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Chocolatier (video game)
Encyclopedia
Chocolatier is a casual
strategy video game
with action game
elements, developed by Big Splash Games and published by PlayFirst
. The game was initially released as a download on May 1, 2007 and was followed by CD ROM release on September 27, 2007. Players assume the role of a young Chocolatier
, who must navigate 14 cities across the globe while buying ingredients, manufacturing chocolates, and selling them to chocolate shops. Two modes of play are available: in story mode the player must rebuild an almost bankrupt chocolate empire and acquire 64 chocolate recipes from across the world; in free mode players start out with scant resources and must become successful chocolatiers.
Chocolatier was the first game developed by Big Splash Games, a trio of experienced video game designers, who initially remained employees whilst developing a prototype game in their spare time. This prototype was rejected by publishers, but after coming up with the premise of Chocolatier the team was signed-up by PlayFirst and completed the title. The game received a mostly positive reception: reviewers enjoyed the action
mini-game which is played when chocolates are manufactured, as well as the game's graphics, sound, and Victorian-era presentation.
. The game has two modes of play: story and free play. Story mode involves a number of quests, including delivering specific chocolates and restoring the fictional Baumeister chocolate empire to its former glory. The player is enlisted by Evangeline Baumeister to rebuild the Baumeister chocolate empire which has been ruined by Evangeline's younger sister who scattered chocolate recipes around the world. The player must locate the 64 lost recipes, visit 14 different cities across the globe, purchase 6 closed Baumeister factories, establish business relationships with outlets and suppliers, and manufacture chocolates to keep in business. Free play mode allows the player to travel, manufacture, and trade without undertaking quests. This mode starts the player with a small amount of cash and all chocolate recipes unlocked for use. In story mode, players begin with a single factory and a recipe for simple chocolate bars, the player must visit the market to purchase ingredients and begin the manufacturing process.
The game is turn-based. Each turn represents one week, and travelling between cities takes a number of turns depending on the proximity of the destination city. Many cities have a chocolate shop, where the player can sell their stock, and a market where ingredients can be purchased. Some specialty cacao beans can only be purchased from plantations in certain cities. Factories manufacturing chocolates produce a set amount of product every turn, as long as the required ingredients are in stock. During story mode, quests are given by non-player characters; these typically involve producing a particular volume and type of chocolate and delivering it to another non-player character, who is either traveling or can be found at a set location. Quest rewards take the form of a high price for the chocolates or a new recipe. Some encounters with characters give the player an opportunity to gamble a large amount of their money on a dice roll. Market owners can be bartered with, though this carries the risk of them becoming irritated and raising prices rather than lowering them.
When producing a particular chocolate for the first time, a mini-game is played where ingredients are fired from a cannon to fill circular trays which revolve around the cannon. The ingredients and quantities needed vary, depending on the recipe. Each time a circle is filled with the correct ingredients, it is removed and an empty circle put in its place. The trays spin faster as more circles are filled. If too many ingredients are wasted by misfiring the cannon, production is brought to a halt and the mini-game must be attempted again. The mini-game ends when the timer runs out; the number of completed circles is equal to the number of chocolates produced by that factory every week. The mini-game cannot be played unless the player owns the correct ingredients, and it can be replayed if the player wishes to try and improve the efficiency of the factory. Playing the mini-game advances in-game time by one week. Different chocolate types, such as truffles and squares, require the factory to be upgraded first, costing money.
based Big Splash Games was formed in late 2005 by three veterans of the videogame industry: Jon Blossom, Stephen Lewis and Michael Wyman. They came together to produce a prototype video game for the casual market. They worked on this for a few months when they were not working (they still held jobs within the industry to support themselves). This prototype was pitched to a few publishers in order to gain feedback. PlayFirst, though not interested in the prototype, issued the team a request for proposal
for an economic simulation game, hoping that Big Splash could produce another proposal. The next morning, Big Splash co-founder Stephen Lewis remembered that he had been told that some people, in particular women, "have an almost religious connection with chocolate". Taking this idea he quickly wrote a proposal and forwarded it to his two partners. After brainstorming
the idea the team decided that it satisfied PlayFirst's request for proposal, forwarded a copy of the idea and received word from the publisher that they "had hit the nail on the head".
Chocolatier was designed to appeal to women aged between 35 and 55, a different market compared to the games previously developed by the trio. In order to immerse themselves in the subject matter during development, Big Splash's staff tasted as many variety of chocolates as they could find and took the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker
factory tour, where they witnessed the full "bean to bar" process. The factory mini-game was developed in order to give players a break from the economic side of the game, which involves buying low and selling high. It took approximately the same time to produce the mini-game as it did to create the rest of the game, which drained the developer's resources, though Stephen Lewis believed this was "the right decision". Journalists were sent Chocolatier-branded chocolate bars and "golden tickets" which allowed them to download the game for free, in order to promote the game's release. The game's sequel, Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients was first released on November 27, 2007. Chocolatier: Decadence by Design
is the third installment, released in 2009. There is another installment called The Great Chocolate Chase: A Chocolatier Twist put out by PlayFirst.
