Mage Food Truck’s Insane Solo Dev Story

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In the card-based game called “Mage Food Truck,” players aim to satiate an angry realm by gathering ingredients, transforming them into meals, delivering those meals, and shielding their food truck from destruction by monsters. A follow-up to the game “Space Food Truck,” which had players completing similar tasks in a science fiction setting, “Mage Food Truck” takes on a more whimsical tone with hints of “Dungeons & Dragons.

In a recent conversation with Game Rant, Adam Stewart (the lone creator of Mage Food Truck) revealed that the Bard character is actually his Dungeons & Dragons persona. Our discussion covered various aspects of solo development for Mage Food Truck, lessons learned from Space Food Truck and how they’ve been applied, as well as Adam’s thoughts on who would find delight in satiating the ravenous realm, with necessary edits for clarity and conciseness.

Mage Food Truck Development

Q: Where did the idea for Space Food Truck and now Mage Food Truck come from?

A: The concept of Space Food Truck originally sprung from my previous development partner, Alex Okafor. He had a fondness for deckbuilding games like Dominion and pondered why there wasn’t a cooperative version. Additionally, he preferred creating a game without violence. When he described it as “You manage a food truck, but in space,” I instantly thought we should name it Space Food Truck.

For my latest project, the idea of creating a digital board game like Hex Gambit was particularly intriguing because it offered me the chance to generate more content than any other project before. To find inspiration, I looked into games similar to this one, including Space Food Truck (SFT). Initially designed as a multiplayer game, SFT can also be played solo. However, I pondered over how many players actually chose to play it cooperatively. Inquiring among fans, I found that many had opted for a single-player experience, managing up to four decks on their own!

This idea sparked my thoughts about how the game could be adapted to use only one deck. When you find yourself exploring interesting ideas that take you deeper and deeper, you know you’re on to something worthwhile. Since it lacks cooperative or online features, I couldn’t name it Space Food Truck 2. Instead, I opted for a fantasy theme, influenced by my weekly Dungeons & Dragons group. In the Mage Food Truck, the Bard character is modeled after my D&D persona, Ziggy McJagger.

Q: What did “day one” of Mage Food Truck look like?

Initially, the project began by examining the original Space Food Truck spreadsheets, assessing probabilities, rarities, and anticipated results. After identifying a promising concept on paper, it was time for testing and adjustments. To speed up gameplay refinement, I incorporated all my ideas using simple boxes and text, along with a truck constructed from cubes. The process was peculiar since the majority of the game was completed in this graybox form. At that point, I was thrilled! It was fun, and all the content was included! However, I soon realized it lacked visual appeal and sound effects. For over a year, my work has been predominantly focused on art and sound, gradually turning the gray box prototype into something visually appealing.

Q: What has changed the most throughout development?

Initially, there was a significant change in the job system, particularly concerning the method of utilizing cards to access abilities like Explore, Cook, and so on. Since Multiplayer Fusion Technique (MFT) combines the four characters from Space Food Truck into one unit, it necessitated some trial and error.

The most significant change in focus occurred when I opted to incorporate tutorial stages, which gradually clarify the gameplay. However, my creative side became engrossed in theming each map distinctly, leading to the creation of swamp environments, temples, and various additional elements. The ability to accommodate multiple maps provided a solid foundation for introducing more comprehensive scenarios later on.

For this project, we’re going for a more independent approach, as there’s no budget allocated for external audio production. Instead, I’m taking on the art, programming, and even most of the voiceovers. I’m also improvising with sound effects and trying to make everything sound professionally produced, which is quite a challenge! This project, MFT, is truly an indie production.

Mage Food Truck Gameplay

A: Could you provide some details on the structure and implementation of the Morning, Day, and Night gameplay cycle in the context of game design?

The Space Food Truck game features an event deck that introduces a surprise at the start of each turn. This deck is composed of multiple sections, with the challenges becoming increasingly difficult as the game progresses. In my design for MFT, I chose to represent this evolution as distinct phases of a workday. The morning events are relatively benign, allowing you to set up and establish yourself in the game, but as night falls, you must exercise greater caution due to the heightened challenges.

Q: How have you approached designing the various cards available in Mage Food Truck?

As a space trucking gamer, I got off to a solid start with Space Food Truck. My arsenal included a pack of playing cards, a shop inventory for acquiring new items, decks for navigating the map, and event decks that control the game’s duration, from morning till night. It might seem like crunching numbers, but once I know which aspect of the game I want to influence, it’s clear which deck I should tinker with.

