I look forward to these devlogs so much you have no idea. You have inspired to change my life man, I have started drawing, learning gamedev, and becoming more productive just because of a video of yours I saw almost 2 years ago now... Thank you.
Glad to hear you are deep into game dev! I remember getting inspired by a couple other game devs 4 years ago, so we pass along the passion I guess :) My one advice for learning would be to visit the library from time to time. There are a lot of things that can't be found on the internet, and if you have a good library in your city, you can get some great books on art, architecture, design etc.
Looks great! Cant wait to play! Another thing the mail could have is you could subscribe to magazines or newsletters for tips or recipes. Imagine getting an issue of Chefs United that has a new variant of a recipe that you already use? Or in Hunters Monthly, learn where certain rare animals like to call home. Things like that would be pretty interesting!
That's a cool idea! It would help add to the lore of the game world. And having some tips could act like mini tutorials. Can definitely add something like this down the road. Appreciate the comment :)
Idk if this is already a feature, but since the party system would have the player redesigning their restaurant somewhat often, it might be nice to have prefabs of their favourite designs so they don't have to remake the same design after every party. Maybe it could be something that the player unlocks over time. Anyways, love the game and looking forward to playing soon!
Didn't get to it in the video, but that feature was added before I began working on the parties :) There are 4 furniture layout save slots currently. Yeah it would suck to have to re-design it each time
@@PixelArchitect Oh that's great! I shared the idea of having a seperate room players unlock specifically to be able to host parties to avoid always changing our hard-designed restaurants for the guests but this option is so much more straightforward hahah
I think a lot of the appeal for these types of games is how heartwarming some scenarios would be. If there was let's say an elderly couple that could celerate their anniversary and we actually get to learn their story on that day.. etc. etc.
The critic leaving an actual review is such a great game feature, I loved pausing and reading that. One thing to note, I would definitely make it so that in the mailbox the most recent mail comes in at the top :)
And a sorting system in general! I have mailbox menu by aedenthorne in stardew, since I like reading back on old mail. Would be nice to have that kind of feature.
As a solo game dev myself who is working on an open-world farming game, this devlog series has been so inspirational for me, probably one of the main reasons why I started working on my own game. Super hyped for Chef RPG and I wishh you all the best bro! 💪
Parties seems like a good way to bring in events like birthdays, weddings/anniversaries, conferences, retirement parties, baby showers, fundraisers, graduations. And especially predictable repeating seasonal events like holidays and festivals.
I love the idea of critics and the newspaper aesthetic for the results look great and realistic and immersive. But one thing that would make the article easier to read, is to add subheadings to the different topics of the article. Its also something that is used in actual newspapers to let the reader know what the next section will be about. Also, I really hope that we will have a lot of different vegetarian dishes and non alcoholic drinks to choose from, because I would love to open a casual Cafe that serves different teas and some "low key" dishes, like salads, simple sandwitches or different desserts. Also love being able to plant and harvest my own ingredients to sustain my restaurant, so its great that you added a way to easily see which dishes are meat/vegetarian/vegan dishes and the added challenge of only serving vegetarian or vegan dishes. I will definetly buy the Early Access version when it comes out on Steam :D.
I loved this devlog! Been following for so long, it's hard to believe the EA launch is almost here. Re: the newspaper, it might be a good idea to bold the first sentence of sections that players are scored on (decor, food taste, etc.). That way people can skim and see what contributed to the score, or can read more in-depth for more lore/reasoning. Reading the whole thing each time might eventually become tiring. Either way, looking forward to the launch date trailer!
I almost never buy a game early or on release. I usually wait 2-3 years for the price to come down. This is one of the rare games I plan to buy on release at full price.
You have inspired me to develop my own game. Even though its beem two months and i haven't even achieved half of what you did in your first devlog i hope to get there eventually!
Just as I'm about to head to bed. I have to say your Devlog are quite relaxing to listen and fall asleep to. Just based on the title alone adding critics and I assume hosting parties are going to be amazing added features. I wait patiently for Chef RPG to release and when it does I can't wait to hop on and start my journey!
10:29 The "Postbriefkasten" 😂 I love everything about this update! The new UI looks soo much more welcoming, I love it! And I also absolutely love the newspaper reviews of the critics. That looks so lovely!
The anecdote about you being so excited about the gift box was so incredibly endearing hahah, anyone having worked a long time on a project knows that feeling of getting 'weirdly' attached to tiny aspects of it
The ability to play through the entire game with a vegetarian or vegan menu is huge! Stardew Valley has vegan mods but you can't play the entire game that way natively. Chef RPG is really setting itself apart from the competition with the ability to do vegetarian and vegan runs without having to mod. Just a thought; if someone is doing a vegan playthrough, then they most likely would want to avoid having to fight/hunt the animals out in the forest as part of that run. Not sure if the ability to avoid the fighting/hunting mechanic exists or not yet, but just thought I'd bring it up. This game looks awesome so far! Can't wait to play it once it comes out!
Glad you like that! Balancing the restaurant will definitely be a big challenge down the road, but could lead to some interesting gameplay. Hunting & fishing are completely optional. A couple for optional quests will involve hunting & fishing, but none of the main story will require it
As always great job! Here are my takes on what could be improved in general: What about updating the old gray UI of the inventory too? i really like the new one you showed in this devlog! Another thing i would like to see is more social interaction between people, because as it seems now they just walk endlessly in the town without a purpose. Maybe you could do this by adding people chatting in groups, people talking on the phone, people buying food like ice cream or carrying bags with dresses, in short, anything that would make us feel that the people in the town are alive. In rainy days it would be cool to see people using umbrellas and a proper outfit depending on the weather. You can add special day events in the town like stardew valley's dev did; maybe a cooking competition, a concert, a dance night and more. That's all it comes to my mind atm, hope it helps! Can't wait to play the game! :D
I have to know: did you ever play “Delicious” by GameHouse? I’ve been on the dev team for most of them. A restaurant game with a focus on story, but still very different from yours. I recognize the phases your project is going through but the fact that you’re single handedly making so many aspects of the game blows my mind. One tip that helped more players enjoy our game: Dynamic Difficulty. - add a “next customer” button to speed up the day and avoid lulls for good players. - when people “fail” in time critical part, make the requirements a bit less daunting the next time (in a non-obvious way). Reset them on a “win”. - do not scold players in the reviews. They already know they messed up. Make it fun and a bit cheeky instead. Gordon Ramsey is only fun if you’re not the victim. Anyway, much respect and I’ll look out for the E.A.!
