Netizen develops local hawker cooking game based on ‘Overcooked’ series
A 25-year-old software developer has created Hawker Rush, a free browser-based cooking game inspired by the popular title Overcooked.
Julius Gambe, founder of software studio Coretech Labs, took to Reddit on Tuesday (27 Oct) to share the early build, inviting netizens to test out the game and build their own hawker empires.
The game allows players to step behind the counter of their own hawker stall and experience the fast-paced intensity of Singapore’s hawker culture.
Inspired by game nights with friends
Speaking to MS News, Julius said the idea came to him through gaming sessions with his friends.
He said:
I got inspired by the game Overcooked when my friends and I were playing it. I realised there wasn’t really a mobile game like it and especially, a Singaporean-style kind of game.
Recognising that “our hawker is [brimming] with potential for different kinds of cooking games”, he decided to turn the premise into a playable project.
Designed to reflect multiculturalism
To celebrate Singapore’s multicultural heritage, Julius incorporated cuisines representing three of the country’s main racial groups.
“For each race, I mainly focused on one type of food that fit the gameplay mechanics and is popularly associated with that specific race,” he explained.
As such, players have a choice between a prata shop, a dim sum and dumpling stall, or a satay stall.
He also customised each stall’s aesthetic, tailoring the colours and languages to reflect the different races.
Source: Courtesy of Julius Gambe
He also explained that he picked the “more popular” hawker centres for the game.
For the hawker centre locations in the game, Julius deliberately picked locations spread evenly across all regions of Singapore.
This was so that “any player from any part of Singapore can easily find a hawker [centre] that they can relate to and build their stall there”.
Simulating the real rush of hawker life
Julius designed Hawker Rush to deliver a simple yet challenging experience that mirrors the daily realities of hawker stallholders.
The main goal was to simulate real-life tasks which hawkers deal with, such as “preparing their ingredients then cooking them on the spot”.
“Then the stress also comes [from] having to prepare even more ingredients to match the demand,” Julius added.
Source: Screenshot of Hawker Rush
He found that the most suitable types of food to simulate this feeling have an “explicit prep and cook stage”.
He even balanced stall rent, menu prices, and customer crowds based on real-world factors. Rent, menu prices, and crowd levels change depending on whether the player chooses town centre locations or heartland hubs.
Source: Screenshot of Hawker Rush
The game also features co-op and competitive multiplayer modes where players can challenge friends and climb online leaderboards.
Plans for brand collabs & expanded multiplayer
Julius plans to expand Hawker Rush with richer features in upcoming updates.
He aims to enhance the multiplayer mode, adapt hawker centre backdrops to better reflect their real-life counterparts, and let players visit other users’ stalls.
“Also, I want to add more stall types and possibly collaborate with brands so that players can pretend they are the owner of that specific brand,” Julius added.
Interested players can try out the game directly in their browsers at hawkerrush.com/play.
Also read: Netizen in S’pore creates free bus tracking app that tells you when to leave
Netizen in S’pore creates free bus tracking app that tells you when to leave
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Featured image courtesy of Julius Gambe.