Play as a magical chef! Hunt monsters and cook them into exquisite dishes to wow the judges and crush your opponents!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Into the Blender!
about 8 years ago
– Fri, Sep 30, 2016 at 07:44:04 PM
Hey Battle Chefs! September was the wildest of months, starting with an exhausting yet excellent PAX West followed by a ton of hours spent polishing up the Beta Buffet Backer Demo.
Backer Demo
The 250 or so of you who backed at the Beta Buffet tier and above will be getting the Backer Demo real soon. It turns out that finalizing all major game features takes more than a week after PAX! If our final testing and marketing efforts go as planned, it should be in your hands very soon!
Let's take a look at what we've been jamming into the demo:
Dialogue System Upgrades
What started as a straightforward way to have characters say a few lines has evolved into an awesome digital graphic novel cutscene tool! Camera movement, character positioning, camera shake, sounds, particles, tweens, and more are now supported, which brings a ton of life to all of our characters. The Backer Demo has examples of a bunch of these effects, but there will be a pass later on where we really amp up the story's big moments.
Mina runs into Kirin rather violently
Menu Updates
The challenge modes got some attention from UI maestro Benn Marion! Not all the UI in the demo has gotten an update, but the look is coming together really well.
Challenge Modes Menu Mockup
Break the Targets
In the demo, Mina and Thrash have one challenge level each. Here's a test version of Mina's, showing an ok run by yours truly.
Break the Targets Test Run
Daily Cook-Off
The Daily Cook-Off is a really critical part of the demo because it contains some of the more advanced mechanics (like Saucing and the Crock Pot) as well as Thrash! From those players who are up to the challenge, we'll get great data about what's working well and what's too confusing. A few PAX West players returned multiple times to beat their friends and foes as Thrash in the Daily Cook-Off and it was splendid to finally see our true design goals manifest on the leaderboards. It's gratifying to see multiple dishes under construction at once for two or three judges.
Daily Cook-Off Mockup
Forest Practice Kitchen
Not all cooking duels are sanctioned by the Battle Chef Brigade, so chefs visiting Brigade Town sometimes have to take a hike into the nearby woods to battle. It's especially fun to see this realized in full because one of Eric's original BCB mockups took place in a forest kitchen just like this!
Forest Practice Kitchen
The Farm
No fantasy cooking game can be without a farm! In the demo, Mina and Simon have a chat here about her not-so-surprising roguish plans to "borrow" some gold.
Field outside Windy Village
PAX Press
For the majority of you who couldn't attend PAX West, here's a bunch of the great press we received. The combo of Indie Megabooth and Adult Swim Games' booth was exhausting but incredible. These headlines are excellent :)
That's all for this month, Battle Chefs! Backer Demo-tier folks will receive some extra emails soon and everyone else should keep an eye out for new press, Youtuber, and streamer videos of the demo. Cheers!
Adult Swim Games, Pax, and Thrash!
about 8 years ago
– Thu, Sep 01, 2016 at 12:09:23 AM
Hey Battle Chefs! Sit down, grab your fork, and prepare for our biggest update so far!
Adult Swim Games
Battle Chef Brigade will be published by Adult Swim Games!
Here's what that means for BCB:
Creatively, we're still in full control. 100%. We now have a bunch of smart people we can ask for advice, but they're not developing BCB or directing it. We're still making a game for you and everyone else who loves the Hunt and Cook RPG genre.
Adult Swim Games is providing funding help, which means that instead of being forced to serve a half-baked BCB cake, we can ensure that the game comes out golden brown.
Battle Chef Brigade can reach way more people. The three of us have done a good job spreading the word, but none of us love marketing or PR. Adult Swim Games has an expert team of awesome people ready to help us alongside an amazing slate of upcoming games.
So, when will you be able to play Battle Chef Brigade? The thousands of gamers at PAX West will have a chance this weekend. If that includes you, swing by the Indie Megabooth or the Adult Swim room!
New Booth Banner
After PAX, our top priority is the backer beta access demo. We're planning that for September, once we've tweaked a few more things, especially the Daily Challenge system and Thrash's play-style. If you pledged at that tier or add it to your BackerKit order soon, keep your eyes on your inbox for download links. After collecting feedback from the demo, we'll be nailing down release plans!
Thrash
Speaking of Thrash, he's fully animated and a sight to behold. He's got some new cooking moves that Mina will have to catch up on, including properly stirring when using the Pot and Pan.
Those of you who backed at the Beta Access tier will be the first in line to test out Thrash. He's got an entirely different feel from Mina, including the ability to power up his Berserk mode.
Fruits and Vegetables
Our earliest prototypes were filled with plants that could be harvested for ingredients, but we disabled them for a while to better focus on the monsters. But now...they're back! Even these draft versions are really fun.
Harvesting Tomatoes
Whirligig Treefruit
Brigade Town
Kevin Hong has done it again! Another gorgeous, gigantic illustration for Mina's arrival to the bustling Brigade Town.
Welcome to Brigade Town
Shout-out
We haven't done a shout-out in a long time, but this is a great one. Russ Pitts (formerly of Polygon and all-around great guy) is making a documentary about the Chicago indie game development scene. He's turned to Kickstarter for funding, so please consider backing it. The three of us here at Trinket are all visible in the trailer for it here:
Whew, I think I'll leave some leftovers for next month. From the bottom of our hearts, thanks for being so supportive and kind. This is one delicious dish that we can't wait to share!
Layering the Lasagna
over 8 years ago
– Fri, Jul 29, 2016 at 09:20:44 PM
Hey Battle Chefs! July has been a whirlwind of activity as we prepare for the late-summer backer demo. Gameplay upgrades, new modes, and all sorts of art have been pouring into this delicious dish. Let's check it out!