I love the party/event hosting feature! I hope you will add a button that's essentially normal/event mode which will allow you to save your decoration layout for once the party is over, instead of having to redo everything from scratch (especially if you really love the current layout or are in late game). The option would then toggle between this and a layout for the party, and serve as a quality of life feature.
Yay, a new devlog! What would be cool idea is if there's critics and newspapers with different "rankings." For instance, early in the game, the critics can be from the local paper, and the critics will become more esteemed throughout the game. Later on in the game, they can be famous national/worldwide critics writing for big newspapers! This would help add a sense of advancement/improvement in the game instead of randomly rotating between different critics (and would help make more sense with being able to achieve 10 stars in early game). If you have multiple restaurants, you'll probably have some type of reputation boost from your first restaurant, but your new restaurant will have to start at the beginning with only local critics! And +1 with the other comment about adding a temporary buff for a period of time where you will receive more customers or celebrity guests if you get a good review! I love your work and can't wait to see more!
I love watching your updates. The vibes of these videos are so calm and interesting, plus its amazing seeing all the work you're putting into this game! Great pick for the new UI updates. I can't wait to play your game ☆
One thing I really recommend as you get into gameplay loops and the nitty gritty of mechanics is to make a working demo to get these ideas in front of playtesters. You can come up with loads of good ideas but they might not pan out in the implementation, and you can't know that until you put the game in front of other people and get feedback. I worry that you are adding all these systems but may not have gotten enough feedback to know if they're working together and making a good gameplay experience
The Critics and the newspaper functions similar to a progress check. My recommendation is that the important aspects of the paper be highlighted so that those who don't want to read can still check their progress throughout the game. The newspaper doesn't even need to focus on the critics as you can utilize them for any major event happening in the town like how Stardew does its festival announcements a few days before or if a new mechanic or character has arrived.
would be nice if the furniture have multiple style tags so when players decorate for the parties, they have some options instead of only one set of furniture to choose if they want to get more stars!
I really love the dept and effort you put into the critic reviews because its such a cool thing gameplay and immersion wise. In my opinion an often overlooked part of what makes an RPG immersive is NPC's reaction to the player character and not just the player reacting to them. To have a somewhat belivable NPC give their opinion/reaction to a thing from their perspective really sells that they are real and in a living world. These kinds of reactions are also fun to discover and if the player does something goofy it can be a great joke or if the player does something the NPC likes or hates its a good way to flesh out that NPC's personality/character
I want to say that I love your videos. I do not intend to create a video game in the near future, but I love to discover the processes, the way of thinking, etc. And, as an amateur composer/songwriter, it’s very inspiring and helps a lot in crafting ideas, moods, themes, etc. Thank you 🙂
Maybe for a future expansion there will be an option to have a separate area (floor lvl) to held events and you can prepare food in advance just like a buffet style so you can still have a going service for guests in another room. Looking forward to this game!!
How about some special food items from home/a family member in the mail? Special seed packets for growing herbs? A timecapsule-esque letter your PC wrote to themselves when they were little? Some mysterious fanmail by an all too obsessed restaurant/food fangirl?
Damn these are all really good ideas. I'll for sure look into these down the road. Would be very cozy to get a food package from "mom" from time to time.
A lot of my friends are from abroad and every month or two get a giant package of hyperspecific (and waaay too much portions of) Turkey- or Taiwan-only items that you can't find anywhere else and it just seeps family love whenever they talk about it, + it inspires food parties where they share and cook as much as possible and explain what everything is :) Good foody vibes, big recommend :) Love the game, excited to play!
It's wonderful to see another devlog from you and your team! I've always loved how comfy your game looks and am always genuinely surprised by all of your progress and improvement. Stay strong! Can't wait to see more updates! ❤️❤️❤️🎉🎉🎉✨✨✨
Insane to see what the progress of this game has been over the years. Great work! cant wait to play the game. One thing I noticed, was about the newspaper. I can think of people might be too lazy or have difficulties reading too much text to receive the necessairy informations from it. Did you might think of adding like a star score to the individual underlying parts of the review as well? It could help getting a better overview of what might failed in the first few seconds and then a more detailed information of what exactly failed in that categorie. That´s what came to my mind in an instant when I saw that newspaper 😅 Anyway, cant wait to destroy the critics with a delicous vegan ramen hahaha xD
That's a good point. In that case there could be a side popup where you can get a star breakdown of each category. Just don't want too many visual elements on the newspaper. I'll look into it!
Or maybe, in each section you can bold and/or recolor the word in the paragraph describing the result (poor/decent/great/something else) in red or blue/green so for those who dont want to read the entirity of the text can know in which aspect they need to fix in just a glance.
I love your devlogs! It‘s always so interesting to hear about the thoughts going into implementing different stuff and the way you go about your videos makes it so easy to follow along. Definitely looking forward the release!
Yeah for sure. Definitely gives some more incentive to play. Also wanted to add some sort of restaurant ranking system. Will have to wait for the 1.0 launch unfortunately
Omg! The parties sound so fun to do, and obviously the critic is a great idea. I know it’s weird to say since I don’t know you but I’m so proud of you. Just amazing commitment and critical thinking skills. I continue to be excited for this game. Thank you for sharing your journey -Also having a notebook where you can see the history of all the parties you’ve held would be fun to see your progress (you may have already implemented this, but I just wanted to point it out) :)
Hey man, just wanna say you’re a huge inspiration for me, as I’m currently learning the ropes of game dev. Your art style is very cozy and you do a great job explaining your thought process in your videos, which I’m thankful for. I’ll def get the game on release :)
I've been following your channel for so long - almost from the first design stages of Chef RPG - I can't wait for it to be released :) You've done a fantastic work and I'm so glad I stumbled upon this project!
