Roles: 3D Developer, Gameplay Programmer | Team Size: 4
Elevator Pitch: Family Dinner Reunion is a cooperative board game where players cook dishes for monster diners. The catch is that players can't see their own cards but can see others' cards. In addition, communication between players is banned. Players must play cards wisely and cooperate to satisfy the monsters' preferences and requirements to win the game.
Summary of Core Gameplay: Players draw random cards from the cooking card pile to form their hands. Each turn, they can play a card from their hand or add an ingredient card to one of the four recipe templates on the table. Players must control the flavor and heat to fit the ranges mentioned in the recipe cards. They should also choose the appropriate ingredients to fit the pot size of each recipe template since each pot has different volumes. Players must work together to satisfy the monster's preference cards and complete the recipe before the monster gets angry and causes a devastating result. The game ends when players successfully complete a set number of recipes or when the monster's anger level reaches a maximum value.
Gameplay Video
Gameplay and Level Design
Family Dinner Reunion is a cooperative board game that involves strategic decision-making and careful planning.
The game provides an engaging and challenging experience for players as they work together to satisfy the monsters' preferences and requirements.
The game's core gameplay revolves around playing cards to modify recipes and adding ingredients to complete them.
The challenge lies in balancing the flavor and heat ranges, pot size, and monsters' preferences to earn points and avoid angering the diners.
To win the game, players must complete a certain number of recipes with a specific number of points.
The game's level design includes various recipe cards with different flavor and heat ranges, pot sizes, and point values.
Additionally, there are different types of ingredient cards that players can use to increase recipe points, such as meat, seafood, and vegetables.
The game also includes skill cards that players can use to perform actions like trading cards, peeking at cards, or communicating secretly with their teammates.
The game's level of difficulty increases as the number of players increases. With more players, there are more cards to manage, and communication becomes more challenging.
The game's design ensures that players must work together, rely on each other's skills, and think critically to succeed.
Project Goal:
The goal of this project was to create a cooperative board game that challenges players to work together and communicate non-verbally.
The game should be accessible to a wide audience and provide an enjoyable experience for players.
My Roles and Responsibilities:
- Collaborating with the team to conceptualize and design the game mechanics, narrative, and level design.
- Developing and implementing game mechanics and features using Unreal and C++.
- Balancing gameplay mechanics and adjusting difficulty levels based on user testing feedback.
- Programmed the game mechanics, gameplay systems, and AI systems.
Tools and Technologies:
- Game Engine: Unreal 4.27 and TTS Simulator
- Programming Languages: C++,
- PC Hardware: Windows PC
- Design Tools: Adobe Creative Cloud, Blender, Davinci
- Project Management: Trello, Miro, Gitlab
Challenges and Solutions:
- One of the main challenges of the project was creating a non-verbal communication system that was intuitive and easy to use. To solve this, we conducted playtests with different groups of players and iteratively improved the system based on feedback.
- Another challenge was balancing the game difficulty to provide a challenging but not frustrating experience. We achieved this by adjusting the recipe and monster cards' point values and requirements based on playtest feedback.
- Finally, creating visually appealing graphics and card designs was also a challenge. We addressed this by using Adobe Photoshop and collaborating with a graphic designer to create high-quality artwork for the game.
Links, Credits and More:
