SubjectNerd

Vertices Are Pain

  • He/Him

Game programmer, former technical artist, sometimes low-spec artist


danielleri
@danielleri

I'm having a little too much fun editing ALT.CTRL.GDC pieces this week (interviews with folks who will be at this GDC showcase for games with VERY alternative control schemes), and this one is probably my favorite so far. The game is called Kitchen Kauldron and it takes place in an immersive room/real-life food truck with a host of props and minigames. Players need to work together to try and save a witch's spooky (and failing!) food truck business!

It's kind of... everything appealing about immersive escape rooms/theme park attractions/haunted houses but with a fun-sounding mix of mini-games and player collaboration, and I honestly loved learning a bit about the blend of set design and game design that went into it:


You include lots of different props and interesting things to look at, as well as some interesting backstory, in your setup for Kitchen Kauldron. Why was it important to really cut loose on the look and feel of the food truck controller's environment? On the story and characters for the game?

Finuliar: The theme we ended up choosing lent itself really well to utilizing found objects and repurposing them either as props for the fantasy world we were creating, or as the controllers and cabinets themselves. This idea of a failing food truck, where things could be a bit off or broken, allowed us to lean into this rugged aesthetic of the eclectic upcycled objects we were sourcing rather than spend time and effort to create a super clean design such as a futuristic sci-fi space station, which arguably would have been harder.

The crazier and wackier the ideas were, the more interesting the world we were creating became. This idea of mixing two different themes together: a typical LA food truck with that of mythical beasts and characters gave the tried and true theme of the fantasy genre a modern and relatable spin. Overall, it created a story with twice as much depth for the game’s backstory and a feeling of a rich history due to the fact that we really cut loose in the juxtaposing of worlds and the items associated with each.

N Huang: One of the advantages of making a physical space we could play in is that we can make the players completely live and buy into the worldbuilding! We wanted everything to fit the theme of the 'world' we were creating to help engage them with the environment. Especially due to the pandemic, a lot of people missed having physical interaction and sharing a space with friends, so this was a part of the core experience we really wanted to emphasize.

I am very much looking forward to jumping into this. Also, honestly, the menu is so cute. It all has a vibe that reminds me of Compton's Cookoff in Psychonauts 2, but witchy and weirdly cozy.


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