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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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! 💪
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!
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
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.
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 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.
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.
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!
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!
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
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) :)
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
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!
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 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.!
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 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!
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!
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 🙂
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.
I want to deeply, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for making these videos. By sharing your process you are helping a ridiculous amount of us, and/or "just" providing super high-quality, comforting content. I am not able to understand how hard you must be working both on the game and these videos. Just thank you thank you thank you. Hope you are doing well!
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
Mailbox. One idea of what we can get once per playthrough: -a prank from a random kid -one wrong address letter... this becomes a quest; we need to discover the real addressee and give them the letter or package; it could be any NPC, and each NPC could have a unique or almost unique reward, maybe one has a new hairstyle for us to try, maybe three have original recipes that can be used in special dates or parties for extra points) -a mystery box, you need a key or code to open, it doesn't have the sender's name... perhaps someone stole something from somewhere and to avoid getting caught they hid it in your mailbox, but was unable to get it back before you found it. -letters from a secret admirer -letters from a secret admirer, but it's a creep
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!
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! 😉
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.
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!
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 loooove watching your devlogs. Every day you post its a good one, and it hypes me up for the game. Like really, I love seeing the passion you put on this and that it genuinely is still something you are enjoying doing. I am so looking forward to the trailer and early access. :) With the party system, I wonder if it could be a fun thing to, if your game uses a calendar system like Stardew, to on certain Characters birthday dates receive a 'Quest Mail' from another related(or not) character proposing a Surprise Party. I think it would be an interesting way to add some personality since in itself is a character building question. 'If a character in your cast is on his birthday, who greets him, who doesn't, who throws a party and who doesn't go? And why?' Another thing that could be fun to receive in Mail is 'unimportant mail', spam?, news, maybe a character sends a letter to the character by accident, etc. It can be used as a nice tool for flavor, worldbuilding and even some tips to other aspects of the game that may not be as clear as the Restaurant side, like hunting or relationships. 'Be aware of X-animal sighting at North', 'The juicy gossip of the day is X-npc likes eating X-dish.' and so on.
Appreciate the comment! Having birthday related events could be neat. Surprise parties is a good idea since it's could be like a miniquest. Will look into it :) Yeah the mailbox seems like a good way to generate world-building / immersion material. A lot of possibilities to add for sure!
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!
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 ☺️
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 (:
Gosh listening to you gives me so much hope for a new fun game. You sound like a complete expert in game design. Comparing your game to popular games like stardew and vampire survival is great to hear. Thats how I know you are going to make a great game because your not just pulling things that sound like they will be good but things that have been proven to work. Excited to play this
Definitely not an expert haha, but I do have a high standard for games I play. Really appreciate the kind words. Hopefully game will be good by the end - time is the biggest hurdle now
I also started my restaurant game because of your devlogs. But don’t worry I will try to make mine as different as possible still being a restaurant game. Your videos were so motivating when I was trying to get into game dev. Thank you and I hope that you can finish the game.
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
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☺☺.
Feedback and Ideas: My only worry with the guests wanting a change of decor is that, if you spend a lot of time making your restaurant pretty according to your own tastes, it can be very frustrating having to switch furniture around for this. I know you said it's not mandatory for the challenge, but still the fact that it's needed to get the maximum amount of satisfaction may 'force' people to change their beloved hand-picked decor anyway. Perhaps having a seperate room from the rest of the building just for privatized evenings could help? Perhaps that room is something we could unlock at some point in the game (once the gameloop reaches that 'repetitive' point you worry about) and then the possibility of hosting parties becomes available?
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...
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.
it would be cool if the better review you got from the critics would effect the customers. The better the review, the more customers would come in and on top of that the higher their standards. So late game if you get 10 diamond stars from a critic people like leaders, celebrities, etc would come eat there! (also please add Morton Hamsey as the most famous food critic lmao)
i know its a relatively niche and small thing but being able to have your entire restaurant be vegan or vegetarian from the get go, complete the game that way and not missing anything, its really accomodating and thoughtful. now i can live my dream of making my fully vegan menu in a cooking game 😊😊 i have seen your devlogs for a long time and im super excited for the game!
I'm not sure if this has been implemented in the game, but it would be super cool and a definite dopamine hit is to change the appearance of the disk whenever the player upgrades the disk. It would make sense to start out as an amateur chef making ok-looking disks to eventually become a Gordon Ramsey making a gourmet-worthy disk. This is a huge task to undertake but it would add so much enjoyment to the game.
love the newspapers! would be awesome to have other stuff show up in them and not just reviews. maybe reports on stuff going on in the town, interviews with noteable npcs. anyways i’m so hyped for the trailer
Bro... your art... is beautiful. I'm designing a pixel game, about a hacker. I've been playing with assets and whatnot for a while... your art is absolutely beautiful. I'm gonna watch all your vids and learn how to do it. The day my game comes out, I'm absolutely giving you a shout-out. This is stunning, and the little I've watched has already helped me. You're amazing man.
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! ^^
Would be nice to have the option to either decorate yourself for the parties or pay extra to have your restaurant decorated for you to the style you want
This is not absolutely necessary but I feel like maybe the special parties could work better if they were hosted on a second floor that was only used for events. Because it makes more sense both ingame and in the world because even if there is decoration prefabs it would feel kinda goofy to have a well designed restaurant that you need to completely refurbish for 1 day and then refurbish it again into what it was before. Also it could open up more possibilities because the second floor does not need to have a second kitchen meaning there is more space for customers or special decorations like maybe a bar counter. The second floor could also just work as a regular extension of the restaurant when there is no parties so unlocking it is more of a reward. But yeah needing to constantly redecorate your entire restaurant for every party feels kinda weird because I think most if not all restaurants in real life have a seperate event space if its big enough
You have no idea how happy I am seeing you finally update! I been checking your channel now and then from the last video you uploaded. I loved the idea of the mail box!, what if there some random mails with recipes that increase your cooking skills?. also I don't know if you mentioned this before or not but is the size of the restaurant can be bigger with the progress of the game?. Finally I'm so excited for the trailer, keep it up!!!.
Every time I get the notification, I stop whatever I'm doing to watch the new Devlog, you have no idea. Some things I would love to see in the game for exemple: Making you talk directly to npcs around town to hire new staff for the restaurant instead of doing it directly in the menu, and maybe adding another floor with the possibility of hiring live music.
I love this game that you are making and I really can’t wait until it comes out 😂. I am not a game dev what so ever so I have no idea whether or not these are even viable, but I got some ideas 1) a customisable interior for the restaurant I. Floor, brewery stuff, bar counter thing etc… (basically skins for them) 2) You can earn Michelin stars which attracts high value customers; however, if you mess up or stuff like that it can really affect your reputation 3) secret dishes that can be unlocked thought side quests such as “grandmas secret pie recipe” Love your vids man!
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.
loved this video! i’ve been looking forward to playing this game since i saw the devlog, and i’ve been crossing my fingers for it to be possible to play as a vegetarian and have a vegetarian menu, but you even have vegan options! looking more forward to it than ever now 💖
I'm hoping there also a coffee shop or bakery theme as well since i always wanted to run one. I graduated from college with a bakery/pastry degree and my teacher always said "if cooking is like a pyramid then chefs are at the bottom, bakers are in the middle, and chocolate makers are at the top for skills required to perfect there craft" Anyways this is the game I'm imagining spending years playing. I'm really looking forward to the release this game, looks so good already.
all the new features seems to balance out the game a lot, love it. especially the critic system seems like a fun lore friendly way to get feedback about how to play better
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!!!
@@teardropinc5372 i agree that sounds exciting
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.
yes exactly - most of these games dont do stuff like that.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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 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.
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.
As a dev, it blows my mind that this isn't the main game but just another feature. This could be an entire game / DLC! amazing work
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 love the colors of the new interfaces, they're more lively !
I cant wait to just explore this game... Explore the mechanics, scenery, characters etc....
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!
These videos tickle my creativity so much, and the game itself looks so fun to play. You rock!
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!
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
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) :)
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
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!
1.Allergic system
2.Atm and bank system to keep your money withdraw money and loans etc
3.Break up system for relationship
allergies is so smart!
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 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
just love these devlogs. The narratives are engaging, the mechanics looks fun to make and well tought, and the art... the art is just incredible
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 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!
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!
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 🙂
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.
I want to deeply, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for making these videos. By sharing your process you are helping a ridiculous amount of us, and/or "just" providing super high-quality, comforting content. I am not able to understand how hard you must be working both on the game and these videos. Just thank you thank you thank you. Hope you are doing well!
Wait... im already excited for this project but the idea of doing some event planning/restaurant curating SOUNDS AMAZING omg
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
Mailbox. One idea of what we can get once per playthrough:
-a prank from a random kid
-one wrong address letter... this becomes a quest; we need to discover the real addressee and give them the letter or package; it could be any NPC, and each NPC could have a unique or almost unique reward, maybe one has a new hairstyle for us to try, maybe three have original recipes that can be used in special dates or parties for extra points)
-a mystery box, you need a key or code to open, it doesn't have the sender's name... perhaps someone stole something from somewhere and to avoid getting caught they hid it in your mailbox, but was unable to get it back before you found it.
