About
Barvista
The Idea
Barvista is a coffee-making simulator that asks: what if Cooking Mama and Project Zomboid had a baby?
Imagine the isometric style and depth of Zomboid, but swap the undead hordes for hordes of caffeine-deprived customers (who are basically zombies anyway). It’s a cozy yet complex management experience.
See that wall fading away? That is my custom Dynamic Wall Culling System.
It might look subtle, but it was a beast to code. This system automatically hides walls and obstacles between the camera and your character, ensuring you always have a clear view of the action—crucial for when you start expanding your café into multiple rooms.
Where's the cooking mama??
Feast your eyes on the mechanics! It might look simple now (textures are still WIP), but this is the "money shot" of the gameplay loop.
Barvista uses a context-sensitive recipe system. Instead of clicking a button that says "Make Coffee," you have to do it. Hold a cup, grab the instant mix, and take it to the hot water tap. It's a complex system under the hood, but the upcoming UI will make it effortless to play.
I’m not just polishing the visuals; I’m aiming for full immersion. I am currently experimenting with a Physics-Based Fluid System.
That water flowing from the tap? Physics. That coffee hitting the mug? Fluid dynamics.
This isn't just eye candy, it directly impacts gameplay. The liquid system will require you to master your pour. You'll need a steady hand to measure out the perfect amount of milk for a Flat White versus the heavy pour needed for a Latte.
Iterative Design
You might look at the current state of the game and think it’s simple, but I’m a firm believer in iterative design. As a project scales, making structural changes becomes exponentially more time-consuming. To avoid that trap, you have to master your fundamentals early.
Take these screenshots of my TileLayerMaps as an example. This "before and after" shows how I’m refining the foundation of my world-building. If I were to wait until I had 250 prefabs finished before realizing I needed these changes, the task would be impossible. By iterating now, I can catch critical issues while the concrete is still wet. Build on strong foundations!
A T-POSE, JUST FOR YOU.
I couldn't resist sharing this experimental build. I'm currently testing 3D models inside the 2D game engine.
It’s still early days (hence the T-Pose), but this tech will allow for deep character customization and randomly generated customers. The potential here is huge, but so is the to-do list...
I've got a lot of code to write, so I'm heading back to work. If you want to support the project, use the donation box below. Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you for your support!
Thank you so much for your support. Leave a message with your donation and I'll try to reply!