Week Two (Developments)

Why it has Changed

Behaviours and experience(I would like the players to__)

A sheet Vanissa gave us to help us set goals for the game.

After discussing things with Vanissa, I realized I was trying to cram too much into this game. I wanted to emphasize the protagonist’s greed and the eerie, psychological horror atmosphere, while also presenting it as a cooking game. It has been difficult to blend these elements together perfectly.

The Original Idea

The player was an ordinary person who gathered ingredients and fed a hungry god’s stone statue. The concept combined an everyday task with an unsettling, supernatural presence. In the initial game concept, the protagonist was a greedy individual; the game aimed to portray a dynamic where, to have his selfish wishes granted by a statue, he had to bring it delicious offerings every day—ranging from animals to human souls. The greater the wish, the more gruesome or rare the required offering became.

Clearly, the game as a whole is quite complex. If I were to actually build a demo, I would have to juggle the map where the protagonist explores the town in the morning, figure out how to bring food back to the statue, determine how to cook meals for it, and so on. Given this, I plan to focus the gameplay on one specific aspect.

From Offerings to Cooking

I moved the setting to a restaurant and changed the protagonist from an ordinary person to a chef. Rather than simply delivering food, the player now takes a more active role in preparing ingredients and making dishes.

This shift gives cooking a clearer purpose: it becomes the main interaction through which the player encounters the strange world of the restaurant.

What I Want to Keep

The setting has changed, but the grotesque, mysterious atmosphere remains. I want familiar routines—preparing food and serving guests—to feel slightly uncanny.

Research! (Visual References)

I am looking at Rusty Lake Hotel for its unsettling atmosphere and animal-headed characters.

Atmosphere reference — Rusty Lake Hotel ↓

I want to explore muted colours, enclosed interiors and a sense that something is hidden behind ordinary hospitality.

Source: Rusty Lake Hotel — official game page

Character references — Animal Heads, Human Bodies ↓

Animal heads paired with human bodies and formal clothing could make the guests recognisable as diners while keeping them unfamiliar. I want to explore how their silhouettes and gestures can suggest personality before they speak.

Official references: Mr Deer · Mr Rabbit

Current Direction

A chef prepares food in a mysterious restaurant, where everyday cooking meets a grotesque and enigmatic world.

Finally, the general idea was settled upon, and the following form was filled out.

• I want to encourage players to understand strange customers through observation, conversation, and cooking, while gradually questioning the mysterious world around them.
• I want the player to uncover the secrets of the restaurant by interpreting customers’ strange requests, observing their belongings, listening to their stories, and preparing dishes for them.
• I want the player to feel curious but increasingly uneasy as the restaurant becomes stranger and more unpredictable. I want them to experience the feeling of being the only person who notices that something is wrong.

At the same time, my classmates also provided me with a great deal of inspiration and feedback.