Singpore's Culinary Quest
Bringing back the taste of home
Illustration
Game Design
Graphic Design
Role
Full-Stack Designer
Time
4 Months, Jan 2025 - Apr 2025
Software
Procreate
Figma
Adobe Photoshop
Research
Game Inspiration
Since I had never created a game before, I began this project with in-depth research. I explored games I’ve played or was familiar with—ones that aligned with the tone and style I envisioned for my own project. My primary references included Animal Crossing: New Horizons, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Cooking Mama, Genshin Impact, Cats & Soup, and Neko Atsume.
In addition to gameplay mechanics and structure, I also studied character designs and art styles that inspired me. This helped me visualize the overall aesthetic and tone of the game world I wanted to build.
Iteration
Game Concepting
At the start of the project, I knew I wanted to create a game, but I hadn’t yet decided on the exact direction or genre. What I did know was that I wanted to incorporate themes that mattered to me like cute, charming characters and elements inspired by Singaporean food culture. To explore different possibilities, I sketched out three distinct game concepts, each with its own unique approach to these ideas.
This concept was a PC game inspired by titles like Animal Crossing and Genshin Impact, where players could explore a stylized version of Singapore and collect local dishes by completing entries in a virtual cookbook.
This concept was a mobile game inspired by Cooking Mama, where players complete a series of fun mini-games to prepare a variety of iconic Singaporean dishes.
This concept was a multiplayer party game inspired by Overcooked and Mario Party, where players compete in fast-paced mini-games with a culinary twist.
After receiving feedback from my peers, I decided to move forward with Option 1. It was not only my original idea, but also the one that resonated most with everyone. This idea had the largest scope and allowed me to explore a lot of different mediums within design.
Drafting Elements
Here are some sketches of characters and ideas for how they might be presented, along with preliminary drawings of various foods I want to include. I also created a draft logo and a concept for a potential loading animation. On the right, I’ve listed all the animals and dishes that could be featured, as well as outlined the key content I plan to include in the accompanying booklet.
Implementation
Character Design
I initially sketched a simpler version of the Singaporean animals, focusing on minimal details to reduce my workload. I also experimented with a more detailed design, where the animals would wear outfits, just to see how it might look. After gathering feedback, it was clear that everyone preferred the more elaborate designs. While that wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear since it meant more work, I’m glad I was encouraged to take this route, as the final designs turned out to be much more fun and engaging!
Additionally, I made sure that all the animals featured in the game are native to Singapore, intentionally avoiding more “basic” or commonly used animals. This choice helped make the game feel more unique and closely tied to its cultural theme. Although the animals and their outfits are all quite different, I created visual cohesion by giving them similar body structures and including a star on each of their outfits, a subtle nod to the stars on the Singaporean flag.
Game UI and Environment Design
Environment design and illustration were completely new to me and was honestly not something I was initially interested in. However, I realized that the game UI felt flat and unfinished without proper backgrounds. To address this, I took a very minimal approach to the environment art. This allowed me to keep the focus on my characters and UI elements while also saving time and avoiding overly detailed work that might distract from the core visuals.
Iconography
I didn’t end up creating the loading animation, as it no longer aligned with the direction my project was taking. However, I still really liked the gem biscuit design and found new ways to incorporate it. I repurposed it as a background pattern and also used it as small icons within my illustrations. This approach helped establish a more cohesive and unique visual identity, adding a playful, recognizable element that ties the entire project together.
Typography
I used 2 different types throughout my entire project. The first one was used only for titles, like in my logo and titles for the booklet. I thought that this font looked fun and friendly which would perfectly match my concept.
The second type I used can be seen in all my body text. This is similarly very friendly but less stylised and therefore much more legible when seen in large amounts of text.
Cherry Bomb One - Titles
Quicksand - Body Text
Colour Palette
Since my project has a friendly tone I went for a very colourful and bright yet soft colours. I used a lot more colours than presented here but these were all the colours that I frequently used in order to make it all coherent and form a brand.
Final Product
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Key Takeaways and Future Plans
I loved this project!! I have always wanted to create a game concept from scratch and I was so grateful to be able to have the time to work on this. My culture and heritage is something that I care and value a lot, so I am glad I was able to share my cultures with people that might not be familiar with it.
Design wise I learned a lot about the gaming community and what it takes to create a game. Character design was something I was highly interested in and was happy with my outcomes! If I did have more time and work on this project again, I would definitely have more extensive perspective drawings for all the characters and teach myself how to animate it! I also loved that I was able to apply my previous knowledge of graphic and branding design and use it in my favour to create a game concept!
I have also learned that I dislike environment design… but that's okay! I've never really painted / illustrated landscapes before and as much as a admire that work, I couldn't seem to find the passion for it to create it as beautiful.