To find appealing playing cards, I focus on items that gamers tend to bypass when purchasing at a card store. I question myself, “What could make me desire this specific card?” Often, cards might seem mathematically identical in a spreadsheet, but one can significantly outshine the other during gameplay, making it feel more precious.

In my creative process, I found myself devoting excessive hours to crafting the ingredient lists and recipes. My goal was to create realistic combinations of ingredients, but I soon realized that there’s a limit to the variety before they become statistically scarce. Thus, I find myself contemplating, “Which ten ingredients will yield the most diverse range of dishes?”

To cater to vegetarian preferences, I introduced a mode that excludes meat-related cards and recipes. Consequently, I had to reevaluate my cookbook. Vegetarians can enjoy unique dishes in this version as I aimed to ensure they wouldn’t have to compromise on variety or feel overlooked.

As for the user interface, a loading screen displays all essential ingredients. Even the meat items are discreetly concealed on this screen for vegetarian users’ convenience.

Q: How do cards, specifically Job cards, change up the gameplay?

Successfully managing Mage Food Truck requires a delicate juggling act. You must gather supplies, prepare meals, deliver them, and safeguard the vehicle from monster attacks. Four distinct characters are available to help you achieve these tasks, and playing job cards allows you to decide which one to employ. Your choices include scouting the area, gathering ingredients, shielding the truck, or boosting your team’s morale (which unlocks the most powerful cards in the game).

If you’ve got various items for cooking, you can select the Chef role, pick additional cards from your stack, and in doing so, amplify the number of components you can use in your dish. The more cards you incorporate, the more ingredients you can include in the recipe.

Your hand can adapt to numerous strategies based on what you consider as the top priority at any given instant.

Q: What can you tell me about developing the events in Mage Food Truck?

The game Space Food Truck had an “infinite” mode, but it eventually reached a stage in its play area where the game would overwhelm you. This was more like a gentle time constraint, as prolonged exposure to such intense difficulty wasn’t sustainable.

At the Mage Food Truck, I’ve set a strict time limit of approximately 30 rounds for you to prepare and deliver as much food as you can. Unlike Space Food Truck, the night deck in this game won’t necessarily lead to an immediate game end, providing you with more opportunities to survive and succeed.

As a gamer, diving into the realm of fantasy never fails to excite me! In this universe, I’ve got a formidable orc food truck rival that hurls spells instead of food, and a Necrobomb with an ear-splitting death metal soundtrack. The Wild Magic events are reminiscent of Dungeons & Dragons, where the outcome for each run remains a mystery – will it be beneficial or detrimental? My all-time favorite character is none other than Gourmandorf, who occasionally curses my truck in retaliation for a less-than-stellar customer service encounter. He’s got quite a beef with “that gluten-free thing.

Q: Why did you decide to include the ability to customize difficulty?

As a devoted fan, I’m thrilled by how much replayability and creative freedom this game offers, drawing inspiration from the captivating heat system in Hades. Instead of offering easy, medium, or hard levels, it provides a menu of challenges, enhancing strategy and player autonomy. In this game, Multiplayer Fun Time (MFT), the more challenges you accumulate, the greater your score multiplier will become. Interestingly, the optimal approach to achieving the highest score might not be by maxing out everything, but by mastering various difficulty levels to earn 3-star victories. This allows players to disregard scores altogether and focus solely on conquering the toughest challenges. Essentially, it’s like having a sandbox to explore and conquer at your own pace.

Q: Roguelikes are one of the biggest trends in the industry right now. Why do you think that is?

By concentrating on adaptable, spontaneous game design that generates more gameplay from minimal content, you can speed up and reduce development costs. This allows for a lower selling price without compromising quality. I believe players prefer games that offer high replay value at an affordable cost, making it a mutually beneficial situation.

Creating a roguelike game is somewhat similar to producing a film set in only one location, either because of budget constraints or due to an appreciation for the design challenge. Regardless, since it’s a single setting, it’s crucial to ensure the narrative and character performances are exceptionally engaging to maintain player interest. Although simpler than creating a larger production, achieving high quality can be more challenging.

Q: Overall, who would say is the “target” audience of Mage Food Truck?

Fans of deck building games, listen up! Whether you’re into board games or digital ones, if you’ve played games like Slay the Spire, Dominion, or similar titles, this is a new spin on that genre that you might find interesting. I think fantasy and DnD enthusiasts will particularly enjoy it. And for those who appreciated Space Food Truck, there are numerous improvements to look forward to.

Here is a full list of QoL Changes between Space Food Truck and Mage Food Truck

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2025-03-25 16:28