Recipe for Disaster
Dapper Penguin Studios is no more - A passionate letter from a Game Developer
Nine years ago, I ignited a spark within me - a fervent desire to create captivating worlds and immerse players in engaging experiences. Alongside a group of like-minded individuals, we ventured into the digital realm, establishing Dapper Penguin Studios as our creative haven.
Our initial steps were fueled by shared dreams, unwavering determination, and the sheer joy of crafting digital masterpieces. Our first game, Rise of Industry, was born from our imaginations and captured the hearts of gamers worldwide. Its popularity soared, and combined with Recipe for Disaster, we surpassed half a million copies sold. As a result, our team expanded to 18 talented individuals, juggling multiple projects simultaneously.
The Weight of Success and the Unwavering Resolve to Reclaim Passion
Despite the whirlwind of success, we remained committed to our passion and the profound impact our creations had on players' lives. Our games provided an escape from the daily grind, transporting players to fantastical realms and alternate timelines. However, the demands of managing a company began to overshadow our passion. The burden of handling finances, marketing, and navigating the complexities of the gaming industry took a significant toll on my well-being. Sleepless nights, chest pains, and frequent hospital visits served as stark reminders of the emotional strain I was under.
Despite the challenges and successes, I yearned to reclaim the joy of creating games from the ground up and to immerse myself wholeheartedly in the process of crafting worlds that would bring joy and relaxation to players worldwide.
Rekindling Passion and Embracing the Future
With a heavy heart but unwavering resolve, I recently made the difficult decision to close the doors of Dapper Penguin Studios. Although bittersweet, I am grateful for the incredible journey we shared and the impact we made on the gaming industry. However, I knew that prioritising my health and rekindling my passion for game development were essential steps towards a fulfilling future.
As a freelancer, I have rediscovered the joy and excitement of creating games from scratch. Without the constraints of managing a company, I can focus on the aspects of game development that truly ignite my passion: brainstorming innovative mechanics, crafting intricate systems, and seeing players immersed in the worlds I have meticulously created.
The transformative power of games, which allows them to transport players to fantastical realms and provide moments of respite, has strengthened my commitment to creating meaningful and impactful experiences.
I Embark on a New Chapter
I now carry with me the memories of countless late-night brainstorming sessions, the camaraderie of a team united by a shared passion, and the profound impact that games can have on the lives of players. I am excited to offer my expertise to the constantly evolving field of game development. I look forward to collaborating with studios and individuals who share my vision of creating games that are engaging, immersive, and meaningful.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the incredible team at Dapper Penguin Studios for their unwavering support, dedication, and shared passion. You played a crucial role in shaping my journey as a game developer, and I treasure the memories we created together.
To all the players who have experienced the worlds we created, thank you for your support, feedback, and love for games. Your passion fuels my creativity, and I aspire to continue creating experiences that bring you joy and relaxation.
As I bid farewell to Dapper Penguin Studios, I do so with a heart full of gratitude and a spirit brimming with renewed passion. I am excited to embrace the future and continue creating games that inspire, entertain and bring joy to players worldwide.
A Passion Renewed, A Vision Reignited
As I step into this new chapter, I am filled with a renewed sense of purpose and passion. The lessons learned at Dapper Penguin Studios, the experiences shared with my team, and the feedback from players have all shaped my perspective and strengthened my determination to create games that truly matter. I am thrilled to work with studios and individuals who share my vision of creating experiences that entertain, inspire, and connect people. Together, we can push the boundaries of what's possible in game development, crafting worlds that captivate, challenge, and leave a lasting impact on players.
To those who have been a part of my journey so far, thank you for your unwavering support and encouragement. I am grateful for your belief in me, which has been instrumental in my success.
To all gamers, I invite you to join me on this exciting adventure. Let's explore new worlds, discover hidden treasures, and create memories that will last a lifetime. Together, we can redefine the power of games and make them a force for good in the world.
If you wish to keep in touch, my new portfolio is available at mochigamedesign.com.
I wish you a 2024 full of opportunities, and thanks for reading!
Ho ho ho! A gift for y'all!
Meanwhile, got something for you: many bugfixes and especially a massive change to the renderer, so now even the absolute worst laptop could run the game. Ok, maybe not the worst, as this isn't Doom 1993, but still, you should see and experience massive performance improvements.