What I would recommend is some indicators while people eat the food, whether it tastes really good or if it's really awful. Dave the Diver had this system more or less, where you knew, when you had a good performance or not while serving. In Chef RPG, either through vocalization of joy and disgust or some dialogue bubbles, you can identify how well you're doing, allowing you to continue to give it all and potentially identify inconsistencies in your service or cooking, that you need to improve as you work on it. If you could create personas for the critics, they could support the story a bit. Some may have a specific focus, which earns you extra points when you succeed in that area of preference. Maybe if you create a connection with another character, that is known in the restaurant critic business, they can tell you who is (or might be) coming and what they're going to look for in your visit. It allows the player to have some control to prepare before the critic arrives.
I’ve got a couple different ideas for things you could add. First, some party quests could maybe come in the mail as a more personal offer. And for the food critic, you could have the review impact your restaurant’s customer count. A bad review may mean 2 less customers come the day it’s published, or a great review may book you up for 3 days. This means critics not only affect how you decide to play the game, but they also affect the game and world itself.
can't wait to see your final product, even in early access. you're doing great man. it's crazy to see someone go from no development or coding knowledge, to producing such an amazing piece of entertainment. i'm going to have so much fun playing. thanks for making a new cozy game for us to look forward to playing when we get home from a long day at work.
I can't even begin to describe how excited I am for this game. You've put so much time and effort and it really shows. There is so much creativity here and it has been amazing watching the development and improvement, especially with the inspiration from other games of which I am obsessed with. I have such a deeper appreciation for this game, keep up the good work!
Damn you're even adding critics and parties too. I wouldn't even think of that. And it seems so intricate too, this game keeps getting more and more exciting! I really like how you thought about making the UI more fun and visually more appealing. It's so important to make UI super readable the second you open it. Many games have this list-of-numbers type of UI and its fine, but you are more playing the UI than the actual game. I think besides the vegan menu, you could also do android menus/parties too? Androids look really cool in your world and I would think they have their own favourite foods as well. You might be an architect previously, but you are a masterful game designer/dev! Not to mention, your vids are always so well edited and educational too.
Been following the journey of this game for a while now and am always amazed by the work and dedication your team puts into this! I have no idea if these have been suggested yet but I thought these might be cool to add! - Maybe some animations for the star scores? Like a spin before going into place or a big stamp into the parchment? This might have already been considered 😅 - The mailbox could be used to send out food deliveries! Maybe to Billboard City, in a future update, after release! Maybe depending on location, you could hire a delivery person or deliver it by foot if it’s nearby - The mailbox reminds me a lot of Slime Rancher and its fun upgrades once you join this elite club. So maybe you could pay for outside decor for the restaurant or additions? Change up the aesthetic? Please keep up the great work! I check this channel like everyday! Love seeing creators create!
I remember seeing one of the first vids ages ago and thought it was awesome. I just recently stumbled upon the series again and re watched it all funny that you release another video just after i finished. keep up the great work i cant wait to play this game!
Hi, thank you for your DevLog videos, love your art style and the relaxed nature of your videos. I'm really looking forward to the early access release of your game! Keep it up! 😉
Maybe some catering event quests? In a specific time period preparing foods and drinks (maybe some cakes etc) the customer asks, and deliver it to whatever the address is. And also make the catering event in their place. ( their shops, homes etc) Heating the food, serving food and drinks, also maybe putting up some small decorations.. It could be good to have events and parties outside of the restaurant in different enviroments. Baby shower parties even funeral cattering idk (sorry for my english)
I'm not sure if this was already implemented or in the works, but the mail system could be used for contracts. In the case that you have many things planned and don't have the time to gather ingredients, you could approach someone or perhaps a gatherer's/hunter's guild of sorts and then pay them to fetch stuff for you! They'd then deliver it via mail after a few days or so depending on the difficulty of the request. It could also be possible that the more you use their services, you get access to rarer or more difficult-to-obtain items. By that point I'd imagine the player has already accumulated enough wealth to consistently use the service. ((Also love the idea of critics! It gives off the vibe of the "Closer" customers from the Papa's games LOL))
Commenting to show my support! I work a full time and 2 part time jobs so I don’t have time or money to afford a game but I’ve been really invested in your game thus far. I’m looking forward to it, and hoping that by the time your game comes out, I’ll have enough time and money haha ☺️
I love the critic / review system! As an avid cozy gamer and hobby foodie home cook this game ticks all of the right boxes for me. I've been following your dev log since the beginning and am excited for release. Cheers!
take your time! no need to rush. i can wait as long as you keep adding more contents and features to the game! its so fun to watch even if its only an devlog.
This devlog has been really awesome as we know what devs are doing behind the scenes and how much effort they put into the game. I am eagerly waiting for this game for months and now i am excited about the trailer that has yet to come☺☺.
Can't wait to buy this game, amazing progress. If you haven't thought of it already, I would recommend adding undercover critics in the future, so the player just wakes up to see the review in the mail. Good way to keep the chef on their toes!
hi dev! i've been following your chef rpg development for about 2 years now and this is my first time commenting but just wanted to congratulate you! it probably feels way different to you, but to me it feels like you got this game together so quickly and it looks like such a high quality game! so keen to start playing this - wish you all the best!
