Though the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of online multiplayer as a means of staying connected, couch co-op is still enjoyed by many families and friend groups. A number ofN64 games got online functionality via Nintendo Switch Online, but that console is still known as a local play powerhouse thanks to games likeMario PartyandGoldenEye 007. BlueGooGames' Niclas Marie, project lead onSpace Chef, said he still prefers the opportunity to see and talk with friends live while playing games.
Community is one of the drivers behindSpace Chef, a passion project started by Marie and creative/art director Tobias Tranell about two-and-a-half years ago. The pair of amateur Swedish developers are hoping to make a game families could play together, but also one that friend groups and solo fans alike can pour time into learning. Marie said someone will probably be able to create a wikipedia detailing all the differing interactions that players can discover. Game Rant spoke to Marie and Tranell about some of the design philosophy behindSpace Chef, which is crowdfunding throughKickstarteruntil Thursday, November 18.
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Space Chef’s Gameplay Loop Encourages Replayability
Space Chef’s slogan is “hunt, cook, deliver,“and that’s the crux of what players can expect. Its Kickstarter page describes the game as “open-world,” or more accurately “open-galaxy,” though Marie said they haven’t yet settled on how big the map will be. That scope ultimately won’t be so important according to the project lead, as the game is designed with an element of procedural generation that makes adapting to different circumstances more crucial.
The upcoming title’s setting pulls from numerous inspirations, mixing the kind of sci-fi comedy seen in shows likeFuturama,Rick and Morty, orFinal Spacewith space westerns likeFireflyandSerenity. It nearly had the same opening as Sierra Entertainment’s 1986 classicSpace Quest, in which everyone but the main character is killed on a ship prior to the beginning of the adventure.Space Chef’s universe is full of quirky robots, creatures, and space stations ranging from abandoned husks to the base of the evil megacorporation Galactic Burger - which serves, “Cheap and tasteless express food with instant delivery.” Tranell said music is a key way they’re leaning into this aesthetic, with composer Paul Zimmerman’s soundtrack evoking westerns of old.
“We made a joke about [the feeling of the game being] two dudes sitting in a space garbage truck, one in flip-flops and the other in a Hawaiian shirt, just riding around listening to some blues.”
Whenever players start a new game their home base could be near an asteroid belt, a planet, or anything. From there it’s up to each person to scout their surroundings and find scrap parts to upgrade their ship in order to explore out further, giving them access to more environments with unique ingredients. Marie saideach ecosystem will be like a puzzlein which every creature has a different way of being appeased or killed (though there are plans for vegan and vegetarian menu options). “We tried to make each planet unique, not just using colored animals,” Marie said. “Lots of different creatures with unique AI and interactions.”
Marie and Tranell point fans away from the idea thatSpace Chefwill mimic thescope ofNo Man’s Sky; there will only be about four-to-seven planets to explore with each having different areas to land on. Marie said every hunt should be bite-sized, only taking 10 or 15 minutes to complete. However, Tranell also said there will be plenty of other activities from exploring abandoned space stations for rare materials to battling pirates, or taking something like a wormhole out into the furthest reaches of the galaxy.
The deeper into space a player is able to travel, the more “rare and dangerous” things they’ll discover. However, those details will be remixed each time a player starts over, as will the locations of various spots to connect with NPCs forSpace Chef’sStardew Valley-inspired romance system. As with the creatures on each planet, denizens of this galaxy prefer different items the player can cook and deliver.
BlueGooGames designs its ingredients and dishes to be recognizable so any person from Earth can understand how it might taste, and then adds an “alien” twist to the name befitting itswacky sci-fi premise. For example, players can cook with Ratoids and Mushglooms, and some ingredients go in several dishes. There are currently a set number of recipes, but Marie said the team is toying with the idea of letting players create their own dishes to bolster replayability and sharing ideas.
“We think it’s more important to have interesting content than huge planets with the same, repeating everything. It should be a more intense experience each time.”
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Space Chef’s Cooperative Elements
As mentioned,Space Chefis being designed with couch co-op in mind, allowing up to four people the chance to hunt, cook, and deliver together. Its planned mechanics lean toward individual players working as a team, similar to games likeStardew ValleyorDon’t Starve, rather than having one leader with followers as is the case in a game likeAnimal Crossing: New Horizons. Tranell said the idea is players live together on the same space station, sharing communal areas like kitchens but having their own rooms to decorate.
Players can venture out to complete independant tasks. Marie said, “I think it’s important that everyone can do their own thing without being constrained by one screen.” However, there’s still room for “messy” chaos akin to agame likeOvercookedas multiple people try to use cutting boards at the same time. The project lead also said his small team is working on ways to potentially ramp up difficulty for multiple players, such as providing shorter windows to complete orders.
Despite the game’s ongoingKickstarter helping offset the high expense of game developmentthat Marie and Tranell have mostly covered out-of-pocket, online multiplayer is currently too expensive and complicated to incorporate. BlueGooGames is still open to the idea, but that may require extra funding from an investor or publisher down the line, according to Marie.
“As it stands now, you’re able to useSteam Remote Playto do a couch co-op game online with friends, but that doesn’t include consoles. We’d love to include something online if we can, it’d be cool.”
Sweden has become a hotbed of game development thanks to successful studios like Mojang orUbisoft’s Massive Entertainmentencouraging young people to go to school, Marie said. Though the two heads of BlueGooGames did not get a “proper education” in that sense, they bring decades of experience in other fields - as well as lifelong histories as gamers - that informSpace Chef’s design. “We complement each other because Niclas is all about statistics, programming, and business, and I’m more of a creative guy with art, feelings, ambiance, and story,” Tranell said. “We’re a great team.”
Space Chefis in development for PC, PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox, aiming for a Q3 2023 release. Its Kickstarter is live until Jun 25, 2025.
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