Sugarplum Cafe: introducing cakes and tea parties! (Patreon)

Hi! Usually I post on weekends, but since the month is ending soon I wanted to be sure you got my Sugarplum Cafe update as promised! As mentioned in my last post, I was unable to draw this month due to my hands cramping but it thankfully didn't affect my ability to type and code, so I made the most of my downtime to work on my cozy crafting game, Sugarplum Cafe.

If you don't know what Sugarplum Cafe is or want to play the demo, check out this post!

Here are some of the new features I've added since the last demo. Because I can't draw right now, there's gonna be some stock photos used as placeholder art lol it will all be replaced eventually!

Cakes

(I drew these a while ago, but they will probably be redesigned.)

It wouldn't be a dessert game without cakes! You can now merge desserts into single flavor cakes, but you can also create custom cakes that combine any two flavors of your choice.

(Sorry the labels for the flavors look wonky...it will be fixed)

This will allow for some more complex flavor combinations like mint chocolate, Black Forest, Tiramisu...the list goes on. Some of these new cakes can unlock new ladies inspired by them too!

To create custom cakes, you'll need a new tool: the Cake Stand. It will generate a recipe for your custom cake based on the flavors you choose. You'll need to craft all the items listed in the recipe to bring your cake to life.

Recipe items can be desserts you've seen before and the single flavor cakes, but also new ingredients that will need to be crafted with new tools.

• Jams are made in a Pot, by combining Sugar with any flavor.
• Mousses are made in a Mixer, by combining Cream with any flavor.

(Sugar and Cream are two of the new flavors that will be added to the game! Sugar can be bought as a regular ingredient basket, but Cream is made by adding Milk to a new tool called a Separator.)

(Also drawn a while ago, also will be redesigned.)

Tea Parties

I included a test version of tea parties in the demo, but I guess I never wrote a proper blurb about it?? But it works out because I am changing how they work now.

Of course I had to include tea parties in a pretty cafe game! To start a tea party, you'll invite two ladies of your choice who will order a menu combining their representative flavors. The menu can include sweets, drinks, custom cakes - basically anything you've discovered.

(If this doesn't scream 'placeholder art that will be redrawn later' I don't know what does lol)

If the ladies' flavors mesh well, you'll discover a new tea set. There will be many types of tea sets to discover, and of course new ladies who will visit depending on the tea sets you find. It's similar to the cakes, except the cakes only work with two specific flavors and tea sets are more like general themes and work with a variety of flavors!

Quality of Life Changes

There is now a menu for easy access to the Catalog, Shop, and Quests so you don't have to remember all the shortcuts. Eventually I would like to have a Controls option and Story archive here as well.

There is now a fridge for extra storage. You'll be able to organize your fridge, move stuff to and from the kitchen, and upgrade it to increase your storage.

I think it would be nice to redesign the UI to actually make it look like a fridge, although I think it might look tacky and I don't know if it would fit the aesthetic...

The last item you throw into the trash will now be saved so you can fish it out of the garbage if you decide to use it. Not the most sanitary, but good thing there's no Lady Health Inspector in the game.

I was inspired by Terraria for this mechanic; I know what it's like to accidentally discard something when you don't mean to.

(The trash feature was buggy in the last build, it should be working properly now...fingers crossed!)

What's next?

I've added more to the game where the implementation is not quite done yet. My doctor's appointment for my hands will be in two weeks, so I'll continue to work on the game until then and provide an update on both the game + my hands.

I'm hoping I'll be able to draw once I get professional advice, and I had at least one non-game art thing I wanted to design before the end of April, but I can't make any promises!