's Zeeby award for best strategy game of 2007. The game received a positive response from critics, though GameZone
's Anise Hollingshead found the game too easy, noting "there really isn’t a whole lot of thinking involved." Seattle Post-Intelligencer
reviewer Winda Benedetti described the game as "a nice break in the simulation format", other reviewers called it "a delightfully challenging business tycoon game", "challenging but not frustratingly so", and said that the game "turned out as beautifully as the chocolates." The game's graphics and sound received praise: Marc Saltzman noted "the game's wonderful art style and delightful music", but website Killer Betties' Jason Van Horn found the graphics "alright, simply doing what it needs to do to get its gameplay across."
Reviewers praised the amount of freedom given to players, Meryl Evans of Blogcritics
stated "There was no right or wrong, or a set path you must take", but added that the game lost pace when she had gathered a large amount of money and had to find a specific character to speak with before completing her current quest. After finding the non-player character, the game "picked up again and kept me hopping for the rest of it." Didi Cardoso of website Grrl Gamer also enjoyed the freedom, but noted that sometimes she felt lost and was unsure of how to find the location of the next recipe. The chocolate manufacturing mini-game was also praised as "fun". Peter Cohen of Macworld
noted that some fans of business simulators might find the mini-game "off-putting", but also suggested that it helped break up gameplay. Marc Saltzman expressed the same opinion, while Anise Hollingshead found the mini-game to be too easy to play.
Casual game
A casual game is a video game targeted at or used by a mass audience of casual gamers. Casual games can have any type of gameplay, and fit in any genre. They are typically distinguished by their simple rules and lack of commitment required in contrast to more complex hardcore games...
strategy video game
Strategy video game
Strategy video games is a video game genre that emphasizes skillful thinking and planning to achieve victory. They emphasize strategic, tactical, and sometimes logistical challenges. Many games also offer economic challenges and exploration...
with action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
elements, developed by Big Splash Games and published by PlayFirst
PlayFirst
PlayFirst is a San Francisco-based publisher of casual games. The company’s mission is to deliver delightful games for everybody, every day. PlayFirst was founded in 2004 by industry veterans...
. The game was initially released as a download on May 1, 2007 and was followed by CD ROM release on September 27, 2007. Players assume the role of a young Chocolatier
Chocolatier
A chocolatier is someone who makes confectionery from chocolate. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other ingredients.Professional chocolatiers study topics including the following:...
, who must navigate 14 cities across the globe while buying ingredients, manufacturing chocolates, and selling them to chocolate shops. Two modes of play are available: in story mode the player must rebuild an almost bankrupt chocolate empire and acquire 64 chocolate recipes from across the world; in free mode players start out with scant resources and must become successful chocolatiers.
Chocolatier was the first game developed by Big Splash Games, a trio of experienced video game designers, who initially remained employees whilst developing a prototype game in their spare time. This prototype was rejected by publishers, but after coming up with the premise of Chocolatier the team was signed-up by PlayFirst and completed the title. The game received a mostly positive reception: reviewers enjoyed the action
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
mini-game which is played when chocolates are manufactured, as well as the game's graphics, sound, and Victorian-era presentation.
Gameplay
The player assumes the role of a young chocolatier in 1880, during the Victorian eraVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. The game has two modes of play: story and free play. Story mode involves a number of quests, including delivering specific chocolates and restoring the fictional Baumeister chocolate empire to its former glory. The player is enlisted by Evangeline Baumeister to rebuild the Baumeister chocolate empire which has been ruined by Evangeline's younger sister who scattered chocolate recipes around the world. The player must locate the 64 lost recipes, visit 14 different cities across the globe, purchase 6 closed Baumeister factories, establish business relationships with outlets and suppliers, and manufacture chocolates to keep in business. Free play mode allows the player to travel, manufacture, and trade without undertaking quests. This mode starts the player with a small amount of cash and all chocolate recipes unlocked for use. In story mode, players begin with a single factory and a recipe for simple chocolate bars, the player must visit the market to purchase ingredients and begin the manufacturing process.
When producing a particular chocolate for the first time, a mini-game is played where ingredients are fired from a cannon to fill circular trays which revolve around the cannon. The ingredients and quantities needed vary, depending on the recipe. Each time a circle is filled with the correct ingredients, it is removed and an empty circle put in its place. The trays spin faster as more circles are filled. If too many ingredients are wasted by misfiring the cannon, production is brought to a halt and the mini-game must be attempted again. The mini-game ends when the timer runs out; the number of completed circles is equal to the number of chocolates produced by that factory every week. The mini-game cannot be played unless the player owns the correct ingredients, and it can be replayed if the player wishes to try and improve the efficiency of the factory. Playing the mini-game advances in-game time by one week. Different chocolate types, such as truffles and squares, require the factory to be upgraded first, costing money.
