“Cooking Mama” Whips Up Something Delish for Nintendo DS

by Louis Bedigian

“It's a great way to introduce different types of foods from various cultures.”

“I’m starving.”

“What’s for dinner?”

“Leftovers, again?”

“Why can’t we have something different?”

“No, not TV dinners. Anything but TV dinners!”

We’ve all heard the war cries of taste bud-challenged children (TBCC). One minute they’re smiling, happily eating an order of French fries. Next thing you know they’re whining about how green their vegetables are, and how they don’t like it when corn touches their mashed potatoes. I still have nightmares about my own experiences – having green beans touch my carrots was just plain scary!

For those of you with TBCC, let me provide a potential solution: Cooking Mama. Built from the ground up with the hungry gamer in mind (hungry for a highly entertaining, extremely original gameplay experience), Cooking Mama is all about – what else? – cooking. It takes full advantage of the DS’s touch screen and microphone features, letting you prepare a number of recipes that could impress your real mama. 

In our interview, Joe McHale (Producer) discusses innovation, the Cooking Mama gameplay process, and the different recipes created for the game.

For those who are new to Cooking Mama, tell us about the gameplay style and explain how you use the touch screen to prepare 70+ different meals.

Joe McHale: The gameplay style is unique and addictive.  Players follow individual steps to complete a real recipe, from the initial preparation of raw ingredients to combining, cooking and ultimately presenting the finished dish. Tasks include chopping, slicing, frying, battering fish, tenderizing meat, pouring water, straining pasta… etc.  To use the knife to chop, simply tap the stylus on the knife. To slice, touch the knife handle and move it up and down. When you are sautéing, move the frying pan back and forth by moving the stylus up and down on the handle. To crack an egg, move the hand holding it to the side of the bowl to tap it lightly. There are more than 200 different mini-games in this style so those are just a few examples.

Can you give us an example of one of the dishes you'll have to prepare, going over each step (mini-game) in the recipe?

JM: To prepare Dumplings, the steps are as follows:

Step 1- Slice an onion. Use the stylus like a knife to slice the onion.

Step 2- Chop cabbage. Use the stylus like a knife to chop the cabbage.

Step 3- Chop garlic. Use the stylus like a knife to chop the garlic.

Step 4- Add all ingredients into a bowl in a certain order.

Step 5- Kneed: Kneed the dough in the bowl by using the stylus.

Step 6- Fold the dumplings. Lay the dough out and then fill it with the mixture. Fold it and crimp the edges to pinch it shut.

Step 7- Cook the dumplings based on how many Mama tells you to make. Place the right number in the pan, add the water and close it shut with the lid. Remove them when ready.

Other variations of this recipe, for example fried dumplings, add more steps to the process above. 

Were there any recipes that were hard to implement? You tap the screen to chop vegetables, blow into the microphone to cool hot food, etc. – those make sense. But was there anything that required a unique process to create in the real world, and thus became difficult to convert to a touch screen gameplay mechanic?
 

JM: Actually the Touch Screen and stylus are perfect for mimicking all kinds of cooking tools and appliances. You can really do just about anything that you can think of so we didn’t feel limited.
 

The game features several traditional Asian dishes – what others can we expect? Italian? Mexican? Any others?

JM: Though most recipes are Asian, there are some Italian dishes like Spaghetti Bolognese. The game also includes traditional American recipes like Potato Salad, Fried Chicken and Beef Steak. I think players will enjoy using the Touch Screen to cook food, even if it’s something they wouldn’t normally eat. It’s also a great way to introduce different types of foods from various cultures. A finicky eater might be more willing to try something after experiencing the cooking process and getting a sense for what ingredients are actually in the dish.

Most games scrap at least some of their original Japanese content when brought to North America.  What made Majesco decide to keep this game in its original form?
 

JM: Some of the Japanese items are really fun to make so we didn't want to fix something that wasn’t  broken. Spring Rolls & Dumplings, for example, is a great recipe that challenges you in different ways, particularly since I personally had no idea how to make Spring Rolls before I played the game. The ingredients for these types of recipes are also more exotic than those for more familiar recipes so that spices things up too.    

Cooking Mama provides the player with different ratings depending on how well they did. Tell us how this works.

JM: As players complete a step in a recipe, they are given a medal (bronze, silver or gold) based on how well they completed the task. Each medal has a set number of points that are totaled at the end.  Players can score anywhere from zero to a hundred for a given dish and that score will also be accompanied by a particular medal that later appears above the completed recipe in the main menu.

In the Challenge area of the game, players are scored based on how fast they can complete a task like chopping or peeling.  A few challenges are also quantity based so you’ll have to grill so many mackerel or crack so many eggs within a given time period.

New recipes are unlocked as each one is completed. Are there any bonuses for getting a perfect score on one or more of the dishes?

JM: Your ego balloons to enormous proportions and you get bragging rights. ;)  
 

I understand that if you screw up a dish you might have the option to turn it into something else…

JM: You’ll receive a lower ranking medal when you make a mistake (and depending on how bad the mistake is). Whether you make a mistake or not will also affect the overall score you receive upon completing a dish. As you progress through the stages of a recipe, you’ll have the option to change the recipe and create something a little different. For example, when you are making simple Boiled Rice, you can turn it into something more complicated like Bamboo Shoot Rice if you want. When you are making Spaghetti Neapolitan, you can make Seafood Spaghetti instead. 

Once completed, is there a special way that players must present their meals?

JM: Some dishes, like steak, require the player to set up a plate for final presentation by using vegetables as side dishes. You can design the plate to your liking and when you are done, Mama will rate you on how well you did.

Are there any desserts in the game?
 

JM: No desserts but with more than 76 recipes in game, there really is a huge variety of dishes you can make. That’s even more appetizing when you consider the game is $19.99.

I know Cooking Mama's not out yet, but if you're thinking sequel, how about a barbecue spin-off: Cooking Daddy.

JM: We’re not prepared to announce anything now but rest assured you haven’t seen the last of Mama!

Oh well, we tried.

Thank you for your time.