-letters from a secret admirer
-letters from a secret admirer, but it's a creep
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!
I love to see all the work you put into this game, definitely seated for the early access!!
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! 😉
I've been watching since the first devlogs and I'm super excited for this. But do take care of yourself.
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.
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!
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 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 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 would like to add a feature that the better the reviews are the more guests our restaurant receives, this would add a layer of immersion
I loooove watching your devlogs. Every day you post its a good one, and it hypes me up for the game. Like really, I love seeing the passion you put on this and that it genuinely is still something you are enjoying doing. I am so looking forward to the trailer and early access. :)
With the party system, I wonder if it could be a fun thing to, if your game uses a calendar system like Stardew, to on certain Characters birthday dates receive a 'Quest Mail' from another related(or not) character proposing a Surprise Party. I think it would be an interesting way to add some personality since in itself is a character building question. 'If a character in your cast is on his birthday, who greets him, who doesn't, who throws a party and who doesn't go? And why?'
Another thing that could be fun to receive in Mail is 'unimportant mail', spam?, news, maybe a character sends a letter to the character by accident, etc. It can be used as a nice tool for flavor, worldbuilding and even some tips to other aspects of the game that may not be as clear as the Restaurant side, like hunting or relationships. 'Be aware of X-animal sighting at North', 'The juicy gossip of the day is X-npc likes eating X-dish.' and so on.
Appreciate the comment! Having birthday related events could be neat. Surprise parties is a good idea since it's could be like a miniquest. Will look into it :)
Yeah the mailbox seems like a good way to generate world-building / immersion material. A lot of possibilities to add for sure!
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!
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 ☺️
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 (:
Gosh listening to you gives me so much hope for a new fun game. You sound like a complete expert in game design. Comparing your game to popular games like stardew and vampire survival is great to hear. Thats how I know you are going to make a great game because your not just pulling things that sound like they will be good but things that have been proven to work. Excited to play this
Definitely not an expert haha, but I do have a high standard for games I play. Really appreciate the kind words. Hopefully game will be good by the end - time is the biggest hurdle now
Watching this game being made was like watching a sculptor sculpt. Art.
So amazed at all the work. Beautiful.
I also started my restaurant game because of your devlogs. But don’t worry I will try to make mine as different as possible still being a restaurant game. Your videos were so motivating when I was trying to get into game dev. Thank you and I hope that you can finish the game.
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
Can’t say how much I love your art, your devlogs and of course the Chef RPG. Waiting still September last year!!
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☺☺.
Man, I'm just amazed by how much love and delicacy you are putting in this game. I love it!
People are going to make the best mods for this game! I can't wait for this! This game has so many cute recipes!
your dev journey strangely is a comfort and inspiration to me. much love and respect.
it would be cool if you can host birthday parties for npcs on their bdays instead of just giving gifts like in SV
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
So excited!! Can't believe i've been following this project for .. I think 2 years now! It's come so far!!
Thank you for another dev log! This game is such an eye candy, and your voice helps me to sleep!
Feedback and Ideas: My only worry with the guests wanting a change of decor is that, if you spend a lot of time making your restaurant pretty according to your own tastes, it can be very frustrating having to switch furniture around for this. I know you said it's not mandatory for the challenge, but still the fact that it's needed to get the maximum amount of satisfaction may 'force' people to change their beloved hand-picked decor anyway.
Perhaps having a seperate room from the rest of the building just for privatized evenings could help? Perhaps that room is something we could unlock at some point in the game (once the gameloop reaches that 'repetitive' point you worry about) and then the possibility of hosting parties becomes available?
Been here since the beginning - will be purchasing to support you in early access!
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...
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.
Brilliant video. I love the idea of critics and parties in this game! It'd be awesome to see NPCs running about town excited for parties too.
it would be cool if the better review you got from the critics would effect the customers. The better the review, the more customers would come in and on top of that the higher their standards. So late game if you get 10 diamond stars from a critic people like leaders, celebrities, etc would come eat there!
(also please add Morton Hamsey as the most famous food critic lmao)
i know its a relatively niche and small thing but being able to have your entire restaurant be vegan or vegetarian from the get go, complete the game that way and not missing anything, its really accomodating and thoughtful. now i can live my dream of making my fully vegan menu in a cooking game 😊😊 i have seen your devlogs for a long time and im super excited for the game!
I'm not sure if this has been implemented in the game, but it would be super cool and a definite dopamine hit is to change the appearance of the disk whenever the player upgrades the disk. It would make sense to start out as an amateur chef making ok-looking disks to eventually become a Gordon Ramsey making a gourmet-worthy disk. This is a huge task to undertake but it would add so much enjoyment to the game.
can't wait to play this!
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
time flies...now you mentioned it.. its been 4 years...aye..
cheers~
love the newspapers! would be awesome to have other stuff show up in them and not just reviews. maybe reports on stuff going on in the town, interviews with noteable npcs. anyways i’m so hyped for the trailer
Bro... your art... is beautiful. I'm designing a pixel game, about a hacker. I've been playing with assets and whatnot for a while... your art is absolutely beautiful. I'm gonna watch all your vids and learn how to do it. The day my game comes out, I'm absolutely giving you a shout-out. This is stunning, and the little I've watched has already helped me.
You're amazing man.
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! ^^
You're putting these videos out faster than I can watch them 😂 Love it ❤ wish you all the best!
Любимый разработчик
Спасибо тебе за видео о разработке
Желаю удачи твоему проекту
Would be nice to have the option to either decorate yourself for the parties or pay extra to have your restaurant decorated for you to the style you want
This is not absolutely necessary but I feel like maybe the special parties could work better if they were hosted on a second floor that was only used for events. Because it makes more sense both ingame and in the world because even if there is decoration prefabs it would feel kinda goofy to have a well designed restaurant that you need to completely refurbish for 1 day and then refurbish it again into what it was before. Also it could open up more possibilities because the second floor does not need to have a second kitchen meaning there is more space for customers or special decorations like maybe a bar counter. The second floor could also just work as a regular extension of the restaurant when there is no parties so unlocking it is more of a reward. But yeah needing to constantly redecorate your entire restaurant for every party feels kinda weird because I think most if not all restaurants in real life have a seperate event space if its big enough
You have no idea how happy I am seeing you finally update! I been checking your channel now and then from the last video you uploaded. I loved the idea of the mail box!, what if there some random mails with recipes that increase your cooking skills?. also I don't know if you mentioned this before or not but is the size of the restaurant can be bigger with the progress of the game?. Finally I'm so excited for the trailer, keep it up!!!.
Can't wait for the first launch. One thing you could add to the mail box is a sorting feature so it's easier to see the important mails by priority
im going to be overwhelmed with joy when this comes out!!!!
Every time I get the notification, I stop whatever I'm doing to watch the new Devlog, you have no idea. Some things I would love to see in the game for exemple: Making you talk directly to npcs around town to hire new staff for the restaurant instead of doing it directly in the menu, and maybe adding another floor with the possibility of hiring live music.
I love this game that you are making and I really can’t wait until it comes out 😂.
I am not a game dev what so ever so I have no idea whether or not these are even viable, but I got some ideas
1) a customisable interior for the restaurant I. Floor, brewery stuff, bar counter thing etc… (basically skins for them)
2) You can earn Michelin stars which attracts high value customers; however, if you mess up or stuff like that it can really affect your reputation
3) secret dishes that can be unlocked thought side quests such as “grandmas secret pie recipe”
Love your vids man!
Omg I was thinking about a special critic named “rordan gamsey” and he’s like the final boss critic 😂
Parties where everyone sits down at once? That’s something even The Sims can’t do! Very excited to play this game soon
Don't forget to spellcheck those reviews lol. Great progress, this game is really shaping up to be an indie gem. Can't wait for early access!
I cant wait until this drops ive been following this game for so long
Wow! Impressive I'm really excited to enjoy this game one day.
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.
very vibey Auld Lang Syne tune at the end! Loving the look of the game
loved this video! i’ve been looking forward to playing this game since i saw the devlog, and i’ve been crossing my fingers for it to be possible to play as a vegetarian and have a vegetarian menu, but you even have vegan options! looking more forward to it than ever now 💖
Marriage events would be perfect for a DLC! I could definitely see a DLC themed all around a multi-day marriage where everything seems to go wrong
I'm hoping there also a coffee shop or bakery theme as well since i always wanted to run one. I graduated from college with a bakery/pastry degree and my teacher always said "if cooking is like a pyramid then chefs are at the bottom, bakers are in the middle, and chocolate makers are at the top for skills required to perfect there craft"
Anyways this is the game I'm imagining spending years playing. I'm really looking forward to the release this game, looks so good already.
you best believe i'll be buying this on release day
yay!
I love the critic aspect, sounds so fun!
all the new features seems to balance out the game a lot, love it. especially the critic system seems like a fun lore friendly way to get feedback about how to play better