The overall planning for Overcooked was actually pretty simple.
Story wasn't a big deal—just some short cutscenes. Unlike To the Moon or Undertale, this wasn't a story-driven game.
What really mattered was the maps and levels—those were the core of Overcooked.
Since the gameplay revolves around chopping ingredients, washing dishes, and cooking, the quality of level design had a direct impact on how fun the game was.
There were also lots of different stage environments in the game. Each one had its own theme, with different models, textures, and assets.
Another thing that really made Overcooked stand out was its gameplay mechanics.
From cutting food, to interacting with the environment, to washing and cooking—
All of these mechanics were tied to values that affected difficulty and gameplay feel.
But for Lucas, this part wasn't much of a challenge.
Thanks to the system's lottery draws, he had already won quite a few skill books related to game values and balancing.
If it were a big, stat-heavy game like a MOBA or an RTS, maybe it would've been tougher.
But for Overcooked, it was a piece of cake. Not to mention, he also had memory capsules to help.
Once the gameplay, stats, and levels were in place, the rest—like music and UI—wasn't as important for this kind of game.
Besides that, Lucas's changes to Overcooked mainly focused on expanding its content.
In his past life, Overcooked basically didn't have any mods.
That's because the workload for players to make levels was just too much.
And of course, the developers wouldn't release any of their resources either.
After all, the core of Overcooked was the way the gameplay and levels worked together.
If players could make their own content, how would the devs sell map DLCs later?
To be fair, it's not like the original dev team ever considered that possibility in the first place.
But for Lucas, Overcooked would serve as a starting point for that.
After all, unlike the previous world, most games in this parallel world are made using editor-based engines.
As for mods, while they were super common in the previous world—and many games were even built around modding—that's not really the case here.
In this world, it's rare for game studios to allow modding.
Part of it is because it's a hassle, and part of it is because opening up the system makes it easy for core game data to leak.
And if you want to support mods, you also have to structure the game's assets and design with that in mind.
That just makes most designers not even want to bother.
It's a pain, and there's no direct profit from it either.
But Lucas clearly understood how important mods can be for a game.
Not just for indie games—even big titles can benefit a lot from mod support.
Overcooked was meant to be more of an experimental project.
For this game, Lucas wanted to make modding easier for players by designing it from the ground up with mod support in mind, instead of doing what most games do—just opening up a modding interface.
If you do it that way, players still have to deal with a big learning curve, which makes it harder for mods to catch on.
"To use mods through the Workshop, players will have to go through the Nebula Games platform. So, we'll need to set up a separate server for data backup."
"Also, the art assets will need to be changed."
Lucas typed away on the keyboard as he wrote up the game's concept draft.
For this part, he planned to build the game with a modular, block-based structure—something like Minecraft.
In-game equipment and props—like conveyor belts, sinks, cabinets, fire extinguishers, serving areas, and stoves—and even larger items like hot air balloons, would all be movable and separate.
Meanwhile, the background settings would be fixed, like glaciers, regular restaurants, or even underground worlds...
Sitting in front of his computer, Lucas slowly polished the details of Overcooked.
After a day and a half of work, he wrapped up the concept draft for the game and was ready to call a meeting about the new project.
...
In a small meeting room, a group of people were chatting in low voices.
Just then, the door opened, and Lucas walked in.
When they saw him, everyone stood up from their seats.
"Have a seat. I'll give everyone a quick overview of our development plan," Lucas said.
Hearing that, everyone looked excited.
They had already caught wind that a new project was coming, and they were all itching to get started.
Thanks to the success of Outlast, everyone had gotten a huge bonus.
After all, projects mean money.
As long as they succeed, that is.
And everyone there had a lot of respect for Lucas's skills.
They couldn't really argue with his track record—he'd been impressing people since his first few games.
"This time, unlike Outlast, we're going back to making a smaller-scale game, with the goal of releasing it around Lunar New Year."
"But don't worry, this game will be a lot lighter than Outlast," Lucas said with a smile as he looked at everyone's expressions.
But then, his face turned a bit more serious.
"Even though the project is small, it's really important for the company's future. I'm hoping that with this game, we can use the Lunar New Year plus Valentine event to start slowly building up our own platform," Lucas said earnestly.
Everyone in the room had already signed NDAs and non-compete agreements, so Lucas wasn't too worried about leaks.
Nebula Games was on the rise, and Lucas had already hinted that the company would be expanding soon, even promising some big things.
And honestly, even if this stuff did get leaked, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
Because let's face it—what game company doesn't want to build its own platform?
Lucas knew that perfectly well.
But everyone in the room stayed serious—though you could see the excitement in their eyes.
They were all still young. No one wanted to rot away at some dead-end company with no ambition.
Of course, that only works if the company actually has the skills to back it up. Otherwise, it's just empty talk and false hope.
"Next, this is the game we're planning to develop. Here's the concept draft—take a look."
"Once you're done, feel free to share any ideas or suggestions, including thoughts on marketing."
Lucas turned on the projector. The screen showed the concept art for Overcooked.
(End of The Chapter)
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