Changelog:
Most importantly: redid the renderer so it should work even on potato PCs.
Changes:
- Showing patience over customers
- Improvements to Uniform Editor
- Improvements to Group Uniforms
- Added information as to why Employees seem to be idling
- Added fail-safes to Drinks when Food needs to be made
- Improved rain dance so it doesn't rain for several days in a row
- Bathrooms no longer flood the entire Restaurant
- Improvements to Main Menu announcements
- Relaxed rats so they don't cause so many issues, so often
- Improved panels functionality to avoid blur effects
- Improved Objectives Panel so they scale properly in all resolutions, in all languages
- Improved and added Events
- Improved and added Paintings
- Improved Mood indicator for Employees
- Improved camera controls
- Improved flavour for some ingredients (no longer "gross")
- Improved Popularity counter
- Fire is now less aggressive
- Increased max Employee count
Fixes:
- Fixed tutorial steps relative to customers
- Fixed employees loving and hating the same thing
- Avoiding the chance for multiple critics to be in the restaurant at the same time
- Bar chairs reserved too often
- People complaining about the Bar when there isn't one
- Employees no longer complain about the rain when it's not raining
- Removed object cloning exploit
- Improved Customer eyesight so that they can easily find beloved items on the menu
- Redone shadow renderer to avoid black screens on some GPUs
- New Employees now actually show up for work
- Cannot move stuff on fire anymore
- Cannot save-scum dialogue anymore
- Free food is now free
Hold on to your chef hats, 1.0 has launched!
To those of you picking up the game for the first time, welcome! If you have any issues, feedback or suggestions, or you just want to hang out with us and other players, join us on Discord. Should you wish to learn more about the game, there’s also Recipe for Disaster: The Cookbook, which offers basic gameplay guidance and advanced hints and tips.
As big a step as this is for the game, don’t go thinking we’re done yet! The Recipe for Disaster cake may be out of the oven, but there’s plenty of decorating and frosting to be added in the future. We also see no reason to stop collaborating with our players now, so let us know in the Discord what updates you’d most like to see.
Until next time, bon appétit!
Alex Mochi
Founder & Lead Designer – Dapper Penguin Studios
1.0 Development Update Preview
Pull up a bar stool and enjoy this preview of what to expect in 1.0:
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported us and contributed during the game’s Early Access phase; the game launching tomorrow is as much yours as it is ours, and we hope you enjoyed collaborating with us as much as we enjoyed collaborating with you.
Alex Mochi
Founder & Lead Designer – Dapper Penguin Studios
Get ready for the main course – Recipe for Disaster to exit Early Access!
Our goal going into Early Access was to collaborate with the community to make the best restaurant-management sim around, and thanks in large part to your feedback, support and passion, I honestly believe we’ve achieved that goal – that said, rest assured the launch of 1.0 is just the next step (albeit a big one!) for Recipe for Disaster, creating a strong foundation for future updates, new features and continuous support.
In the 1.0 update, you will see:
Bars - Your most requested feature by far, the bar will serve as a way to generate additional income, lift your patrons’ spirits and help manage your customer queue. However, this comes at the expense of having to assign one of your precious employees to it and away from the tables.
The bar will come in two sizes and styles, with a basic and deluxe version of each. The selection of bar drinks will need to be ordered in the same way food is, so you'll need to make sure your bar is well-stocked to avoid any negative reviews! Cheers!
Expanded Campaign - We saw how much the community enjoyed our previous campaign mode levels and so have created three more! The first of these will heavily feature the new bar, acting as a great introduction to this new mechanic.
New Thematic Decor - With Dragon Rising receiving so much praise for its highly thematic decor, we decided to explore even more culturally-inspired objects. From Mexican flags to Japanese bonsai trees, you’ll be able to personalise your restaurant more than ever – and if, like me, you’ve always dreamed of opening a Medieval-themed restaurant, we’ll finally be able to turn that dream into a reality!
The full game will also include additional dynamic events, traits, gameplay balance changes and more polish than a fine dining restaurant’s silverware, while remaining at the current price point!
