Cuisineer

Cuisineer is a action rougelike game developed by BattleBrew Productions, a studio based in Singapore. The game takes place in town of Paell and embarks on a journey of Pom, a hero faced with saving her family's property from lifetime debt. In Steam Next Fest 2023, BattleBrew Productions released a demo of Cuisineer.

The game has received many awards and nominations, including winner of The Big Indie Pitch 2022, Marooner's Rock Writers' Choice and PAX East 2022's PAX Together Pick, being nominated for the International Award and Official Selection in Bitsummit X-Roads 2022, and Best Game Design, Best Visual Art, and Audience Choice Awards at the SEA Game Awards 2022 .

## Story

Pom, a determined protagonist, embarks on a quest to uncover the concealed remnants while making their way through the town of Paell. The ruins are teeming with delectable yet dangerous creatures, and Pom engages in successive battles. Pom successfully emerges from the ruins and arrives at the town of Paell. Upon entering, she laid eyes on her parents restaurant. To her surprise, the establishment appeared neglected and deserted, a stark contrast to what she had envisioned. In an attempt to provide an explanation to Pom, she referred to her parents' absence as an "extended vacation". To preserver the legacy of the restaurant Pom must save and pay the debts left behind her parents then become one of the successful restaurant in Paell.

## Gameplay

### Dungeon Explore

Embark on an adventure through dynamically generated environments, such as vibrant woodlands, fiery mountains, frigid caverns, and treacherous marshlands, each with ever-changing dimensions, formations, and contents that transform every time you venture.

### Master the Flavors of Fighting

Unleash the potential of the flavors Salty, Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Umami, Frosty, and Toasty, combining their distinct attributes to defeat your adversaries using specialized tools and exquisite culinary equipment. Embrace the art of culinary combat by skillfully blending these powers, creating a wide range of effects that will overpower your opponents.

### Craft Your Own Culinary Experience

With over 100 different recipes and dozens of ingredients, you’ll have to cook up a storm to get the right dishes to the right customers—and have enough seating to accommodate your growing renown.

### **Take Quests to Go**

During your exploration in the dungeons, remain vigilant for the essential items required by the inhabitants of Paell. Your efforts will be generously compensated with valuable gold, additional equipment, and an array of recipes that will elevate both your culinary skills and your adventures to unprecedented levels.

## Development

Cuisineer originated as a concept envisioned by Shawn Toh, the CEO of BattleBrew Productions. The idea emerged when the team experienced the absence of eating together during the COVID-19 lockdown. While the concept was envisioned, the gameplay mechanics drew influences from popular games such as Diablo and Hades for combat elements, as well as Diner Dash and Hungry Hearts for the restaurant management aspect . The development slowly starts on May 2021 . At the time, BattleBrew Productions decided to expand scope of the game to PC platform. BattleBrew Productions developed multiple games on mobile platform however according to CEO of BattleBrew Production Shawn Toh the rising costs for user acquisition for Free to Play causing them to switch development to PC platform .

On January 19 2022 the game was pitched to The Big Indie Pitch, giving indie developers a chance to pitch their games to industry experts. On 21 January 2023 Cuisineer was nominated as best pitch and won in The Digital Big Indie Pitch #13 . The accomplishment of Cuisineer in securing victory in the pitch has resulted in increased media attention, with more press and journalists now covering the game. While the media has on their attention on Cuisineer, BattleBrew Productions decided to attend PAX East 2022 on April 21 to April 24 2022. While attending PAX East 2022, the game was nominated and awarded as Marooner's Rock Writers' Choice and PAX Together Pick. Additionally, XSEED Games Publisher became intrigued by Cuisineer. Kenji Hosoi, the Executive Vice President at XSEED Games, expressed that BattleBrew Productions captured their attention during PAX East 2022 with their distinct visuals, charming characters, and innovative food-themed concept. This led to XSEED Games expressing interest in entering into a publishing agreement with the team .

The demo of Cuisineer released on June 20 2023 as part of Steam Next Fest. The demo was announced on Cuisineer's official twitter and received overwhelming support and feedbacks from players . Many players considered the game as one of best experience they have ever played. The game released on 10th November 2023 and received overwhelming positive response from players .

## Trivia

* The idea of Cuisineer starts as an idea of eating together in large group however it was impossible to do so during COVID-19 lockdown.
* Cuisiner draws its fundamental gameplay elements from a combination from popular game such as Diablo and Diner Dash.
* There are many reference to Southeast Asia video games in Cusineer.
	+ Players can buy painting based from Coffee Talk, Ghostlore, and A Space for The Unbound.

## Official Links

* Cuisineer Steam Page
* Cuisineer Official Twitter Page
* Cuisineer Official Website
* BattleBrew Production Official Twitter Page
* BattleBrew Production Official YouTube
* BattleBrew Production Official Instagram

## Gallery

Unknown landmark in town of Paell, indicating Pom can teleport using said landmarkPom managing her restaurant and ordersAlder, one of carpenter aid Pom to renovate and upgrade the restaurantGreen Ruins dungeon where Pom can venture and hunt ingredients
## References

1. ↑ [1] Cuisineer demo announcement on Steam.com
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 BattleBrew Productions. 2022. Cuisineer Press Pack. Published by BattleBrew Productions
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 [2] PCGamesInsider.biz article "Battlebrew sit down with us to discuss dreaming big and the transition from mobile to PC" written by Sophia Aubrey Drake
4. ↑ [3] PCGamesInsider.biz article "Battlebrew offers up a perfect dish as Cuisineer takes The Big Indie Pitch crown" written by Sophia Aubrey Drake
5. ↑ [4] Noisypixel.net article "Roguelike Cooking Game ‘Cuisineer’ Reveals New Scrumptiously Endearing Gameplay Trailer" written by Orpheus Joshua
6. ↑ [5] Steam Next Fest announcement via @cuisineer on Twitter.com
7. ↑ [6] "Cuisineer is out now!" via Steam