A Thai Game Created by Nont Thanakon (That’s Me!)
Created with the amazing support of my wife, my friends, and independent playtesters. Aside from writing my blog and working on SEO, diving into something completely new has been a massive, yet exciting challenge for me. I had to tackle 3D modeling, map design, game mechanics, and various other aspects I had never done before.
Why Did I Want to Make a Game?
It all started with a simple desire: I wanted to create a game of my own. Ever since I started writing my blog, I wanted another creative outlet for those times when I wasn’t traveling. I needed something to dive into. That led to my first game, Gem2Rail, and now, my second game, FruitZ Cat.
I handled 99% of the work myself—sculpting the 3D models, creating the sound effects, writing the code, and designing the logic and gameplay mechanics. The remaining 1% was a little brainstorming help from AI. The result is the game you see today. It might have a few bugs here and there, but it’s fully playable and actually live on the Store!
The Origin of FruitZ Cat
FruitZ Cat originally started with the concept of a cat shooting zombies and delivering items. The spark came to me one day while strolling through a supermarket. I saw the fresh fruits and vegetables, did a quick search, and realized there weren’t really any games with this specific theme.
I started sketching out ideas and began development in early November 2025. Initially, it was just a cat shooting fruit zombies in a medieval Western tavern setting, complete with stone walls and minecarts—a far cry from the Thai map it is today.
Fast forward to the New Year holidays. I was walking around a local floating market with my family and jokingly said to my wife, “A Thai theme would actually be pretty cool to make. What if we swapped the minecarts for traditional Thai sampan boats and turned the map into a floating market?” We both agreed it was a great idea, and that’s how FruitZ Cat evolved into the Thai-themed game it is today.
We also thought this could be our own little way of promoting Thailand and its game dev scene. It’s a small effort, but we hope it gives foreigners a glimpse of Thai culture and our local fruits. Whether they’ve visited Thailand before or not, they can experience a bit of the authentic Thai atmosphere right in the game.
How to Play FruitZ Cat
The gameplay loop is simple and accessible. It’s an action shooter where you blast zombies, collect the items they drop, and deliver them to fulfill orders on the boat. For example, if the boat requests 2 mangosteens and 1 durian, you just need to hunt down the mangosteen and durian zombies, grab their drops, and load them onto the boat!
Most of the zombies you’ll face are inspired by Thai fruits and vegetables. The first two zombie types you’ll encounter are the undeniable Queen and King of Thai fruits: the Mangosteen and the Durian. (Watch out—the durians will charge right at you!)
Currently, the first playable stage features the iconic Thai Floating Market theme. In the future, I plan to add many more stages based on real tourist attractions. If you have any suggestions for where the next map should be, feel free to drop a message and let me know!
FruitZ Cat by TomatoCat Digital
I’d love for you to give FruitZ Cat a try! You can download it, play around, and please leave some feedback. Right now, it’s available exclusively on Android, with an iOS release planned for late 2026. If you have any suggestions or run into any bugs, let me know anytime. I am completely open to all of your feedback.
Thank you for supporting me, my blog tripsometime.com, and my indie games FruitZ Cat and Gem2Rail. I hope they earn a permanent spot on your device!
Download now on the Google Play Store!
- Game Name: FruitZ Cat
- Link to download on Google play store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tomatocatdigital.fruitzcat&pcampaignid=web_share
