«Pen Panic is a cartoony, grid based Puzzle Game, where you push your way through masses of chickens, stack them together and try not to kill them! »
In Pen Panic, you confront the serious issue of factory farming by facing masses of chickens. Experience the lack of space, step into the role of the chickens, and immerse yourself in the cartoony art style.
The chickens stack up to three per field, whether alive or dead. If the space is too tight, the chickens die instantly. Fight your way through multiple levels as the pens grow larger and the number of chickens increases.
Your goal is to escape the farm, but be careful! Don't squeeze too many chickens on the way.
The first game prototype was developed during a six-week module in December 2024 as part of the Game Design bachelor’s program at the University of the Arts in Zurich.
The game went into a second phase of development in October 2025 for the exhibition at the Plattform für nachhaltiges Jungdesign at Gewerbemuseum Winterthur.
Process
For the main mechanic of the game, I combined the two retro games "Boulder Dash" and "Sokoban". During the brainstorming phase, I came up with the idea to take factory farming as the setting. So I started sketching out the concept and building a prototype in unity.
My design pillars for this project were Sustainability, Fun and Empathy. From the beginning on, I wanted to have a game that criticizes one aspect of society. But not in a serious but rather a humorous way. I chose a comic-like art style that allowed me to express the emotions of the chickens. The chickens should stick out to the player, as they are the most important part of the game. That's why I gave them a colorful purple plumage. Everything else got a bright, sterile white.
I decided that three levels plus one tutorial level would be a fair amount for the first version of the game and the scope of the project.
Game Play
Jungdesign Exhibition
These are some of the new features that I added during the second phase of developing:
Animation for liveliness, improved level design, high-resolution graphics and UI, sound design, Stickers with the new character design
Animation for liveliness, improved level design, high-resolution graphics and UI, sound design, Stickers with the new character design
Time of the exhibition
30.10 -2.11 2025
Where
Gewerbemuseum Winterthur
Link
Instagram