The Culinary Chronicle: 6 Years of Recipe Success

Cooking Diary: A Six-Year Recipe for Success

MYTONIA, the developer behind the wildly popular time-management game Cooking Diary, shares the recipe for its six-year reign of success. Whether you're a seasoned game developer or a dedicated player, this insightful breakdown offers valuable lessons and a fascinating glimpse into the game's creation.

The Ingredients:

This culinary masterpiece boasts an impressive array of components: 431 story chapters, 38 unique characters, 8,969 in-game items, over 905,000 active guilds, a vibrant events calendar, a dash of humor, and Grandpa Grey's secret ingredient (more on that later!).

The Recipe:

1. Crafting the Narrative: Begin with a compelling storyline rich with humor and unexpected twists. Populate the world with a diverse cast of characters. The game's narrative unfolds across 160 restaurants and 27 districts, starting with the player's grandfather's burger joint and expanding to diverse locations like Colafornia, Schnitzeldorf, and Sushijima.

2. Customization Extravaganza: Add a vast selection of customization options: 8,000+ items including 1,776 outfits, 88 facial feature sets, 440 hairstyles, and over 6,500 decorative items for homes and restaurants. Players can even customize their in-game pets with 200 clothing items.

3. Engaging In-Game Events: Introduce a dynamic calendar of engaging events and tasks. The key is to create diverse yet complementary events, ensuring each is enjoyable individually and contributes to the overall experience. The example of August's nine diverse events highlights this approach. Data analytics plays a crucial role in optimizing event design and frequency.

4. Building a Thriving Guild Community: With over 905,000 guilds, fostering a strong community is paramount. Introduce guild events and tasks gradually, ensuring they complement, not conflict with, other in-game activities. Careful timing is crucial to maximize player engagement.

5. Learning from Setbacks: Embrace mistakes as learning opportunities. The team openly discusses past challenges, like the initial unsuccessful introduction of pets, highlighting how data-driven adjustments (unlocking pets through events) led to a 42% revenue increase.

6. Strategic Marketing and Presentation: Cooking Diary’s success extends beyond gameplay; its marketing strategy leverages multiple platforms (App Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore, Microsoft Store, and AppGallery) along with active social media engagement, creative messaging, contests, and collaborations with giants like Netflix (Stranger Things event) and YouTube (Path to Glory event).

7. Continuous Innovation: Maintaining long-term success requires constant innovation. Cooking Diary continues to evolve, refining its event calendar, balancing gameplay, and introducing new content while preserving its core appeal.

8. Grandpa Grey's Secret Ingredient: Passion: The final, and arguably most important, ingredient is passion. Creating a truly exceptional game requires genuine love for the craft.

Cooking Diary's enduring success is a testament to its compelling gameplay, dedicated development team, and a strategic approach that prioritizes player engagement and continuous improvement.