Meet the Chocolatier: Sweet Society lead designer – new features!
We've been rolling out sweet new features for Chocolatier: Sweet Society since we launched it. Ever wonder who comes up with them? Meet the lead designer of the game, YesWeCatan! As the lead designer, YesWeCatan produces lots of documents for the programmers and artists to read so they can add the new content to the game. He works closely with his team to make sure everything is clear so that implementation goes smoothly. Read on for his take on the Facebook game development process.
What inspired the game?
We looked at some of the hit PlayFirst download games and decided that the Chocolatier series was a great fit for a social game on Facebook. There was nothing like it in the market, and a lot of the existing game features, content, and story translated well into a social game.
What cool features did you design?
PlayFirst worked with an outside developer to create the Chocolatier launch product. Soon after the product launched, we brought the game in-house, and I was assigned to be the lead designer.
One of the features that were originally designed to be in the game, Melting, wasn’t in at launch, so we tried to add it later when the product was live. There was "a great disturbance in the Force" at this. We examined all the feedback from the community and decided to turn the Melting feature on its head. Instead of making players lose when they come back too late to the game, we decided to make them win by coming on time. This was the birth of the Freshness bonus.
Another feature we felt would enhance the game was putting more value in the items the players buy. So we added the idea of décor value and expansion size modifying the player’s base prestige. We are still in the process of tuning and modifying this feature.
What’s your favorite tip for playing Chocolatier: Sweet Society?
If you want to sell faster, leave your browser open with the game on.
What’s your favorite chocolate in the game?
I tend to make the Star Spangled Pralines a lot, but in real life I'd like to eat the Coffee Chocolate Squares, yum!
Do you have any funny stories while making the game?
Sometimes bugs can have amusing results:
What do you love about being the lead designer?
I love being able to look at the whole game and imagine how all the current and future parts will fit together. I love to research new topics (like chocolates and chocolate making!) and figure out how they can become game features or content.
What challenges have you encountered making this game?
It’s always difficult to come into a game that is already in progress. You want to change things, and clean up some of the “mess”, but you have to work with what’s there and only change things that absolutely need to be changed. I think my biggest challenge now is having so many ideas for new features, but only so much time to put them down on paper, and only so many programmers and artists to create them.
Any tips for future game designers?
When I was first starting in the game industry, there were no books on game design but now they seem to be falling out of the trees. I’d suggest browsing Amazon and buying some of the top rated books on game design. Read those, and then play a ton of games of all different genres. Compare what you’ve learned about game design from the books and analyze each game you play. Then take your great game idea, and try to put it down on paper, describe it so that other people can understand it. Figure out how all the moving parts fit together, play the game in your mind. I’m also a big fan of board games and role-playing games since their mechanics are transparent, they are good learning tools as well as being fun!
Do you have any questions for YesWeCatan? Ask in the comments!
Interviewed by: Applesun
Games in this post: Chocolatier: Sweet Society
Welcome!
More
Our Latest Games
Buy it now for $6.99!
Check in 2 adventure!
Get Connected!
- Follow us on Twitter!
- Get the PlayFirst RSS Feed
- Play games on PlayFirst.com
- Sign up for the newsletter
- Watch PlayFirst Game videos on Youtube
PlayFirst On Twitter
- No public Twitter messages.
July 26th, 2010 - 12:05
yes make it easy to get friends to join I invite what is on list but they dont play it seems I am in mid 20′s and have o friends and now I cant get some things because I dont have friends I need to play on.
July 26th, 2010 - 12:53
I have to agree that the Chocolatier group are different from the rest. Most do not stick with it and in fact I have several neighbors who started and quit rather quickly. I’m up to needing those 20 neighbors and I’m lucky to have 10. I’m still waiting for Chocolatier 4 for pc! So in light of all that we need something to get a more diverse fan group.
July 26th, 2010 - 13:13
since i started playing the game there have been many bugs but those aside i would love to know why my husband and daughter have been getting play funds yet it is I that has been playing the longest and you would think that at level 31 I would at least have 2 by now. Also why is it that outof the 67 neighbors that i have i can only visit 10 and the rest of the windows are empty yet they all play? And lets talk about the bugs now seeing how most of my neighbors wiped me out of candy during a bug that allowed people to unload the displays and get a sample? As for people leaving most of them that has left me is because of the slow play and loading problems in the game.Also it seems that the gifting is still out of wack as I can recieved but can not send unless I’m in that persons shop of which it doesn’t help that the people that are gifting me are the ones I can not see as thier shops do not load.
July 26th, 2010 - 14:23
I wish there were more classical designs, like Corinthian columns, walls with cornices (egg & dart &/or dentils), dado railings, baseboards, statues, fluted columns, candelabras, chippendale, sofas, loveseats, divan, pedestals, fountains, gilded furniture, etc.
I noticed there were arched designs on the wall at the photo while the game is loading & I was trying to find the same wall in the game but it wasn’t there. I hope you would include those arches on the wall in the game, too. I LOVE THEM!
I truly like this game because of its originality & its impressive detail. I just hope more decorations will be added soon.
And just a thought, maybe soon we can expand to making hot chocolate drinks? A mini-cafe, perhaps?
July 26th, 2010 - 14:37
I wish it would just load for me daily!
July 26th, 2010 - 17:50
make it possible to sell back items that we no longer want.
July 27th, 2010 - 05:06
Hey, thanks for the game! (“,)
July 28th, 2010 - 04:16
cool game, love the art work
August 2nd, 2010 - 10:31
Thank you for the comments. We have a lot of your suggestions on our roadmap, and we are working on the loading issues some users are having.
August 8th, 2010 - 21:30
I’m new to the game, got stuck in the tutorial, factory click here to add to inventory, I have tried numerous time clicking and won’t do anything, I have tried reloading and still stuck. Can you help me so i can get on with game and play it looks like I will like it if I ever get to actually play!!!
August 13th, 2010 - 10:29
@Dorla Norton Contact our customer support at support@playfirst.com. They should be able to help you. =)
August 14th, 2010 - 23:51
YesWeCatan, I love, love your artwork. But I have to say, please add more decor variations for windows and doors. Walls, too, as I’m having a hard time integrating the lovely powder blue door with the wallpaper choices (suggestion: stripes would be good, and wainscotting).
Please have your team fix the optimizer machine: it’s slow to respond and ends up shooting off target.
Please address the scrolling issue as well. Lately, I the “next” buttons are going fastforward. It’s true for recipes and decors.
How about adding a cat/dog for us pet lovers?
Kudos and power to you guys!
September 13th, 2010 - 13:09
How when you´ll release the Chocolatier 4 to suceed Decadence by Design?
And i´d like to known if you will launch it as a Windows XP aplication?
September 13th, 2010 - 13:11
Thanks!
September 28th, 2010 - 13:59
After playing the first 3 pc games and being a loyal chocolatier player; I will have to say I am very disappointed with the facebook application. The whole fun of the chocolatier game is traveling the world, making and designing chocolate, and finding the secret ports and ingredients. The facebook app. is more like the chocolate chase; then the actual games themselves. Very disappointed.
November 26th, 2010 - 07:25
Having trouble… I recently started this game and asked for some chocolatier-playing friends, but I can’t add them. I only have the option to add a new player, but the people who already play chocolatier are not listed… I understand the builders wanting me to try and persuade other people to play their game, but this is annoying..