New Zealand’s gaming scene is on the rise, thanks to companies like CODE helping the industry grow by providing teams with the needed support to reach conventions such as PAX AUS.
We continue our coverage of these New Zealand studios this week, one of these debut titles is Burger Bois, developed by Mischief Makers Studio, a food truck simulator game that encourages endless creativity. We spoke to studio co founder Jess about how the idea was cooked up, their inspiring development journey, and the growing game development industry in Aotearoa.
Hi Jess! Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us today! Can you please tell me about yourself and Mischief Makers Studio? I see the studio was founded by yourself and your sibling, Alex?
Hi! I’m Jess, and I’m a recovering graphic designer turned game developer – and yes! The studio was started by me and my brother Alex last year. We’re best friends as much as we are siblings (though he’ll sass me for admitting it), but it wasn’t until we volunteered together on the Media team for NZ Games Festival that we realised just how well we work together too. We have the same sense of style and practicality, we tap into each other’s strengths, and we know how to make up for each others’ weaknesses too.
Mischief Makers Studio itself is a small team by design, with me on Programming/Art Direction/BizDev, Alex on Game Design/Writing/Marketing, Jackal on Art, and Anthony on Music & Sound Design. We’ll grow a little with each new project, but our focus is on sustainable growth and looking after our people rather than becoming ‘the next big thing’.
A studio co-founded by siblings is a story anyone can get behind! Can you tell us about your journey so far?
It was at NZ Games Festival in 2019 that Alex first floated the idea to me about Burger Bois and it stuck with me ever since. At the end of 2020 I burned out pretty hard and decided it was time for a change: to make Burger Bois happen. Since then I’ve been retraining in programming, assembling a team, and then earlier this year we were awarded an NZ CODE KickStart grant to fund a vertical slice for Burger Bois!
We’ve been working on the game in earnest for about 6 months now, and it’s so exciting to finally have it out in the open.
Burger Bois looks great! Can you tell us about it?
Burger Bois is a food truck simulator game about flavour, not labour (more on that below). As Patty, your job is to design burgers to match your customers’ vague (and sometimes downright alarming) requests, manage your stock, and build up your truck’s reputation in a world that’s under the deeply incorrect impression that burgers are mid.
Was the idea for Burger Bois really inspired by your “disdain” for cooking!?
Hahaha, that was definitely part of it! Alex loves cooking, so he’s always been keen to win me over on the idea. Believe it or not, it’s actually working. Our other big inspirations were Burger Wellington, Spongebob Squarepants, Bob’s Burgers, and the game Good Pizza Great Pizza.
I need to know, is there a limit on how many patties I can fit in one burger?
You can put as many patties in one burger as you have patties in your inventory! Whether or not you should, well… that depends on the customer.
Burger Bois is letting players go wild with their creativity and even export recipes! What led to the decision in throwing out the typical “menu”?
For Alex, part of the joy of cooking is experimenting – and he’s not alone! We’re big fans of Roll For Sandwich by @adventuresinaardia, Binging with Babish, and Sorted Food. We wanted to capture the joy that comes from trying new things with food – and sometimes failing – like they do.
It’s also an under-explored mechanic in cooking games! Usually cooking in games involves what I call “the choppy-choppy” (physically simulating cooking) or combining ingredients like “X + Y = preset outcome Z”. We wanted to see what would happen if we removed both of those elements and focused purely on the flavours and physical properties of the burgers our players were designing.
One of the customers, Finn Dividend looks “fishy”. I bet he is just trying to scope out the competition, would you agree?
Finn Dividend is a stock broker, or a banker, or an accountant? It’s not explicitly clear what he does, but he will do his darnedest to ensure that you are confused about it at all times.
It’s funny you mention scoping out the competition – Finn may not be in your industry, but someone else is, and they are definitely out to get you. More on that character coming Soon ™.
Creativity, Conversation and Laughter are your 3 core pillars at Mischief Makers Studio, it’s definitely reflected in Burger Bois! Why did you go in this direction for your games and the studio principles?
It always felt like a natural fit for us. Those pillars also work to describe Alex’s and my friendship, so I guess that explains why it felt so natural! They’re also the kinds of games we love to play – some of our favourites growing up were Ace Attorney, Scribblenauts, Dark Chronicle, Touch Detective, Ghost Trick, Jackbox Games, escape rooms and old point and click games like Monkey Island.
Not long until PAX AUS! How is everyone feeling?
Surprisingly low stress, all things considered! Incredibly excited to show off all our hard work. A little nervous to be Perceived. But also very much looking forward to sleeping for a week after the event, ahahaha. Preparing for an event like this is hard yakka, and we’re very grateful for CODE’s support in making it happen. It would have been MUCH harder to wrangle on our own!
Is this the first time attending something like this?
It’s certainly my first time exhibiting a game! Alex is the only one of us who’s done this before, with a game he wrote called Best Friend Forever.
How long have you been working in game development?
It’s just gone three years for me! Prior to Mischief Makers Studio, I worked with the wonderful team at ARA Journeys to tell Māori stories through mobile AR. Alex has been in game dev since 2019, and both Jackal and Anthony started in games in 2022.
Companies like CODE are really doing great things helping smaller teams. What are your thoughts on the NZ game industry and how far it has progressed in recent years?
I always wanted to work in games when I was young, and wrote it off as “not gunna happen” cuz I didn’t think we made games here. Thankfully, kid-Jess turned out to be very, very wrong! The NZ game industry is well established now, and growing every year thanks to the help of things like CODE, the NZGDA, and NZ On Air’s Game Development Sector Rebate scheme.
In particular, CODE is a gamechanger (hah) for early studios like ours. Burger Bois was always going to happen, but it’s happening in a much faster timeframe, to a much higher standard because of their funding, and the workshops that they provide. I’ve learned so much with their help, and we’re incredibly lucky to have them here in Aotearoa.
Thank you Jess for your time, I can’t wait to run my own food truck! Is there anything else you’d like to add for how people can keep up with Burger Bois?
Thanks for having us! If you’re hungry for more, we’d love it if you wishlisted the game on Steam! You can keep up with what we’re cooking on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram – and if you happen to be going to PAX Australia, come taste-test the game at the New Zealand Centre of Digital Excellence pavilion (booth #1140).
Hey GamesNight readers! Be sure to check out our previous PAX developer interview, speaking to Jack, the sole developer of Doomtide!
First time comments are moderated.