July Devlog!

Last month I began by musing about how scary big changes can be. This month we're finally seeing the results of those changes, and feeling pretty good about it!

Modular Sushi: It Just Tastes Better!

This is something James has been passionate about for a while now. We worked with our 3D modeler Aender to make each ingredient its own component.  What that means is that as you're scrolling through experimenting with different ingredients in your roll, you can see the individual pieces inside change. Not only that, you'll also see the size of the roll change based upon how many ingredients you're including.

Check, Please!

Like most people, I enjoy seeing numbers with "bonus" next to them, and there's a lot of that here, but I was surprised how fun the details are! Seeing which dishes the customer ate and being rewarded for variety and mood (that is, the mood a customer is in by the time they check out) adds another layer to the experience. In general, receipts are the capstone we've been looking for. It's a great way to check in with each customer just before they check out.

 Building Buildings

I promised last month that we'd start showing off the town of Rolling Hills soon. Although most of that is still under wraps, I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the exteriors. These are modeled by Aender and based off of beautiful concepts by Brittany.

Spinning Plates

I've saved this for last because it's a little tough to explain. Basically, we decided that once you purchase an ingredient for use in your restaurant, you can make as many dishes as you want to with it. You don't have to worry about paying each time. This makes things a lot easier to keep up with in terms of profits, and it doesn't punish experimentation. If you make something no one wants, then all you've wasted is a little time. But how do we prevent players from churning out a million random dishes and simply hoping for the best? We limit the number of plates! 

This is something I've been thinking about for a while because I like the loop: player serves a dish, customer eats it, customer takes their dirty plates to the register (just like a real conveyor belt sushi restaurant!), player cashes them out, then takes the dirty plates to the sink to wash them. As you clean each one you'll see it replenished in your plate total. Imagine how good it would feel to get the opportunity to purchase an extra plate?

On the next episode...

Oh geez, there's so much I want to add. We plan to spend most of August preparing our next convention-ready demo. That means getting a small portion of the town ready to explore and the furniture management system in. Now that our customers have moods and expectations, what furniture you buy and where you place it will have a big effect on the gameplay. Stay tuned!