Alright folks, it’s finally here! Introducing my game, The Picnic Basket! This cafe-themed game was made for the MakeCode Arcade Cozy Jam. I had this idea of making a game with, like, an ALMOST INFINITE number of conversations and dialogue. You know, a game meant to be played over a long period of time. It has a few references to The MakeCode Forums (TMF). For those of you who know TMF, you’ll find a rare few references if you max out your trust levels…
In this game, you’ll find yourself seated across from one of five distinct characters: Amara, Leo, Nia, Elliot, or Riley. Each character brings a unique personality. Every time you start a new game, luck decides who your companion will be. Will it be a brand-new face, or will you find someone familiar?
The trust system is basically the heart of the game, shaping the core of the interactions overtime. Each character begins with a base trust level of 3, and with a bit of luck after conversations—and whether you choose to pay for the coffee— it affects how much they grow to trust you. As trust increases, conversations can change from lighthearted banter to deep exchanges. Achieving a trust level of 10 unlocks the most revealing dialogues, where characters share their dreams, fears, and closely guarded secrets. I kept the trust level hidden, so it’s a surprise when you get new dialogue! I also wanted it to feel less mechanical that way, I felt that the numbers would kinda start to define them.
With 120 possible conversations and an unfathomably PAINFUL 1,058 sentences of dialogue, The Picnic Basket offers an almost idiotic amount of replayability. The plan for The Picnic Basket was kinda just an experiment, but I wanted to show off how you can get more through casual, everyday moments.
P.S. REMEMBER, the game is made to be played over a LONG PERIOD OF TIME, like, over a week maybe. For example, you can come home from school and be like “hey, lemme play the picnic basket real quick”, play it like 3 times, then move on and just play it another time, (I PROMISE IT’S ACTUALLY REALLY FUN LIKE THAT), if you try to play it all in one go, you might completely lose your mind at its slowness. I just kinda wanted a game that can be cozy and not just a one-time-move-on experience, and more of a routine game.
— ChimbroDaPro
TMF Story…
Gosh… post-TMF 3 is looking very interesting so far. I’m looking to make things for just game jams for the time being, but… in the story, time may have restarted for those locked within the time of the universes, like the forumverse. Based on how the time loop works, the timeline restarts at the beginning, the VERY BEGINNING of TMF1. Yes, with randomuser (you lol) asking about their game. The only difference is that scamma won’t say the game is bad. Everyone will move on in the scenario as if scamma never existed. But THE PLAYER… THE PLAYER remembers everything, and is completely and utterly alone. They wish they stopped scamma before he did this. They wish they had found another solution, some way to keep scamma alive. But now scamma is gone. And worse, no one in any other universe knows who scamma is. Except for THE PLAYER. They’re coping with it on their own, which is why they went to The Picnic Basket Café. Apparently, the characters are somewhat conscious there, a bit like scamma.
Very cozy indeed!
