KITCHEN MANIA
Game Engine: Unity
Team Size: 1
Role: Game Design + Systems Design + UX Design
Game Design Document
Master the chaos of cooking with dynamic crafting and rush-hour challenges.
The Kitchen — A Stage for Observers and Performers Alike
Inspriation
Most idle or management games can feel soothing after a while, yet they rarely offer any real sense of challenge. I want Kitchen Mania to be the kind of game you can let run on its own or jump in at any moment to steer the course.
"I've always enjoyed watching simulation characters move around, wiping tables, serving dishes, getting lost…sometimes even getting stuck in corners. It's oddly satisfying."
Core Gameplay
Narrator's Note
Chill Mode: The restaurant runs on Auto Mode, where AI employees handle everything. Players can customize, hire staff, and do all the management for the restaurant.
Rush Hour Mode: A high-stakes phase triggered every 2 hours. During this time, customers flood in, timers appear, and players are encouraged to manually control staff for bonus efficiency and higher rewards. You don’t have to, but sometimes if your AI waiter is low level, they might get overwhelmed and mess things up, like dropping plates or triggering customer walkouts.
Manual Control ≠ Rush Hour by default
Players can take over any employee at any time, but doing so during Rush Hour is when it really matters. That’s where speed and accuracy are most rewarded.
During Chill Mode, controlling a chef gives slight boosts.
During Rush Hour, controlling a chef could mean the difference between an A+ or a C rating — and major income spikes.
This system rewards both idle sim players and active multitaskers, and gives players the freedom to shift playstyles.
Employee
Every employee follows AI routines, but you can click on any one of them to personally take over:
Waiter: Deliver dishes
Chef: Stir-fry & Plate
Cleaner: Wash dishes
Security: Patrol & Protect
Entertainer: Perform & Charm
Even pets in the store! Take control of the pet and ask the customers to pet you.
“It’s not just a kitchen simulator; it’s more like a live performance.
You can be the director, or hop on stage anytime you want.”
Visual Annotation
Automatic Mode
Failure — Sometimes It’s a Celebration
“I used to think high speed = more fun.
But it turned out to be a recipe for stress overload.”
Manual Mode
A Failed Experiment: Rush Hour Without Rewards
I initially designed Rush Hour mode to capture the frantic intensity of a restaurant slammed with orders: Customers poured in at breakneck speed, staff dashed in every direction—everyone was always running. Yet playtesters told me: “It’s too hectic; I don’t want to go through that again.” The problem? There was plenty of tension but no payoff, so it felt like pure anxiety with no sense of satisfaction.
"If rewards come too easily, it’s like one-shotting a Dark Souls boss—where’s the fun in that? The goal isn’t to punish, but to make those rewards feel truly earned."
Visual Annotation
Multiplayer Mode
Farm To Table Expansion
More Random Events
Future Ideas – Too Complex to Build Now
Allow players to work together in the same restaurant, they can split roles and manage the restaurant together. This can add more fun to the current Rush Hour mode.
Add a land management system where players can buy farms to grow their own ingredients or raise chickens. If they manage it well, they can save money on ingredients. But if they make mistakes, like spending too much on fences or forgetting about shipping costs, it can actually make things worse. This encourages long-term planning and makes the in-game economy feel more connected to player choices.
First Person Control Mode
Let players directly take control of NPC employees in a first-person 3D mode. Whether plating dishes during a dinner rush or delivering food through a crowded restaurant, this would create a stronger connection to the staff and add a better simulation gameplay experience.
Add unpredictable events like health inspectors, influencer visits, food shortages, or VIP customers. These surprises keep the gameplay fresh even after hours of play. They also add emotional tension. For example, players might think, "What if the inspector shows up today? We probably shouldn’t leave ingredients on the floor."
Online Review System & NPC Memory
Simulate a digital review platform where customer feedback is stored and shown in real time. NPCs can be influenced by what’s written online, and even remember their past experiences. For example, if a customer had to wait too long during their last visit, they’ll be less patient the next time they come in.
Recipe Crafting
It would be exciting to combine this with AI. Players could come up with wild recipes we’d never think of “like potato and ice cream” and see if they actually work. If the dish ends up tasting good, it encourages players to keep experimenting. An AI system could judge the food’s quality based on flavor balance and other details. It just creates a lot more freedom and possiblity.
The Fix: Redefining the Flow with Rewards
Grading System introduced (A+ to F)
To give players more meaningful feedback, I introduced a grading system that evaluates performance at the end of each round. It also comes with three difficulty levels: Easy, Standard, and High Intensity. Depending on their grade, players receive different rewards
What Affects the Grade:
How quickly customers received their food
Whether any ingredients were dropped on the ground
If a worker received a tip due to positive customer interactions
How many ingredients were wasted during the round
Whether any customers waited too long in line
If the wrong dish was served to the wrong customer
Suddenly, players wanted to challenge themselves, compare scores, share results, some even chased “perfect runs.”