Cooking Simulator: A Matching Game A 3D Interactive Experience Exploring Kitchen-Themed Gameplay Mechanics

The final in game screenshot

Cooking Simulator: A Matching Game

A 3D Interactive Experience Exploring Kitchen-Themed Gameplay Mechanics

This prototype project is a 3D video game based in Unreal Engine 5, combining cooking with an item-matching game. Having a long time love for leisure cooking games like cafe or restaurant simulator, this reinterprets the idea of creating a game with a much more casual, single-player focus trying to strike a balance between accessibility and fun. In this game that I designed, the player gradually works through three levels of escalating difficulty, identifying and placing various kitchen items into their proper containers to meet objectives. Each round has random targets to ensure engagement, with hidden interactive boxes introducing surprise mechanics and hence replayability.

Role:

This was an independent project in which I served as the sole designer, programmer, and composer. My responsibilities included level design, gameplay logic programming, and audio design. I implemented game mechanics using Unreal Engine 5’s Blueprint visual scripting system to efficiently manage interactivity and logic without extensive manual coding. To enhance visual quality, I incorporated freely available 3D models sourced from open asset libraries. The project was developed between April 10, 2025, and May 6, 2025, spanning approximately one month from concept to completion. 

One of the bugs that I struggled the most, couldn't get it done correctly. Finally made it with professor's help.

Challenge and Goal:

The primary challenge during the development process was fixing the bugs in the programs and stability problems associated with integrating new features. Expanding gameplay functionality, especially with interactions with in-game objects, often led to consistent crashes and file corruption in the game engine. Thus, I had to investigate the Unreal file system and apply debugging from the bottom up. This deepened my comprehension of Unreal’s data architecture and gave me insight into what can be done when one has to solve problems under pressure. The conceptual idea for my project came from the desire to translate complex cooking game mechanics into more intuitive, casual, but still deep and creative gameplay.

The main goal was to design an engaging but simple game that players could enjoy casually without overwhelming complexity. Aesthetic goals included maintaining a minimalist kitchen environment that was both visually appealing and easy to navigate. On a technical level, I aimed to strengthen my proficiency in Unreal Engine 5 and improve my workflow for debugging large interactive systems.

This was the initial concept that I was aiming for, changed a lot after time pressure. Still got most of the ideas done tho；）

Ideation:

The design process began with an initial concept for an easy coffee making simulator, but through brainstorming about complexities, the idea evolved into a kitchen-themed matching game more suitable for short play sessions and younger audiences. I documented early design ideas in a short Google doc, continually updating it as new concepts came to mind. This document became a central planning tool, organizing mechanics, asset lists, and gameplay structures.

Early prototypes explored player-object interaction using placeholder assets to test functionality. Once the mechanics were stable, I shifted focus toward refining level flow and user experience. I developed an expectation wise aesthetic slidedeck summarizing design goals, interface layout, and feature priorities, which helped visualize the final structure. Unreal Engine 5 was chosen for its visual scripting tools and more accessible prototyping environment, as well as practicing familiarity. Challenges included balancing gameplay simplicity without over complexity, optimizing performance with limited assets, and maintaining consistency in lighting and object placement. 

Turned out:

The project was completed with a working prototype demonstrating the basic gameplay concept. The assets that were available were rather constrained, but considering the time, this generation matched the vision very well, for example, simple, happy, and replayable games. As intended, the random item generation took place, and after some player testing, it turned out that the game flows in an intuitive yet satisfying manner. On extension, I would have added other features like power-ups or “surprise buffs” to increase the differential and difficulty levels. Taking this all into account, this is a personal milestone in terms of designing and  programming in interactive media.

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