I’ve been checking every day on steam so I can charge it 🤗 I’ve been watching your videos forever! I’m in love with the aesthetic you got going on and can’t wait to play. This is such a great game changer. I love cafe food games but it’s so hard to find one where you can have a home and a city to live in with seasons and beautiful pixel art. I hope later on if you haven’t already maybe add a kitchen as a separate room and a party room maybe even a waiting bench area and give them lil beeper things to let them know there table is ready ooo and idk but back in the day with the urbz DS game I remember always being excited to have the option of moving into different homes in different areas of the city and furnishing them. It always pushed me to work hard on my 5 jobs lol just some ideas 😅 the futuristic cyberpunk aesthetic would be amazing to see from the windows
WOW I subbed awhile back and watched videos hoping to follow your journey but life got busy and now I just saw this pop up! It looks incredible and I am 100% still going to support when its released!! YAY so cool to see your progress.
While I'm not a cosy game aficionado, I do love stardew valley, and I worked in bars and restaurants for years. As someone who worked in these environments, I think you should make sure to theme certain features so they align with that type of experience. For example: Party jobs/requests should come in to the restaurant itself, via your computer or in a Reservation book. Customers usually call the restaurant or send an email to place a booking, so it feels a bit weird that they are also being found on a bulletin board. As an extra in-game context, customers calling in to book a party is an indicator your restaurant is becoming more popular, and events/parties could be more of a big deal, like a sort of Boss. You can also have larger groups that don't book out a venue, for example if your restaurant holds 20, you can get groups of 10 which require more organisation to serve effectively while also managing normal 2 person tables and walk-ins. Also, as an idea for your reward/gift screen, the parchment works but maybe consider styling it after a receipt, like the final bill at the end of the night. You can have a full list of the items sold, any tip the left, etc. As you said, the cool thing in stardew valley is when you see everything you sold being tallied up at the end. Seeing every dish you prepared and item you sold being listed out sounds pretty accomplishing. Personal idea: add the ability to sneak items onto party bills. Sometimes when we had large parties from big companies that have a company card, we'd sneak on a few drinks or items for staff at the end of the night if they were a tough party or didn't leave tips (a bit crappy I know, but so were they!). Might not fit with this style of game, as its a bit risk/reward, but just a thought.
I've just discovered this game, and it's EVERYTHING I've always wanted!An RPG with a big focus on food😆 Thank you, thank you, thank you very much!!! Something that got my attention though, is that the host was one of the first to leave after the party on the footage that you used, like, they didn't bid the guests goodbye to then come and speak to us about how the party went and our performance managing the restaurant during it; just a nitpick though...
Love these new features! For the parties it might be interesting to also have different types, like fixed menu, buffet, or a dish selection. You could up the rewards for the more labour intense once, and have a lower stuff requirement for buffet but more preparation time. So looking forward to this game!
Hey, absolutely love your devlogs, can't wait for the early access! One minor suggestion for your critic review from a player who has played quite a few text games: You could highlight a few important bits of information. As you mentioned yourself, some people don't like reading that much, and highlights could make it easier for them to extract the information they need from the reviews (:
I like your ideas and devlog pitch, as well as the things you added, flowed smoothly. Also, understanding what the user needs by reading reviews is the best way to push ideas forward. After you integrated those ideas, the game looks more vibrant. :) The vibe of the game reminds me of Dave the Diver's restaurant management mechanics. Looking forward to playing soon and wish you all the best! ^^
Ah, I love how you explain all of this! Stardew Valley is my all time favourite cozy game and I'm very much looing forward to the release of your game. An idea for what to receive in the mail: "Gossip" from villagers what certain other villagers like or dislike as a gift :) Also, I really like that you've considered the vegan and veggy option! Keep up your fantastic work!
Glad you like it so far :) Yeah a lot of possibilities with the mailbox. Gossip is an interesting idea - I guess you can get hints about what a specific Npc is up to.
I can’t believe it’s been 4 years since I ran into your first game log. Congratulations seriously I’m lookigm forward to the early access of chef rpg. It must feel surreal seeing that dream about to bloom into players hands. Would love to hear your thoughts on that journey in a future dev log. Anyways I never really comment just admired and checked the progress of the game as a game dev myself and I wanted to just spread some love and admiration to your art , game and journey. Looking forward to the trailer. .cheers
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I look forward to these devlogs so much you have no idea. You have inspired to change my life man, I have started drawing, learning gamedev, and becoming more productive just because of a video of yours I saw almost 2 years ago now... Thank you.
Glad to hear you are deep into game dev! I remember getting inspired by a couple other game devs 4 years ago, so we pass along the passion I guess :) My one advice for learning would be to visit the library from time to time. There are a lot of things that can't be found on the internet, and if you have a good library in your city, you can get some great books on art, architecture, design etc.
@@PixelArchitectyou should add a rush hour to the game!!!
Looks great! Cant wait to play! Another thing the mail could have is you could subscribe to magazines or newsletters for tips or recipes. Imagine getting an issue of Chefs United that has a new variant of a recipe that you already use? Or in Hunters Monthly, learn where certain rare animals like to call home. Things like that would be pretty interesting!
That's a cool idea! It would help add to the lore of the game world. And having some tips could act like mini tutorials. Can definitely add something like this down the road. Appreciate the comment :)
+1 for this. great idea!
This is an amazing idea
Great idea!
Idk if this is already a feature, but since the party system would have the player redesigning their restaurant somewhat often, it might be nice to have prefabs of their favourite designs so they don't have to remake the same design after every party. Maybe it could be something that the player unlocks over time. Anyways, love the game and looking forward to playing soon!
Didn't get to it in the video, but that feature was added before I began working on the parties :) There are 4 furniture layout save slots currently. Yeah it would suck to have to re-design it each time
@@PixelArchitect Oh that's great! I shared the idea of having a seperate room players unlock specifically to be able to host parties to avoid always changing our hard-designed restaurants for the guests but this option is so much more straightforward hahah
I think a lot of the appeal for these types of games is how heartwarming some scenarios would be. If there was let's say an elderly couple that could celerate their anniversary and we actually get to learn their story on that day.. etc. etc.
The critic leaving an actual review is such a great game feature, I loved pausing and reading that.
One thing to note, I would definitely make it so that in the mailbox the most recent mail comes in at the top :)
And a sorting system in general! I have mailbox menu by aedenthorne in stardew, since I like reading back on old mail. Would be nice to have that kind of feature.
