6 Years of Cooking Diary: A Recipe for Success

Cooking Diary: A Six-Year Recipe for Success

MYTONIA, the developer behind the megahit time-management game Cooking Diary, is celebrating six years of delicious success. Whether you're a fellow developer seeking inspiration or a dedicated player curious about the game's creation, this behind-the-scenes look reveals the recipe for Cooking Diary's enduring popularity.

Ingredients:

• 431 story episodes
• 38 hero characters
• 8,969 elements
• 905,481 guilds
• A generous helping of events and contests
• A dash of humor
• Grandpa Grey's secret ingredient

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Crafting the Lore:

Begin by crafting a captivating plot brimming with humor and unexpected twists. Populate your world with a diverse cast of colorful characters. The story unfolds across numerous restaurants and districts, starting with your grandfather Leonard's Burger Joint. Gradually expand to include locations like Colafornia, Schnitzeldorf, and Sushijima. Cooking Diary boasts 160 unique restaurants and eateries spread across 27 vibrant districts, ensuring a steady stream of guests.

Step 2: Customization Extravaganza:

Lay the foundation of your lore and then add an extensive array of customization options. Include over 8,000 items, encompassing 1,776 outfits, 88 sets of facial features, 440 hairstyles, and over 6,500 decorative items for homes and restaurants. For players who love their furry friends, add pets and 200 clothing items to customize them.

Step 3: The Art of In-Game Events:

Now, it's time to enhance the gameplay with engaging tasks and events. Leveraging precise analytics is crucial, blending creative game design with data-driven precision. The key is to create layered events, each enjoyable individually and collectively. August serves as a prime example: during its second week, Cooking Diary featured nine diverse events, from Culinary Experiments to Sugar Rush, demonstrating the power of complementary event design.

Step 4: Building a Thriving Guild Community:

Cooking Diary boasts over 905,000 guilds—a testament to its strong community. Introduce guild events and tasks gradually, ensuring seamless integration. Poorly timed events can detract from the overall experience, so strategic planning is essential.

Step 5: Learning from Setbacks:

Mistakes are inevitable; the key is to learn from them. MYTONIA's experience with the initial pet introduction in 2019 serves as a case study. The initial model failed to generate interest. However, by making pets unlockable through the Path to Glory event, they achieved a 42% revenue increase.

Step 6: Mastering the Art of Presentation:

The casual games market is highly competitive. To stand out, Cooking Diary utilizes a robust social media strategy across Instagram, Facebook, and X, employing creative messaging, contests, and community engagement. Strategic collaborations, such as the partnership with Netflix's Stranger Things and YouTube's Path to Glory event, further amplify its reach.

Step 7: Continuous Innovation:

Maintaining success requires constant innovation. Cooking Diary's six-year reign at the top is a testament to its commitment to adding new content, experimenting with presentation, and refining gameplay mechanics. From event calendar adjustments to gameplay balancing, Cooking Diary remains fresh and engaging.

Step 8: The Secret Ingredient: Passion:

Grandpa Grey's secret ingredient? Passion. A successful game stems from a genuine love for the craft.

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