Video Game Students Serve Up Caffeine-Fueled Adventure with ‘Baristapocalypse’
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Toronto Film School’s graduating class of Video Game students recently showcased their capstone gameBaristapocalypse during a virtual event for students, faculty, staff and alumni.
Billed as a “caffeine-fueled adventure,” the multi-player game is set in a post-apocalyptic universe where players are tasked with managing a coffee shop on a commercial spacecraft – keeping it free of spills, garbage, and loitering alien clientele.
“We’re very excited. It’s been a wild 18 months, and this is the culmination of it,” said Video Game Design & Animation grad Gabriel Ramos, who served as Baristapocalypse’s Lead Artist.
The game, he explained, allows up to four players to help handle the “cosmic chaos” as they brew a variety of ingredients “in pursuit of the perfect cup of joe.”
“Our goal was to make a game that merges the hectic nature of Overcooked and the attention to detail of Papers, Please,” added Michael Stiers, the Video Game Design & Development grad who served as Baristapocalypse’s Lead Developer.
“However, we wanted to avoid the mechanical similarities, and we did that by ensuring the game was less prescriptive. What that means is that there are no recipes – there are only descriptors of what the customer is expecting, and the player has to prepare the drink as closely as possible.”
Taking visual style inspiration from the game Endless Dungeon, Stiers said Baristapocalypse’s gameplay is comprised of two main components – the customer order management system, “where you take the order, make the order and deliver the order”; and the maintenance tasks, “like cleaning up spills and garbage, discarding loiterers from the café, and quick time events.”
“All of these are designed to get the player out from behind the counter and create a sense of urgency,” he said, noting that quick time events hinder the player from completing their orders until they are addressed.
In order to ultimately win the game of Baristapocalypse, players must earn sufficient tips to get their vacation request ‘a-brew-ved’, explained Jeffrey Tong, the game’s Co-Technical Director and Networking Lead.
“Each satisfied customer generates a review based on a multitude of factors, including accuracy and delivery time, as well as café cleanliness… each review is based on a five-star system, as well as a randomly generated description on how well each customer was served, as well as what the player can improve on…” he explained.
“At the end of the game, your score is tallied up using the amount of tips earned, and to win you must meet a minimum threshold.”
For more information about Baristapocalypse, or to try out the game for yourself, go to https://poisonmeganium.itch.io/baristapocalypse
The Ghost Roast Games Team Behind Baristapocalypse:
Art and Animation:
Gabriel Ramos – Lead Artist and Game Designer
Red Sheridan – Producer and 3D Artist
Megan MacKinnon – Lead 2D Artist and Lead UI
Turner Burton – Lead Animator
Alex Goerz – Lead 3D Modeler
Samori Bryan – 3D Modeler and VFX
Tabitha Chen – 2D Artist
Jessica Spattz – 2D Artist
April Martin – Narrative and Audio Designer
Max Pateman – Animation
Programming and Development:
Michael Stiers – Lead Developer
Jeffrey Tong – Co-Technical Director and Networking Lead
Juan Zuluaga Castano – Co-Technical Director
Deandre Depluzer – Gameplay Programmer
Rod John Cayaco – Artificial Intelligence Programmer
Andrew James – Audio and UI
Douglas Park – Shaders and Cameras
Bransen Starkey – Additional Programming
Brett Penney – Additional Programming
Daniel Obiacoro – Additional Programming
