Did you think all that witches could cook up were nasty potions? The soon-to-be-released platformer Magical Delicacy challenges this notion by having you play as a young, white-haired witch cooking up meals and treats while settling into a new town and running her very own shop.
We caught up with the game’s developer Skaule (Steven Kaule) to learn more about the development of the game, the game’s origins, and more! Here’s our interview with Skaule below.
IIG: Tell us about your studio and the team bringing this game to life.
I started developing games in 2014 while I was attending school to obtain my bachelor’s degree in illustration with a strong focus on game development. I worked with many different mediums but gravitated towards pixel art mostly, and that transferred to the games I was making. When I finished my bachelor’s degree in 2019, I began planning my first commercial game as a solo developer, which is now Magical Delicacy.
IIG: Tell us about the game’s conception.
While I was working towards my degree, I spent a lot of time working on a sci-fi turn-based combat game, but I soon realized that I had enough of designing combat encounters for the time being. I decided that for my first game, I wanted to develop a non-violent game, so I began to prototype different ideas. Eventually, I was left with style tests and concepts that led me to create a cozy game about witches. This was also around the same time that cozy and wholesome games started to get bigger, so I was excited to create a game that would fit into this budding genre.
IIG: What were the influences on the game, both media and real-life?
There are countless influences, most notably the modern classics in the Metroidvania genre, like Hollow Knight. I would even say those influenced my decisions for Magical Delicacy way more than any cozy game. Anime was more responsible for the general vibe, like Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service, among others, but also stronger influences from more fantasy-driven media, which are visible in the adventurous spirit and history of many of the characters in the game.
IIG: What has your development journey been like so far?
I started the game in early 2020 amidst the pandemic and focused on creating a polished version for publishers as quickly as possible. With Whitethorn Games found early as a partner, I could work undisturbed on the game for the past years. I was lucky to find someone who believed in what I wanted to make.
IIG: It is unusual to see a cooking game done in 2D platformer style, similar to a Metroidvania. What challenges did you face in marrying these two concepts?
It had naturally evolved from my design process. Once I knew I wanted to create a non-combat game, I started prototyping what I knew about the genre, beginning with the typical farming and management-based cozy games. This quickly shifted as I began to think more about how I wanted to work as a solo developer.
As I mentioned earlier, I’m a fan of Metoridvanias, so I took my ideas and tried to fit them into the genre, just without combat. The cooking part came naturally from my cozy witch setting, and the game grew from there. I started with potions and expanded to all kinds of food. From there, it was about identifying classical Metroidvania mechanics, especially in map progression, and finding a way to make that work with the cooking and delivery mechanics.
Into Indie Games thanks developer Steven Kaule (Skaule) and publisher Whitethorn Games for this interview!
Magical Delicacy is set to release on July 16th for PC, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. A Nintendo Switch version will follow on August 15th.
You can find the game’s official website over here, and you can stay up-to-date with the game at Steven’s X page here.
If you’d like to be on top of the game’s release or wishlist it immediately, here’s the Steam page for it.
Thank you for reading this interview of Magical Delicacy! For more interesting articles on all things indie games, be sure to check out the links below!
- Into Indie Games Homepage
- A Highland Song – An Interview with Inkle Studios
- The Star Named Eos Walkthrough
- The Last Faith Review
- Best Indie Adventure Games of 2024