As a solo game dev myself who is working on an open-world farming game, this devlog series has been so inspirational for me, probably one of the main reasons why I started working on my own game. Super hyped for Chef RPG and I wishh you all the best bro! 💪
Best of luck with your game! I remember getting inspired by the Last Night and Stardew 4 years ago so the cycle continues hehe
Parties seems like a good way to bring in events like birthdays, weddings/anniversaries, conferences, retirement parties, baby showers, fundraisers, graduations. And especially predictable repeating seasonal events like holidays and festivals.
I love the idea of critics and the newspaper aesthetic for the results look great and realistic and immersive. But one thing that would make the article easier to read, is to add subheadings to the different topics of the article. Its also something that is used in actual newspapers to let the reader know what the next section will be about.
Also, I really hope that we will have a lot of different vegetarian dishes and non alcoholic drinks to choose from, because I would love to open a casual Cafe that serves different teas and some "low key" dishes, like salads, simple sandwitches or different desserts. Also love being able to plant and harvest my own ingredients to sustain my restaurant, so its great that you added a way to easily see which dishes are meat/vegetarian/vegan dishes and the added challenge of only serving vegetarian or vegan dishes. I will definetly buy the Early Access version when it comes out on Steam :D.
I strongly agree with newspaper criticism!
I loved this devlog! Been following for so long, it's hard to believe the EA launch is almost here.
Re: the newspaper, it might be a good idea to bold the first sentence of sections that players are scored on (decor, food taste, etc.). That way people can skim and see what contributed to the score, or can read more in-depth for more lore/reasoning. Reading the whole thing each time might eventually become tiring. Either way, looking forward to the launch date trailer!
15:51 Lol that part about the gift box is so relatable. As a fellow designer these hyper fixation moments happen to me to haha. That cracked me up.
I almost never buy a game early or on release. I usually wait 2-3 years for the price to come down. This is one of the rare games I plan to buy on release at full price.
Yeee. Well with no publisher, the game won't be priced too high anyways. Some indie games are a bit overpriced these days
You have inspired me to develop my own game. Even though its beem two months and i haven't even achieved half of what you did in your first devlog i hope to get there eventually!
Best of luck with your game!
Just as I'm about to head to bed. I have to say your Devlog are quite relaxing to listen and fall asleep to. Just based on the title alone adding critics and I assume hosting parties are going to be amazing added features. I wait patiently for Chef RPG to release and when it does I can't wait to hop on and start my journey!
Glad you enjoy these videos :) You must be from the other side of the world hehe
10:29 The "Postbriefkasten" 😂
I love everything about this update!
The new UI looks soo much more welcoming, I love it! And I also absolutely love the newspaper reviews of the critics. That looks so lovely!
I love the colors of the new interfaces, they're more lively !
The anecdote about you being so excited about the gift box was so incredibly endearing hahah, anyone having worked a long time on a project knows that feeling of getting 'weirdly' attached to tiny aspects of it
The ability to play through the entire game with a vegetarian or vegan menu is huge! Stardew Valley has vegan mods but you can't play the entire game that way natively. Chef RPG is really setting itself apart from the competition with the ability to do vegetarian and vegan runs without having to mod. Just a thought; if someone is doing a vegan playthrough, then they most likely would want to avoid having to fight/hunt the animals out in the forest as part of that run. Not sure if the ability to avoid the fighting/hunting mechanic exists or not yet, but just thought I'd bring it up. This game looks awesome so far! Can't wait to play it once it comes out!
Glad you like that! Balancing the restaurant will definitely be a big challenge down the road, but could lead to some interesting gameplay. Hunting & fishing are completely optional. A couple for optional quests will involve hunting & fishing, but none of the main story will require it
As always great job! Here are my takes on what could be improved in general:
What about updating the old gray UI of the inventory too? i really like the new one you showed in this devlog!
Another thing i would like to see is more social interaction between people, because as it seems now they just walk endlessly in the town without a purpose. Maybe you could do this by adding people chatting in groups, people talking on the phone, people buying food like ice cream or carrying bags with dresses, in short, anything that would make us feel that the people in the town are alive.
In rainy days it would be cool to see people using umbrellas and a proper outfit depending on the weather.
You can add special day events in the town like stardew valley's dev did; maybe a cooking competition, a concert, a dance night and more.
That's all it comes to my mind atm, hope it helps! Can't wait to play the game! :D
I have to know: did you ever play “Delicious” by GameHouse? I’ve been on the dev team for most of them. A restaurant game with a focus on story, but still very different from yours.
I recognize the phases your project is going through but the fact that you’re single handedly making so many aspects of the game blows my mind.
One tip that helped more players enjoy our game: Dynamic Difficulty.
- add a “next customer” button to speed up the day and avoid lulls for good players.
- when people “fail” in time critical part, make the requirements a bit less daunting the next time (in a non-obvious way). Reset them on a “win”.
- do not scold players in the reviews. They already know they messed up. Make it fun and a bit cheeky instead. Gordon Ramsey is only fun if you’re not the victim.
Anyway, much respect and I’ll look out for the E.A.!
These are good tips. I had the same thought about the Gordon Ramsay bit. Especially more casual players, not everyone wants to be chastised
I love the party/event hosting feature! I hope you will add a button that's essentially normal/event mode which will allow you to save your decoration layout for once the party is over, instead of having to redo everything from scratch (especially if you really love the current layout or are in late game). The option would then toggle between this and a layout for the party, and serve as a quality of life feature.
Yay, a new devlog! What would be cool idea is if there's critics and newspapers with different "rankings." For instance, early in the game, the critics can be from the local paper, and the critics will become more esteemed throughout the game. Later on in the game, they can be famous national/worldwide critics writing for big newspapers! This would help add a sense of advancement/improvement in the game instead of randomly rotating between different critics (and would help make more sense with being able to achieve 10 stars in early game). If you have multiple restaurants, you'll probably have some type of reputation boost from your first restaurant, but your new restaurant will have to start at the beginning with only local critics! And +1 with the other comment about adding a temporary buff for a period of time where you will receive more customers or celebrity guests if you get a good review! I love your work and can't wait to see more!
I love watching your updates. The vibes of these videos are so calm and interesting, plus its amazing seeing all the work you're putting into this game! Great pick for the new UI updates. I can't wait to play your game ☆
Happy to hear the UI changes were in the right direction :)
One thing I really recommend as you get into gameplay loops and the nitty gritty of mechanics is to make a working demo to get these ideas in front of playtesters. You can come up with loads of good ideas but they might not pan out in the implementation, and you can't know that until you put the game in front of other people and get feedback. I worry that you are adding all these systems but may not have gotten enough feedback to know if they're working together and making a good gameplay experience
The Critics and the newspaper functions similar to a progress check. My recommendation is that the important aspects of the paper be highlighted so that those who don't want to read can still check their progress throughout the game. The newspaper doesn't even need to focus on the critics as you can utilize them for any major event happening in the town like how Stardew does its festival announcements a few days before or if a new mechanic or character has arrived.
would be nice if the furniture have multiple style tags so when players decorate for the parties, they have some options instead of only one set of furniture to choose if they want to get more stars!
I really love the dept and effort you put into the critic reviews because its such a cool thing gameplay and immersion wise. In my opinion an often overlooked part of what makes an RPG immersive is NPC's reaction to the player character and not just the player reacting to them. To have a somewhat belivable NPC give their opinion/reaction to a thing from their perspective really sells that they are real and in a living world. These kinds of reactions are also fun to discover and if the player does something goofy it can be a great joke or if the player does something the NPC likes or hates its a good way to flesh out that NPC's personality/character
I want to say that I love your videos.
I do not intend to create a video game in the near future, but I love to discover the processes, the way of thinking, etc.
And, as an amateur composer/songwriter, it’s very inspiring and helps a lot in crafting ideas, moods, themes, etc.
Thank you 🙂
I cant wait to just explore this game... Explore the mechanics, scenery, characters etc....
Maybe for a future expansion there will be an option to have a separate area (floor lvl) to held events and you can prepare food in advance just like a buffet style so you can still have a going service for guests in another room. Looking forward to this game!!
1.Allergic system
2.Atm and bank system to keep your money withdraw money and loans etc
3.Break up system for relationship
How about some special food items from home/a family member in the mail? Special seed packets for growing herbs? A timecapsule-esque letter your PC wrote to themselves when they were little? Some mysterious fanmail by an all too obsessed restaurant/food fangirl?
Damn these are all really good ideas. I'll for sure look into these down the road. Would be very cozy to get a food package from "mom" from time to time.
A lot of my friends are from abroad and every month or two get a giant package of hyperspecific (and waaay too much portions of) Turkey- or Taiwan-only items that you can't find anywhere else and it just seeps family love whenever they talk about it, + it inspires food parties where they share and cook as much as possible and explain what everything is :) Good foody vibes, big recommend :) Love the game, excited to play!
It's wonderful to see another devlog from you and your team! I've always loved how comfy your game looks and am always genuinely surprised by all of your progress and improvement. Stay strong! Can't wait to see more updates! ❤️❤️❤️🎉🎉🎉✨✨✨
These videos tickle my creativity so much, and the game itself looks so fun to play. You rock!
Insane to see what the progress of this game has been over the years. Great work! cant wait to play the game. One thing I noticed, was about the newspaper. I can think of people might be too lazy or have difficulties reading too much text to receive the necessairy informations from it. Did you might think of adding like a star score to the individual underlying parts of the review as well? It could help getting a better overview of what might failed in the first few seconds and then a more detailed information of what exactly failed in that categorie.
That´s what came to my mind in an instant when I saw that newspaper 😅
Anyway, cant wait to destroy the critics with a delicous vegan ramen hahaha xD
That's a good point. In that case there could be a side popup where you can get a star breakdown of each category. Just don't want too many visual elements on the newspaper. I'll look into it!
Or maybe, in each section you can bold and/or recolor the word in the paragraph describing the result (poor/decent/great/something else) in red or blue/green so for those who dont want to read the entirity of the text can know in which aspect they need to fix in just a glance.
I love your devlogs! It‘s always so interesting to hear about the thoughts going into implementing different stuff and the way you go about your videos makes it so easy to follow along. Definitely looking forward the release!
you could add something like the Michelin star system when players reach the late game.
Yeah for sure. Definitely gives some more incentive to play. Also wanted to add some sort of restaurant ranking system. Will have to wait for the 1.0 launch unfortunately
Been so fun watching all your devlogs and progress.
Omg! The parties sound so fun to do, and obviously the critic is a great idea. I know it’s weird to say since I don’t know you but I’m so proud of you. Just amazing commitment and critical thinking skills. I continue to be excited for this game. Thank you for sharing your journey
-Also having a notebook where you can see the history of all the parties you’ve held would be fun to see your progress (you may have already implemented this, but I just wanted to point it out) :)
Hey man, just wanna say you’re a huge inspiration for me, as I’m currently learning the ropes of game dev. Your art style is very cozy and you do a great job explaining your thought process in your videos, which I’m thankful for. I’ll def get the game on release :)
I've been following your channel for so long - almost from the first design stages of Chef RPG - I can't wait for it to be released :) You've done a fantastic work and I'm so glad I stumbled upon this project!
What I would recommend is some indicators while people eat the food, whether it tastes really good or if it's really awful. Dave the Diver had this system more or less, where you knew, when you had a good performance or not while serving. In Chef RPG, either through vocalization of joy and disgust or some dialogue bubbles, you can identify how well you're doing, allowing you to continue to give it all and potentially identify inconsistencies in your service or cooking, that you need to improve as you work on it.
If you could create personas for the critics, they could support the story a bit. Some may have a specific focus, which earns you extra points when you succeed in that area of preference. Maybe if you create a connection with another character, that is known in the restaurant critic business, they can tell you who is (or might be) coming and what they're going to look for in your visit. It allows the player to have some control to prepare before the critic arrives.
the food looks so good :D watching this project develop has been so inspiring, take care of yourself during the final stretch till 1.0!
Can’t say how much I love your art, your devlogs and of course the Chef RPG. Waiting still September last year!!
I'm so excited for this. I've been following along for awhile now - love the videos you've been sharing on it! They're so inspiring!
I’ve got a couple different ideas for things you could add. First, some party quests could maybe come in the mail as a more personal offer.
And for the food critic, you could have the review impact your restaurant’s customer count. A bad review may mean 2 less customers come the day it’s published, or a great review may book you up for 3 days. This means critics not only affect how you decide to play the game, but they also affect the game and world itself.
can't wait to see your final product, even in early access. you're doing great man. it's crazy to see someone go from no development or coding knowledge, to producing such an amazing piece of entertainment. i'm going to have so much fun playing. thanks for making a new cozy game for us to look forward to playing when we get home from a long day at work.
Thanks Emma! Yeah it's been quite a journey. 4 years is a long time to work on a project, so pretty exciting to finally get it out there
I can't even begin to describe how excited I am for this game. You've put so much time and effort and it really shows. There is so much creativity here and it has been amazing watching the development and improvement, especially with the inspiration from other games of which I am obsessed with. I have such a deeper appreciation for this game, keep up the good work!
Damn you're even adding critics and parties too. I wouldn't even think of that. And it seems so intricate too, this game keeps getting more and more exciting! I really like how you thought about making the UI more fun and visually more appealing. It's so important to make UI super readable the second you open it. Many games have this list-of-numbers type of UI and its fine, but you are more playing the UI than the actual game. I think besides the vegan menu, you could also do android menus/parties too? Androids look really cool in your world and I would think they have their own favourite foods as well.
You might be an architect previously, but you are a masterful game designer/dev! Not to mention, your vids are always so well edited and educational too.
Been following the journey of this game for a while now and am always amazed by the work and dedication your team puts into this!
I have no idea if these have been suggested yet but I thought these might be cool to add!
- Maybe some animations for the star scores? Like a spin before going into place or a big stamp into the parchment? This might have already been considered 😅
- The mailbox could be used to send out food deliveries! Maybe to Billboard City, in a future update, after release! Maybe depending on location, you could hire a delivery person or deliver it by foot if it’s nearby
- The mailbox reminds me a lot of Slime Rancher and its fun upgrades once you join this elite club. So maybe you could pay for outside decor for the restaurant or additions? Change up the aesthetic?
Please keep up the great work! I check this channel like everyday! Love seeing creators create!
September 12 gon be lit
I love to see all the work you put into this game, definitely seated for the early access!!
It still blows my mind how you came up with so many features for your game.
Im just soo excited for this game. Loving every new devlog and all the passion and love that goes into it!
I remember seeing one of the first vids ages ago and thought it was awesome. I just recently stumbled upon the series again and re watched it all funny that you release another video just after i finished. keep up the great work i cant wait to play this game!
Thank you for this update! I've been following your progress since it was possible to do so. Keep up the excellent work!!
Hi, thank you for your DevLog videos, love your art style and the relaxed nature of your videos.
I'm really looking forward to the early access release of your game!
Keep it up! 😉
Wait... im already excited for this project but the idea of doing some event planning/restaurant curating SOUNDS AMAZING omg
Maybe some catering event quests? In a specific time period preparing foods and drinks (maybe some cakes etc) the customer asks, and deliver it to whatever the address is. And also make the catering event in their place. ( their shops, homes etc) Heating the food, serving food and drinks, also maybe putting up some small decorations.. It could be good to have events and parties outside of the restaurant in different enviroments. Baby shower parties even funeral cattering idk (sorry for my english)
Man, I'm just amazed by how much love and delicacy you are putting in this game. I love it!
I'm not sure if this was already implemented or in the works, but the mail system could be used for contracts. In the case that you have many things planned and don't have the time to gather ingredients, you could approach someone or perhaps a gatherer's/hunter's guild of sorts and then pay them to fetch stuff for you!
They'd then deliver it via mail after a few days or so depending on the difficulty of the request.
It could also be possible that the more you use their services, you get access to rarer or more difficult-to-obtain items. By that point I'd imagine the player has already accumulated enough wealth to consistently use the service.
((Also love the idea of critics! It gives off the vibe of the "Closer" customers from the Papa's games LOL))
i hope he adds this idea could balance the good
Commenting to show my support! I work a full time and 2 part time jobs so I don’t have time or money to afford a game but I’ve been really invested in your game thus far. I’m looking forward to it, and hoping that by the time your game comes out, I’ll have enough time and money haha ☺️
Watching this game being made was like watching a sculptor sculpt. Art.
So amazed at all the work. Beautiful.
I love the critic / review system! As an avid cozy gamer and hobby foodie home cook this game ticks all of the right boxes for me. I've been following your dev log since the beginning and am excited for release. Cheers!
take your time! no need to rush. i can wait as long as you keep adding more contents and features to the game! its so fun to watch even if its only an devlog.
This devlog has been really awesome as we know what devs are doing behind the scenes and how much effort they put into the game. I am eagerly waiting for this game for months and now i am excited about the trailer that has yet to come☺☺.
Can't wait to buy this game, amazing progress. If you haven't thought of it already, I would recommend adding undercover critics in the future, so the player just wakes up to see the review in the mail. Good way to keep the chef on their toes!
your dev journey strangely is a comfort and inspiration to me. much love and respect.
Thank you for another dev log! This game is such an eye candy, and your voice helps me to sleep!
OMG I can't wait anymore! I haven't been this excited about a game in a long time. the game looks super complete and worked in detail
I am really glad that I found out about your vlog , It's make me more(more than I already was 😊) excited and looking forward for the game launch.
I've been watching since the first devlogs and I'm super excited for this. But do take care of yourself.
