Sugarplum Cafe Updates

One more showcase coming up! On September 13, I'll be showcasing Sugarplum Cafe at a playtesting event in Fremont. It's free to join, you just have to RSVP here!

The link also has details on time and location. Would love to see you there!

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In this month's newsletter we'll cover the following:

• A new Lady reveal
• Takeaways from past showcases
• Remote playtests coming soon, maybe??

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We made it to 120 subscribers!

Thank you so much for 120 mailing list subscribers! Without having done any major marketing campaign, I'm pretty stoked to have made it to this many people. Whether you are a fellow gamedev, a good friend, or a fan of the game, I appreciate you!

As thanks, I know I wanted to hold back on introducing too many Ladies at once, but it has been six months since I introduced the last Lady, so I think it's time for a new reveal.

Meet Lady Raspberry! She's a budding young actress who lives for the theatre. Whether it's musicals or plays, she wants to do it all. She especially looks up to a certain star performer who may or may not be revealed further down the road 🤭

So, fun fact - Sugarplum Cafe was very inspired by Cookie Run, which is a mobile game with characters also inspired by different flavors. I loved how clever some of the Cookie Run character designs were, but it does mean I have to avoid stepping on their toes. Lady Raspberry vs. Raspberry Cookie is definitely one such case - the concept of Raspberry Cookie as this dashing Utena-esque fencer fit the flavor so perfectly, and I didn't know how I was going to top that, so I decided to go for the theatre route since it evokes the same amount of drama, you know?

Her design is pretty understated compared to the top star to be revealed later, but I think in a way it represents raspberry as a flavor - it's everywhere, but always adds a touch of elegance when you see it.

Oh, and her poofy ponytail bun is supposed to be raspberry shaped!

Showcase recap

This month, I attended two showcases as a presenter and a third showcase as an attendee. AND I GOT PHOTOS THIS TIME

At the MADE and GLITCHED showcases, people are really drawn to my table which is really pleasant to see - I think it's because I have this large monitor that shows my game's art to everyone walking around, not just those playing at my computer.

The tutorialization is getting better, although there are still a few kinks - those who haven't played merge games still don't understand how to merge, and players are starting to comment on the wordiness of my tutorials. I wanted to start with written tutorials first to pinpoint where exactly players would need guidance - didn't want to make all the animations just to realize they weren't helpful. But I am actively considering how I could turn this into a non-verbal tutorial; since images and animations will take time, this is a long term task.

I do think there was more likely to be a wait because of the attention the monitor was drawing, which may pressure players not to play through the whole demo which means they don't make it very far. The number of people who have made it to tea parties, which don't appear until you meet 4 Ladies, can be counted on one hand. (We'll come back to this.)

I also attended MAGWest, a video game and music convention in San Jose that offers an indie showcase. I chose not to showcase because I wanted to scope out the convention for future years, but I happily went to support fellow gamedevs I've met over the past few months who were showcasing. Being an attendee also gave me some interesting insights I wouldn't have thought of from the other side of the table.

• Everyone had a large monitor pretty much, so that won't be enough to stand out.
• Some games were selling merch like stickers and shirts at the table, which I thought was a really cute idea.
• Leave business cards on the table in case people don't get a chance to talk to you, because you're going to get roped into so many conversations.
• Biggest takeaway: At in-person showcases, people don't want to spend too long playing your demo.

Gotta go fast

As an attendee I wanted to try so many games but I had only had so much time. Since Sugarplum is a cozy game and intentionally slow-paced, this is going to be an uphill battle. This was evident from very few players making it as far as tea parties, but I was also getting suggestions for mechanics that actually appear later in the demo - the players just didn't make it that far.

I've conducted playtests where you download the game on your own time, and players make it further when they aren't restrained to a single in-person session. I don't want to discount that my progression might be too slow, but I am starting to wonder how much of that is due to the nature of in-person showcases, and whether in-person showcases are really the ideal playtesting experience.

So here's what I'm thinking:

1) Resume remote playtests. If you're interested in playtesting, you can schedule a video/audio call with me to ensure I actually get feedback, but leading up to the call you'll be able to play the demo on your own time. I prefer to have people who have never played this game yet, but also would be okay with more seasoned players as long as I do get some newbies. I will send an email to the mailing list when this is ready!

2) Work on a more "lategame" demo for in-person showcases. I won't abandon in-person showcases entirely as they're great for visibility, but since many showcases I'm attending are recurring, I think it would be great to have a version of the demo for returning players so they can skip through the initial tutorials and go straight to Tea Parties.

After the September showcase I'll probably take a step back from in-person showcases to work on both of these, but I'll be back one day! I do think the in-person showcases are useful for tutorial testing, so this isn't a goodbye forever or anything like that.

Ending on a sweet note

I love talking about food, so I thought it'd be fun to end each newsletter with a different dessert. This month's sweet treat is...weird ice creams!

Remember when I said I like flavors that confuse me? Naturally, my favorite ice cream places are the ones that specialize in unusual flavors. Normally when I say that, people go, "Oh, like Salt & Straw!" But hot take: most of the time I don't think Salt & Straw goes hard enough. The flavors are interesting, true, but lately when I try them I mainly taste the plain cream base and the weird flavors aren't strong enough to me...not to mention they repeat a lot of the same flavors that I've always tried.

That said, this month Salt & Straw actually delivered.

The pickled cucumber sorbet reminds me of those pickle sodas that Sonic and Popeye's used to sell, so you have to really like pickles. The tomato tart was actually much more gruyere-forward, so I think those who like cheesecake ice cream could get into this one. Still, both acquired tastes. Very confusing and I love it. But at least we can agree their waffle cone is great, right?

Okay, if I lost you, here's another place with some more palatable but still unique flavors - Iconoglace in Montreal.

I visited some friends in Montreal this month and they took me here! Iconoglace somehow beautifully combines the nostalgia of old-school ice cream shops with the novelty of modern fun flavors - just look at their menu and you'll get the idea. You can get old school sundaes and banana splits, but you can also get kombucha floats that are apparently really good?

They have both regular ice cream and soft serve, but notably their soft serve flavors change regularly. You'll always get a trio of unusual flavor swirls - when I was there, it was Vanilla & Tangerine, Strawberry & Lemon, and Cantaloupe & Mojito. Not super unusual, but definitely uncommon I think! And this place has waffle cones too, of course. I do prefer Salt & Straw's which has a chewiness I like very much, but both are excellent.

Their menu was only in French when I entered, but now that I look at the English menu, there were so many interesting varieties that I wish I had ordered :') Oh noooo guess I have to go back to Montreal where I had so much fun what a shameee

UPDATE: I just found out some of their products are getting recalled due to a salmonella outbreak 💀 but only the pistachio ones which I did not have. So maybe avoid that for a while? Haha