The Status of My Failed Spooktober Jam Game: Cook or be Cooked

 ​Hey everyone! I wanted to give you an update on my Spooktober jam game and share some news.

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So, here’s the thing: I wasn’t able to publish my game during the jam. There were a few reasons for this, but the main one was that it just wasn’t as polished as it needed to be. Despite that, working on the game was a blast, and I realized I wanted to take it further. That’s why I’ve decided to expand it into a full-fledged game, with plans to release it in 2025.

Cover image of our Steam & Itch page

To make that happen, we’ve essentially gone back to the drawing board. We’re programming everything from scratch to fix bugs and make the game scalable for a larger experience. Anis, our talented pixel artist is creating more assets and helping us refine the game’s vibe—imagine a spooky Harry Potter-esque atmosphere.


We’ve already submitted a Steam page for review, and we’re also working on an itch.io page. I’m holding off on making big announcements until we have the final graphics ready, but it’s all coming together.

On the story side, I’ve finalized the direction. The first part of the narrative, including the dialogues, is fully written and edited. What held me up for a while was figuring out where the story should go next. But after some brainstorming time, I’ve got a clear direction! If you’ve been following my devlogs, you know the game’s plot started with inspiration from Hansel and Gretel. The main storyline, however, is shifting gears toward something more like Oliver Twist. It’s a cool mix, and I’m really excited to see how it all plays out.

Our programmer, Nick, had this awesome idea to add a simple but engaging cooking mechanic. It’s shaping up to be a big part of the second half of the story, where you become a restaurant owner and get to cook for vegetarian vampires (and why not, werewolves).

Cooking Mechanic

Overall, I’m glad with how this project is evolving. Thanks so much for reading and for supporting this journey—it means a lot! Stay tuned for more updates soon. 😊

 

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