Cooking Diary: The Recipe for a Six-Year Success Story
MYTONIA, the developer behind the wildly popular time-management game Cooking Diary, reveals the secrets to its six-year reign. Whether you're a developer seeking inspiration or a player curious about the game's creation, this "recipe" offers valuable insights.
Key Ingredients:
- 431 captivating story chapters
- 38 unique and memorable characters
- 8,969 diverse in-game elements
- Over 905,000 active guilds
- A vibrant array of events and competitions
- A dash of delightful humor
- Grandpa Grey's elusive secret ingredient (hint: it's passion!)
The Cooking Process:
Step 1: Crafting the Narrative:
Begin by developing a compelling storyline rich in humor and unexpected twists. Populate the world with a diverse cast of characters. The narrative unfolds across 160 restaurants and 27 districts, starting with your grandfather Leonard's Burger Joint and expanding to locations like Colafornia, Schnitzeldorf, and Sushijima.
Step 2: Personalization and Customization:
Layer the narrative with an extensive collection of over 8,000 items, including 1,776 outfits, 88 facial feature sets, 440 hairstyles, and over 6,500 home and restaurant decorations. Players can also customize adorable pets with 200 clothing items.
Step 3: Dynamic In-Game Events:
Enhance the gameplay with a continuous stream of engaging tasks and events. Leverage data analytics to ensure that events are both creatively designed and strategically timed. The goal is to create a series of complementary events, each enjoyable individually and collectively. August, for instance, featured nine concurrent events, showcasing this layered approach.
Step 4: Fostering a Thriving Community:
With over 905,000 guilds, Cooking Diary boasts a massive and active community. Introduce guild events and tasks gradually, ensuring they complement existing gameplay and avoid scheduling conflicts.
Step 5: Learning from Setbacks:
Embrace mistakes as learning opportunities. The Cooking Diary team learned valuable lessons from their initial pet introduction in 2019. By adjusting the pet acquisition method, they achieved a 42% revenue increase.
Step 6: Strategic Marketing and Collaboration:
Effective marketing is crucial in a competitive market. Cooking Diary’s success is attributed to a strong social media presence, creative messaging, contests, and collaborations with major brands like Netflix (Stranger Things event) and YouTube (Path to Glory event).
Step 7: Continuous Innovation:
Sustained success requires constant innovation. Cooking Diary consistently introduces new content, refines gameplay mechanics, and adapts to evolving trends.
Step 8: The Secret Ingredient – Passion:
The ultimate ingredient is passion. A successful game is built on a foundation of genuine love for the craft.
Download Cooking Diary on the App Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore, Microsoft Store, and AppGallery.