I've been watching these for so long! I can't wait for the release- I check a few times a week for any updates haha
You're putting these videos out faster than I can watch them 😂 Love it ❤ wish you all the best!
Loving these new features. Super amazing progress. Can't wait to play it!
Been here since the beginning - will be purchasing to support you in early access!
hi dev! i've been following your chef rpg development for about 2 years now and this is my first time commenting but just wanted to congratulate you! it probably feels way different to you, but to me it feels like you got this game together so quickly and it looks like such a high quality game! so keen to start playing this - wish you all the best!
it would be cool if you can host birthday parties for npcs on their bdays instead of just giving gifts like in SV
I’ve been checking every day on steam so I can charge it 🤗 I’ve been watching your videos forever! I’m in love with the aesthetic you got going on and can’t wait to play. This is such a great game changer. I love cafe food games but it’s so hard to find one where you can have a home and a city to live in with seasons and beautiful pixel art.
I hope later on if you haven’t already maybe add a kitchen as a separate room and a party room maybe even a waiting bench area and give them lil beeper things to let them know there table is ready ooo and idk but back in the day with the urbz DS game I remember always being excited to have the option of moving into different homes in different areas of the city and furnishing them. It always pushed me to work hard on my 5 jobs lol just some ideas 😅 the futuristic cyberpunk aesthetic would be amazing to see from the windows
WOW I subbed awhile back and watched videos hoping to follow your journey but life got busy and now I just saw this pop up! It looks incredible and I am 100% still going to support when its released!! YAY so cool to see your progress.
So excited!! Can't believe i've been following this project for .. I think 2 years now! It's come so far!!
Very nice! Your pixel art is so amazing
While I'm not a cosy game aficionado, I do love stardew valley, and I worked in bars and restaurants for years.
As someone who worked in these environments, I think you should make sure to theme certain features so they align with that type of experience. For example:
Party jobs/requests should come in to the restaurant itself, via your computer or in a Reservation book. Customers usually call the restaurant or send an email to place a booking, so it feels a bit weird that they are also being found on a bulletin board. As an extra in-game context, customers calling in to book a party is an indicator your restaurant is becoming more popular, and events/parties could be more of a big deal, like a sort of Boss.
You can also have larger groups that don't book out a venue, for example if your restaurant holds 20, you can get groups of 10 which require more organisation to serve effectively while also managing normal 2 person tables and walk-ins.
Also, as an idea for your reward/gift screen, the parchment works but maybe consider styling it after a receipt, like the final bill at the end of the night. You can have a full list of the items sold, any tip the left, etc. As you said, the cool thing in stardew valley is when you see everything you sold being tallied up at the end. Seeing every dish you prepared and item you sold being listed out sounds pretty accomplishing.
Personal idea: add the ability to sneak items onto party bills. Sometimes when we had large parties from big companies that have a company card, we'd sneak on a few drinks or items for staff at the end of the night if they were a tough party or didn't leave tips (a bit crappy I know, but so were they!). Might not fit with this style of game, as its a bit risk/reward, but just a thought.
Good idea
This is so beautiful and cozy! Im looking forward to playing🥹
I've just discovered this game, and it's EVERYTHING I've always wanted!An RPG with a big focus on food😆 Thank you, thank you, thank you very much!!!
Something that got my attention though, is that the host was one of the first to leave after the party on the footage that you used, like, they didn't bid the guests goodbye to then come and speak to us about how the party went and our performance managing the restaurant during it; just a nitpick though...
Love these new features!
For the parties it might be interesting to also have different types, like fixed menu, buffet, or a dish selection.
You could up the rewards for the more labour intense once, and have a lower stuff requirement for buffet but more preparation time.
So looking forward to this game!
This is looking soooo gnarly!!! I cannot wait till release!!
Dave the Diver does a really great job of implementing both these ideas into its gameplay loop! I cant wait to see this in the final game!
your work is incredible :o
and the box does look great :)
take care!
Hey, absolutely love your devlogs, can't wait for the early access! One minor suggestion for your critic review from a player who has played quite a few text games: You could highlight a few important bits of information. As you mentioned yourself, some people don't like reading that much, and highlights could make it easier for them to extract the information they need from the reviews (:
cant wait for the release! Love these devlogs
im going to be overwhelmed with joy when this comes out!!!!
I cant wait until this drops ive been following this game for so long
とっても面白そうなゲームで興味を持ちました！
いつか日本語が実装されたらうれしいです。
楽しみ。
I like your ideas and devlog pitch, as well as the things you added, flowed smoothly. Also, understanding what the user needs by reading reviews is the best way to push ideas forward. After you integrated those ideas, the game looks more vibrant. :) The vibe of the game reminds me of Dave the Diver's restaurant management mechanics. Looking forward to playing soon and wish you all the best! ^^
it looks beautiful. great dev log
Wow! Impressive I'm really excited to enjoy this game one day.
I love these so much! So inspiring and well done! Can't wait to experience this game when it releases. Hopefully it will work on my handheld pc. lol
Ah, I love how you explain all of this! Stardew Valley is my all time favourite cozy game and I'm very much looing forward to the release of your game.
An idea for what to receive in the mail: "Gossip" from villagers what certain other villagers like or dislike as a gift :)
Also, I really like that you've considered the vegan and veggy option!
Keep up your fantastic work!
Glad you like it so far :) Yeah a lot of possibilities with the mailbox. Gossip is an interesting idea - I guess you can get hints about what a specific Npc is up to.
This is so relaxing
I can’t believe it’s been 4 years since I ran into your first game log. Congratulations seriously I’m lookigm forward to the early access of chef rpg. It must feel surreal seeing that dream about to bloom into players hands. Would love to hear your thoughts on that journey in a future dev log. Anyways I never really comment just admired and checked the progress of the game as a game dev myself and I wanted to just spread some love and admiration to your art , game and journey. Looking forward to the trailer. .cheers
I love the critic aspect, sounds so fun!