Development
Tucson, ArizonaTucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
based Big Splash Games was formed in late 2005 by three veterans of the videogame industry: Jon Blossom, Stephen Lewis and Michael Wyman. They came together to produce a prototype video game for the casual market. They worked on this for a few months when they were not working (they still held jobs within the industry to support themselves). This prototype was pitched to a few publishers in order to gain feedback. PlayFirst, though not interested in the prototype, issued the team a request for proposal
Request for Proposal
A request for proposal is issued at an early stage in a procurement process, where an invitation is presented for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service. The RFP process brings structure to the procurement decision and is meant to...
for an economic simulation game, hoping that Big Splash could produce another proposal. The next morning, Big Splash co-founder Stephen Lewis remembered that he had been told that some people, in particular women, "have an almost religious connection with chocolate". Taking this idea he quickly wrote a proposal and forwarded it to his two partners. After brainstorming
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which a group tries to find a solution for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members...
the idea the team decided that it satisfied PlayFirst's request for proposal, forwarded a copy of the idea and received word from the publisher that they "had hit the nail on the head".
Chocolatier was designed to appeal to women aged between 35 and 55, a different market compared to the games previously developed by the trio. In order to immerse themselves in the subject matter during development, Big Splash's staff tasted as many variety of chocolates as they could find and took the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker
Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker
Scharffen Berger Chocolate is a line of chocolate produced by Artisan Confections Company, a subsidiary of The Hershey Company. Acquired by Hershey in 2005, it was formerly produced by Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, an independent Berkeley, California-based chocolate maker, founded in 1996 by...
factory tour, where they witnessed the full "bean to bar" process. The factory mini-game was developed in order to give players a break from the economic side of the game, which involves buying low and selling high. It took approximately the same time to produce the mini-game as it did to create the rest of the game, which drained the developer's resources, though Stephen Lewis believed this was "the right decision". Journalists were sent Chocolatier-branded chocolate bars and "golden tickets" which allowed them to download the game for free, in order to promote the game's release. The game's sequel, Chocolatier 2: Secret Ingredients was first released on November 27, 2007. Chocolatier: Decadence by Design
Chocolatier: Decadence by Design
Chocolatier: Decadence by Design is a casual strategy video game, developed by Big Fish Games and published by PlayFirst. The game was released on January 22, 2009 for the Mac OS X and Windows. In 2011 it was released on the iOS platform. In Chocolatier: Decadence by Design, players are able to...
is the third installment, released in 2009. There is another installment called The Great Chocolate Chase: A Chocolatier Twist put out by PlayFirst.
Reception
Chocolatier was awarded GamezeboGamezebo
Gamezebo is a website that focuses on editorial coverage of the casual games industry, offering interviews, features, reviews, previews, strategy guides, news and podcasts....
's Zeeby award for best strategy game of 2007. The game received a positive response from critics, though GameZone
GameZone
GameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...
's Anise Hollingshead found the game too easy, noting "there really isn’t a whole lot of thinking involved." Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
reviewer Winda Benedetti described the game as "a nice break in the simulation format", other reviewers called it "a delightfully challenging business tycoon game", "challenging but not frustratingly so", and said that the game "turned out as beautifully as the chocolates." The game's graphics and sound received praise: Marc Saltzman noted "the game's wonderful art style and delightful music", but website Killer Betties' Jason Van Horn found the graphics "alright, simply doing what it needs to do to get its gameplay across."
Reviewers praised the amount of freedom given to players, Meryl Evans of Blogcritics
Blogcritics
Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site—a self-proclaimed "sinister cabal of superior writers"—was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn...
stated "There was no right or wrong, or a set path you must take", but added that the game lost pace when she had gathered a large amount of money and had to find a specific character to speak with before completing her current quest. After finding the non-player character, the game "picked up again and kept me hopping for the rest of it." Didi Cardoso of website Grrl Gamer also enjoyed the freedom, but noted that sometimes she felt lost and was unsure of how to find the location of the next recipe. The chocolate manufacturing mini-game was also praised as "fun". Peter Cohen of Macworld
Macworld
Macworld is a web site and monthly computer magazine dedicated to Apple Macintosh products. It is published by Mac Publishing, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California...
noted that some fans of business simulators might find the mini-game "off-putting", but also suggested that it helped break up gameplay. Marc Saltzman expressed the same opinion, while Anise Hollingshead found the mini-game to be too easy to play.