Break the Targets
One of my favorite modes in Super Smash Bros. has always been Break the Targets. Each character gets a challenge stage where they must break a bunch of stationary targets as quickly as possible. Mastery of a character's moveset is required to get the best times. So, why not let Battle Chef characters have their own version of this? We've got a deep combat system and love leaderboards, so we're planning on including the first levels of Break the Targets in the backer demo! Here's what the prototype version looks like today before the artists tackle it:
Puzzle Rush
Similarly, we've been experimenting with another bonus mode where you can focus on cooking! Currently, you try to complete randomly-selected 10 puzzle dishes as fast as you can. Only the best chefs will be able to top the Hard leaderboard, though Easy will also be a great place to practice your technique.
Thrash
Thrash's massive number of animation frames are being inked by Ricky right now, soon to be followed by coloring. He made a great preview on Instagram here:
Although you'll only be able to play some of Mina's story in the backer demo, we're planning on letting you try out Thrash in Daily Challenges and Break the Targets!
I spent some time this month on his moveset, including implementing burning properly into combat!
Establishing Shots
As you explore the world of Battle Chef Brigade, you'll be traveling to some beautiful places. We wanted to highlight them as best we could and Kevin Hong has delivered! Here's where Mina's campaign begins, the Windy Village.
Restaurant Customers
Eric and Kelly wrapped up the first set of customers you'll be serving in the Restaurant in Brigade Town. Here's what they look like if you serve them what they wanted and, more importantly, paid you for it!
Sweet videos
Two great videos for you this week, one hilarious and one informative. First up is Kupa's Cooking with Kupa episode featuring a Battle Chef Brigade recipe. Well, sort of. Check it out here:
Next up is one of the final episodes of Sup Holmes with yours truly, me (Tom) and the wonderful Jonathan Holmes. Tons of BCB, Trinket, and Wideload history and plans in this really fun interview.
Phew, I think that's enough for today! There are a few things brewing that should make the August update even bigger than this one, though, so stay tuned, Battle Chefs!
Summer in the Kitchen
over 8 years ago
– Sat, Jul 02, 2016 at 11:53:01 PM
Hey Battle Chefs! Summer’s here, it’s getting hot in the kitchen, and the pot of sweet, sweet art is at a full boil! Our team of crack artists has been churning out some great stuff!
An Artful Appetizer
Here’s a few of the items Mina will be earn from defeating rival chefs in the campaign, brought to life by Queenie:
Next up are some of the new customers we’ll be adding to the game’s restaurant gameplay, brought to us by Kelly:
Followed by some of Ahmad’s new monster concepts for the fast-materializing Caverns biome:
Speaking of the Caverns, Matthew’s been hard at work revising the environment art closer to a final colorized version that matches the new art direction we’ve chosen for all of our environments. It’s looking pretty top-notch:
Meanwhile, we added support for “Expression Clips” in our dialogue system. Here’s Razel gently waking Mina from sleeping in late:
And to coincide with some of the new item art we’ve got coming in, we quickly added the ability to make any attack set struck enemies on fire:
Last but certainly not least, George has been revisiting some of Mina’s combat sound effects:
This month we took Battle Chef Brigade back to Indy PopCon in Indianapolis. It was a great chance to catch up with con-goers that had played the game last year, fellow Midwest devs, and lots of new players!
Backer Early Demo
We’re very pleased with the rate at which we’ve been able to produce new content now that we’ve got some great new folks helping out. That said, we really want to get some of that new content in for the beta so that we can get feedback on it. We’re still targeting late summer for distributing the demo, and we’ll be sure to keep all of you updated about that target as we get closer. We’re super excited to share it with you!
Turn up the Art
over 8 years ago
– Tue, May 31, 2016 at 08:55:58 PM
Hey Battle Chefs! Lots of things to talk about in this update, so get out your sharpest steak knife and dig in!
Artists++
As you may remember from a couple updates ago, we put out a call to find more skilled illustrators to speed up our art pipeline. We're super thrilled to announce the addition of four new superheroes to the team:
Adding a bunch more artists became clearly necessary over the last few months as we planned the path to release. It turns out that making a story-driven, hand-animated game spanning two genres with multiple playable characters requires a TON of content.
However, we now have a plan in place to get Battle Chef Brigade into your hands as soon as possible. The first step in that direction is The Beta! We're planning on including the beginning of Mina's story, which will acquaint you with the BCB world, characters, and mechanics. We're also planning on including a preview version of the Daily Challenges. That will help us balance the opponent AI, items, and suss out any compatibility issues. We're hoping to release the Beta to backers at that tier later this summer, followed by an announcement of when we plan on releasing!
Thrash combat
We've also been pushing forward on our stalwart Orc's combat moveset. He necessitated adding a bunch of great new features to our combat physics system, including bouncing enemies off the ground and walls, knocking monsters into each other, and better hit animation control.
Consume in the WIP Caverns
Indy PopCon
We'll be attending Indy PopCon in Indianapolis from June 17th-19th again. Apparently we can't win the Grand Prize again, but maybe they'll have other categories this year! If you'll be attending, please stop by! We'll be playtesting some new story content.
Steam and Beyond
We're all set up with Steam and have already started integrating Steam achievements and services into BCB. We'll have much more to say about Steam and consoles as we get closer to launch, especially once we make a new trailer! For now I'll just mention that Chris improved our console boot time from 45 seconds to under 10 :)
Video
Some late PAX coverage went up from Destructoid here:
