanny. They put such positive vibes out into the world.

Jason: Having ‘Feelin’ Not So Cute’ at one end suggests that normally you feel a little bit cuter, right? There’s no negativity to it, but still some honesty. We’re not saying ‘ugly’. It’s tempting to be negative–especially in a society that conflates negativity with intellectualism. But we wanted to put this ray of light out into the world.

Well, mission accomplished guys. Looping back to trends, how do they influence your approach to inventing?
Jason: The game idea always comes first, or sometimes the game title. Sometimes the way the wind is blowing will influence small decisions, but nothing major.

Barry: Those things tend to be the optional spices rather than the recipe for us. We’ll come up with a bunch of ideas and the ones that stick around are the ones we try and find a home for. We may then work things in related to trends, but we’ll avoid chasing a perceived gap or trend. We’ve tried that before, and it’s never worked for us. Feelin’ Cute is a great example. It’s a concept we stuck with because we knew there was something there. There wasn’t a trend around cute animal cards.

The other thing that guides us more and more are inventor collaborations. That’s pretty new for us, but we’ve started opening up to it more, and it’s certainly expanding our creativity and vision.

Now, Hootenanny has experience with doing licensed games – and I imagine Feelin’ Cute could lend itself to that down the road… I could see a Disney edition – is Bambi cuter than Dug from Up?
Jason: I think the most logical progression is to do a Firefighters edition next….

Ha! It’s got TOTY written all over it.
Jason: It is something we’ve spoken about – future editions, not the firefighters. If the game is surprising people, how can we keep surprising people with it? And I know that Alex and Whitney have ideas around that too, so I think you’re spot on Billy. And Disney would be fun. I mean, some people think Stitch is adorable, others think he’s terrifying. For me, it doesn’t get any cuter than Thumper – change my mind!

There’s the headline!
Barry: Or a Pokémon edition would be amazing.

Absolutely – it’s got legs! Away from Feelin’ Cute, what does the rest of the year have in store for you guys?
Barry: We’ve got more games coming out towards the end of the year. We can’t reveal too much… but one features magnets and the other involves underpants. We also have more Inventertainment in the works – lots of fun stuff being cooked-up in the lab.

Nicely teased! Now, you guys are lifelong friends and you’ve worked together for a long time now too – how do you keep the collaboration energized, healthy and working the best it can?
Jason: I will say that Barry and I are not the same people we were when we first met. We’ve both grown and changed completely. Looking at that timeline and trajectory, the constant is the fact that we’ve always supported each other’s growth, and we share our growth with each other. That forward-looking mentality and optimism – and that search for opportunities – takes the ego out of it.

And I think ego is the one thing that tends to break up bands and groups. Whereas we know we can grow from everything and we’re always learning. We just want to project positivity and fun and support each other through it all. That growth mindset has been key.

Barry: That’s exactly what I was gonna say! The commitment to growth is definitely why it works and why we’re able to keep doing this. We’re always supporting each other and enjoying what we’re doing – and having so much fun doing it together.

What’s also a delight is that we’re not the same person. We bring different elements to our games and entertainment, even when it comes to our performance styles. Jason is more sarcastic, quicker with wordplay, and can get wonderfully sassy. Whereas I like to get more silly and often turn on my “Dindong Mode.” There’s a balance there and we’re not stepping on each other’s toes.

Jason: And when we both love an idea, it’s better than if one of us were to love an idea and the other one just supports it. Consensus is one of the biggest enemies of creativity normally, but for us, if we’re both enthused by the same thing it ends up being greater than us meeting in the middle.

Great answer. Now, I have one last question – and it’s a tough one. What’s the cutest animal in Feelin’ Cute?
Barry: I can’t pick one – I’ve narrowed it down to three.

I’ll allow it.
Barry: The Capybara – I mean, look at that face… The personality… Then there’s the Quokka. And finally, this sweet baby Rhesus Monkey.

Beautiful.
Barry: They all have personality. When we were choosing animals to include with Hootenanny, that was a big factor for me.

Jason: Each animal had to fill out a Myers Briggs personality test assessment before they could make it into the final game.

Ha! Barry’s gone for three very good picks. What are you opting for Jason?
Jason: I’ve also gone for three. First, the Fennec Fox. It’s one of my favourites and my children would agree.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before.
Barry: We hope people get inspired by animals they’ve never seen before. They might do some research and find out more about their new faves.

Absolutely – and look at its ears!
Jason: They are desert dwellers. One of the reasons their ears are so big is that they actually help to cool them down because of evaporation – those huge ears help to let heat out of their body.

My granddad was the same. What’s your next two picks?
Jason: The Baby Emperor Penguin and the Emu – I wanted to put a cigar in this guy’s mouth but no-one would let me. It looks like Groucho Marx!

Ha! All very strong choices! Guys, this has been a pleasure as always. Congrats to you and the Hootenanny team on Feelin’ Cute – it looks great.

–

To stay in the loop with the latest news, interviews and features from the world of toy and game design, sign up to our weekly newsletter here

More Recent Interview

“Each piece has a mind of its own”: Alexander Neumann on the origins – and future – of his stacking game, Misfits

“There’s so much potential…” Misfits creator Alexander Neumann discusses his ambitions for the stacking game.

Stefan and Susanne Feld on developing a child-friendly version of The Castles of Burgundy with The Sandcastles of Burgundy

Ravensburger’s modern classic The Castles of Burgundy is getting a child-friendly spin-off. Designers Stefan and Susanne Feld tell us more.

“Innovation around meaningful play is one of our main drivers”: MAGNA-TILES’ Rick Keuter discusses new launches and key focuses

Rick Keuter – Head of Product Development at MAGNA-TILES – discusses new launches, innovation and connecting with inventors.

“We could make this play pattern aspirational again!” Make It Real’s Dominique Roy on the origins of the Polish & Shine Tumbler

Make It Real’s Dominique Roy on developing the Polish & Shine Tumbler and Swift Clicks Bracelet Maker.

Casdon’s Alex Reynolds takes us inside development of the company’s Build-a-Bear Stuffing Station

Alex Reynolds – Casdon’s Global Head of Research, Development and Licensing – on their exciting new ranges from Build-a-Bear Workshop, Heinz and Toxic Waste.

ToyPal’s Sami Samiee on transforming toys into storytellers with AI

ToyPal Founder Sami Samiee introduces his AI-infused product that transforms a child’s favourite plush toy into an engaging storyteller.