We’ll also be releasing a regular series of game guides in the run-up to full release to help both new and experienced players take their restaurateuring knowledge to the next level! These ‘how to’ guides will explain everything from how to create crowd-pleasing menus and secure 5-star reviews, to building a well-designed restaurant and combatting rat infestations!
Bon appétit!
Alex Mochi
Founder & Lead Designer – Dapper Penguin Studios
Update 0.7 is now live!
I’m excited to announce our latest update is now live! This time, the team has been focusing on using feedback from the community to refine our existing mechanics and improve the overall gameplay experience. We’ve added a couple of new features to the game, too! Check out our Dev Update video below to get a closer look at some of the changes we’ve made.
Updated Character Models
Employees and customers have been revamped and updated to boost the game visuals up to the next level!
New Customer Types
Players will now see a wide range of groups coming through their restaurant doors. Not only will these groups share visual similarities, but they’ll have common traits and food preferences, too!
Mood Mechanics
Customer patience and Employee stress will now be called ‘mood’. Mood increases as a result of positive thoughts and decreases with negative ones. Don’t forget to check the thoughts recap to better understand your customers and employees!
Special Recipe Tags
Combining specific ingredients and cooking actions will now apply a ‘special tag’ to a recipe. Based on things like cuisine and healthiness, players will have to experiment with their recipes in order to discover these additional tags.
New Traits
There are 18 new traits for you to explore! From ‘Flatulent’ and ‘Stone Cold’, to ‘Big Bladder’ and ‘Chatty’, it’s up to you to discover what effects these new traits will have on restaurant life.
Revised Tutorial & QOL Updates
We’ve updated the tutorial and added advisory notifications, so you’ll have all the info you need to be on your way. We’ve also made some overall UI improvements that will streamline certain gameplay aspects.
As always, we’d love to hear your feedback! Feel free to stop by our Twitter and Discord channels to share your thoughts, screenshots and recipes.
Alex Mochi
Founder & Lead Designer – Dapper Penguin Studios.
Happy New Lunar Year!
As you may have seen, we recently released our latest major update ‘Events and Disasters’, which includes extra campaign levels, new disasters, additional dynamic events and more!
In order to celebrate a New Lunar Year, not only is Recipe for Disaster taking part in the Steam Lunar Sale, but we’ve also added some themed Lunar Year content into the game.
We’ve created a new campaign level; ‘Dragon Rising’. In this scenario, you’ll be striving for review perfection whilst juggling staff mood swings and opinionated VIPS - failure is not an option!
We’ve also added in several themed items, including lighting, wallpaper, furniture and decor.
I’d love to know what you think of the new levels and content! Reviews are always welcome and you can come share your thoughts and feedback on our Twitter and Discord.
Alex Mochi
Founder & Lead Designer - Dapper Penguin Studios
New Events & Disasters update is live!
We’ve put together an update video detailing all of the new content for you to take a look at, enjoy!
[previewyoutube="aMPacQNEsIU;full"]
As always we’d love to hear what you think about the new content and systems, so feel free to drop by our Twitter and Discord channels. If you’ve got the time you can also have your say on specific gameplay elements, and which roadmap development items we should be working on next by completing the in-game feedback form. It’s greatly appreciated!
I’ll be back with another update outlining what we’ll be working on next in the coming weeks, so speak soon!
Alex Mochi
Founder & Lead Designer - Dapper Penguin Studios.
0.6.0:0125a
CX = Customer
FC = Food Critic
FP = Freeplay
Additions:
- "Men at Work" and "Dragon Rising" campaign levels
- Many dynamic events
- New ingredients
- Rebind screen
- New disasters
- Notification for event outcome
Changes:
- Workshop thumbnails
- Lengthened EM names
- AZERTY support
- Default language now English, no matter what
- F11 improvements
- Save names now accept symbols
Fixes:
- Recipes and uniforms globalised now show correctly
- Parties show correctly in CX panel
- Chinese tables don't allow effort
- Level performance issues
- Show raw strings
- FC thoughts
- Currency mismatches
- Preview images of uniform editor
- Toilet clogged tile couldn't be cleaned
- Couldn't move objects accordingly
- Invisible Fire Extinguishers
- Health inspections on day 1
- Paint tool stuck
- Changed old CX reviews
- New recipe generation
- Rats never stop spawning
- Build wall changes
- Tooltip issues
- Dynamic event fixes