Cooking Simulator

Cooking simulators are a sub-genre of Resource Management games.

No matter the type of cooking game, the objective is always to assemble recipes ordered by customers within a time limit to simulate a restaurant and please customers.

Simplified versions may not include physically moving objects around the kitchen. Instead they may have a more detailed stationary user interface to manage the food preparation.

More complex cooking simulators may include secondary logic to purchase upgrades to the kitchen, clean messes, serve customers, decorate to unlock bonuses and level up the restaurant quality, etc.

Characteristics

Prepare in Time!

GAIN & USE RESOURCES

🌳 Pick up food items 🔪 Place & prep on areas 🍽️ Place items on plates

UNLOCK EFFICIENCIES

🆙 Upgrade kitchen tools 🔓 Unlock automations

FLEXIBILITY

👥 Single or multiplayer 💠 Simple or complex gameplays

Keys of Success

• Everyone Can Play - Simple actions to carry raw food items, prep in designated areas, and carry prepped versions to a plate (which may need to be carried to a counter for servers to pick up)

• Play for Long - Short term goals to satisfy customers with increasingly complex menu options

• Play with Friends - Multiplayer or singleplayer

NEED TO HAVE

• Random orders from customers

• Raw food items to prepare

• Recipes to combine raw food items to fulfill orders

• Tracking player performance to fulfill customer orders

NICE TO HAVE

• Automation options later in game (higher cost to motivate longer play)

• Unlocking new recipes or kitchen tools

• Realism (messes, limited customer patience, burned food, etc)

• Rating player performance for fulfilling customer orders

Game Loops

Below is a general game loop diagram for this genre. Your game's loops may vary.

Learn to Create It

GAME MAKER TEMPLATES

LOGIC TO EXPLORE

• Random customer orders

• Timers for food preparation

• Comparing items made with items ordered

• Reset data to replay

Make it More Interesting

Consider ways to add to or change the core structure of this game type to challenge and motivate players differently.

MAIN OBJECTIVE

➿ Add a secondary loop to gather ingredients in the game world

🏆 Achievements

RAMP OF DIFFICULTY

🥪 Unlock more complex recipes

🎲 Random trade-offs to progress to the next difficulty level

CORE DECISIONS

👥 Team gameplay with audience controls to cause mayhem or spawn helpful items

🦸 Restaurant rating

PRACTICE: Modify the Cooking Simulator template to increase the fun:

• Achievements

  Example: "Fired Up! - Burned 10 hamburgers"

• Levels of difficulty

• Audience dynamics to impact gameplay

Useful Logic

• Game Rules Shop Preset
• Pickable
• Trigger Volume

Tutorial Videos

Open the Game Maker Cooking Simulator Template for logic included in the tutorial below.

View Yes Chef Game Jam entries in the Game Maker Gallery for examples of this genre.