April Devlog!

Sprint to ECGC

Woah, our first devlog! April began with an emphasis on preparing for a local games conference called ECGC. This was our first time showing our own game at a conference, so we were excited/super nervous. We knew we'd only be showing a small slice of the restaurant gameplay, but even to accomplish that we had a lot of work ahead of us. Primarily we needed to finalize many elements of the user interface.

New UI

We worked with the super talented Shae Humphries to bring the user interface to life. In our past projects, we did all that stuff ourselves, but we figured since Rolling Hills requires more information to be conveyed to the player, it would be best to get an expert on board. Shae was so helpful and I knew he excelled at the style we were looking for, so things progressed quickly. 

Here you can see some of the ingredient/recipe selection UI. The slots on the left side are what the dish require, and the icons on the right are the ingredients in your possession. For most dishes, you can use a variety of ingredients to complete the recipe. For instance, Nigiri is simply rice + any fish, vegetable or fruit. Meanwhile "named" dishes like the California Roll require specific ingredients. 

Looking at this now, I'm already thinking of changes that will probably be made, but we're really happy with the overall design and flow of crafting right now. The buttons in the bottom left let you choose between "add progress", "add love", and "use item". Crafting is a balancing act as you manage your stamina while making the highest quality dish possible. We may consider switching to a real-time system like Fantasy Life instead of the stamina bar, which is a bit confusing. The next time you see this screen that heart could be replaced with a clock! (geez, what a morbid contrast...)

Showtime

By the time ECGC "rolled" around, we had a demo ready that showcased our cute customers, the creative aspects of selecting ingredients, and the strategic sensation of crafting each dish. Not only were the attendees enthusiastic, but also the other developers which was a welcome surprise. Even devs who were making hardcore, violent games still made time to check us out and offer advice. I thought that was so cool! This being our first convention, we weren't sure what to expect, but players mostly said "when can I buy it?" and "why does it say 'prototype' in the corner?". Truthfully, what we showed would get very boring if you played for more than 30 minutes, but their enthusiasm confirmed that we were heading in the right direction.

What's Next?

Based on the feedback we received, we'd like to...

• Experiment with action elements in the crafting game to make it more engaging
• Let players "roll" play more. For instance, let's use the cash register to checkout instead of having the customer pay you directly
• Get more of the animal neighbors involved in the restaurant in a unique way
• Start showing more of the town outside the restaurant ASAP

To piggyback on that last point, the contrast between running the restaurant and exploring the town of Rolling Hills is so important to us. It's how you'll prepare for service, gather ingredients, purchase items, and chat with neighbors at your own pace. Even though we didn't have this ready for ECGC, we still included a brief cut-scene of the player walking through town to get to the restaurant, waving at each animal along the way. This made a huge difference in how players perceived the game. It might be months before we're happy with how the town looks and plays, but it's a critical part of Rolling Hills, and this conference reinforced that.