[HEADING=3]Food is everywhere in video games![/HEADING]
You can eat it to heal, it imbues you with special abilities, and you can even talk to it (though that opens questions of edibility). Food can even BE the levels, but the facet I want to touch on most is its consumption. Games are supposed to deliver an experience, so a question popped into my mind when listening to some Kirby Gourmet Race: what games are the most capable in serving up some scrumptious pixelated buffets?
Vanillaware has a notorious knack for palatable porn. Muramasa: The Demon Blade features whole menus of delicious meals the player can selectively dismantle and devour, interspersing their chewing with sounds of delight. It helps that this takes place in a relaxing environment like a restaurant or, if the player is cooking, in the scenic wilderness. But if you DO go to a restaurant, you can select your food from a nifty menu, hear your character make the order, and begin eating. A small portion of the dish disappears every time you hit the button to continue, until eventually you're left with the dregs, like the liquid of soup or It's all very tactile and engaging.
The point is, the game has some really delicious-looking food, from the simple rice ball to pheasant hot pots, and you get to eat every bite of it! I got super curious about what other games can mimic this kind of 'fine dining.' That led me to the forums to ask:
You can eat it to heal, it imbues you with special abilities, and you can even talk to it (though that opens questions of edibility). Food can even BE the levels, but the facet I want to touch on most is its consumption. Games are supposed to deliver an experience, so a question popped into my mind when listening to some Kirby Gourmet Race: what games are the most capable in serving up some scrumptious pixelated buffets?
Vanillaware has a notorious knack for palatable porn. Muramasa: The Demon Blade features whole menus of delicious meals the player can selectively dismantle and devour, interspersing their chewing with sounds of delight. It helps that this takes place in a relaxing environment like a restaurant or, if the player is cooking, in the scenic wilderness. But if you DO go to a restaurant, you can select your food from a nifty menu, hear your character make the order, and begin eating. A small portion of the dish disappears every time you hit the button to continue, until eventually you're left with the dregs, like the liquid of soup or It's all very tactile and engaging.
The point is, the game has some really delicious-looking food, from the simple rice ball to pheasant hot pots, and you get to eat every bite of it! I got super curious about what other games can mimic this kind of 'fine dining.' That led me to the forums to ask:
