Cooking Diary: A Recipe for Six Years of Success

MYTONIA, the developer behind the wildly popular time-management game Cooking Diary, reveals the recipe for its six-year reign. Whether you're a fellow developer seeking inspiration or a devoted player curious about the game's creation, this detailed breakdown offers a fascinating look behind the scenes.

The Ingredients:

• A sprawling narrative encompassing 431 story episodes.
• 38 unique and vibrant characters.
• 8,969 distinct in-game items.
• An impressive 905,481 active guilds.
• A diverse array of engaging events and contests.
• A dash of humor to keep things lighthearted.
• Grandpa Grey's secret ingredient (revealed later!).

The Recipe:

Step 1: Crafting the Narrative:

Begin by constructing a captivating plot filled with humor and unexpected twists. Populate this world with a colorful cast of characters. The story unfolds across 160 restaurants and 27 districts, starting with the player's grandfather Leonard's Burger Joint and expanding to locations like Colafornia, Schnitzeldorf, and Sushijima.

Step 2: Customization Extravaganza:

Enhance the game world with an extensive collection of items: over 8,000 in total, including 1,776 outfits, 88 unique facial features, 440 hairstyles, and more than 6,500 decorative items for restaurants and homes. Players can even customize adorable pets with 200 clothing options.

Step 3: Dynamic In-Game Events:

Incorporate a variety of engaging tasks and events, leveraging robust analytics to ensure a high-quality, well-balanced experience. The key is to create layers of events that complement each other, offering diverse and enjoyable experiences, as seen in August's nine concurrent events.

Step 4: Building a Thriving Community:

With over 905,000 guilds, fostering a strong community is crucial. Introduce guild events and tasks gradually, ensuring they don't clash with other time-consuming activities. Well-timed events attract more players.

Step 5: Learning from Setbacks:

Embrace mistakes as learning opportunities. MYTONIA openly discusses the initial misstep with pet implementation in 2019, highlighting how they adapted and increased revenue by 42% through the "Path to Glory" event.

Step 6: Strategic Marketing and Presentation:

Cooking Diary's success extends beyond its gameplay. A strong social media presence across Instagram, Facebook, and X, coupled with creative messaging and collaborations (like the Stranger Things and YouTube partnerships), are key to standing out in a crowded market.

Step 7: Continuous Innovation:

Maintaining success requires constant evolution. Cooking Diary's ongoing success stems from consistent updates, including event calendar adjustments, gameplay balancing, and the introduction of new features.

Step 8: The Secret Ingredient: Passion:

Grandpa Grey's secret ingredient is passion. Creating a truly great game requires genuine love for the project.

Cooking Diary is available on the App Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore, Microsoft Store, and AppGallery.