Food and cooking mechanics have a long history in video games, evolving from health power-ups to sidequest and mini-games and eventually into a creative pillar holding up entire genres. As we start out our week focusing on cooking games and restaurant simulators, let’s examine some of the most popular themes across the genre and explore what developers can learn and apply to their own delicious side dishes.
Some of the earliest uses of food in video games come from the classics; in Pac-Man (1980), we saw fruit used to award points based on how long the player could survive in a level. In Burgertime (1982), food preparation is at the core of a challenge rooted in skill, with players stacking different ingredients like lettuce and tomato to assemble a hamburger. In games like Gauntlet (1985), large chunks of meat are used in health restoration, inspiring the classic and oft-quoted line: “Warrior needs food badly.” Whatever the era in gaming, food and cooking have served many design goals.
