Boba Monsters Interview!
We had the chance to interview the creative genius behind Boba Monsters, a thrilling bubble tea-making dating sim set in the Underworld. In this game, you inherit a shop, turning it into a unique boba cafe. Craft spooky tea recipes, unlock bizarre toppings, and chat with monster customers. Fans of cute art and boba will LOVE this game!
1. Tell us about Boba Monsters.
Boba Monsters is a bubble tea-making dating sim. You’re a human in the Underworld and you’ve been left the keys to a shop that you transform into your very own boba cafe. Craft spooky boba tea recipes, unlock bizarre toppings, and chat with an array of monster customers. Make their favorite recipes to win their hearts and return to the human world–or else you’re doomed to become the undead.
Key features:
● Boba tea crafting
● LGBTQ+ romance
● Choose your pronouns
● 4 monster love interests
● Multiple endings
The Steam page was recently announced and a release date is TBA.
Boba Monster’s Steam Page
2. What inspired this game?
By February of this year, about four months after the release of my first game, I wasn’t sure if I would make another game and was fresh out of ideas. I went on a drive to get myself some boba tea to clear my mind and think about what types of things interest me, and that’s when it hit me to develop a game where you could make boba!
There are a few games in particular that are also a big inspiration for me, and that includes a mesh of Coffee Talk, Monster Prom, and last but not least, Papa’s Freezeria–probably the biggest inspiration of all. I’ve always been a big fan of cooking games, and when I found the Papa’s games, I fell in love and wanted to make something that made me feel that same nostalgia but in a new way.
In the end, my love for boba tea, spooky things, and crafting/cooking games is how Boba Monsters came to be.
3. What challenges did you face while creating Boba Monsters?
Boba Monsters features a style of game mechanics that is new territory for me and the lead game programmer. There’s a lot of learning as we go as well as making sure that the boba-making flows nicely with the story and that the game mechanics are fun and make sense. My last games were visual novels that included mostly narrative and simple choices, so developing a game that’s more involved with crafting stations and recipe creation like Boba
Monsters is a challenge in itself. Still, we are tremendously excited about it and embracing the new genre.
4. If you had to choose one character to get bubble tea with from Boba Monsters who would it be and why?
I would have to choose Pedro because he’s mysterious, so it’d be fun to peel back those layers and get to know him better. I like his character design the most because he’s based on the sleep paralysis monster–which is terrifying–but Pedro is actually just a teddy bear, which I think can help anyone feel less afraid now that the sleep paralysis creature has been personified into a sweet cowboy.
5. What advice would you give to new devs?
If you’re looking to pursue game dev full-time as your career, do your research on marketing and see what works for other indies in a genre similar to yours. Don’t underestimate the importance of marketing, and treat it with almost as much importance as creating the game itself. I feel like I’ve learned so much from game dev marketing over the years–having marketed now for other indie devs and myself–and I’ve realized staying active in the online community has helped me figure out how to develop better games because I see the feedback from the player base.
6. For folks who never had bubble tea before what would you recommend?
It depends on people’s preferences because some folks don’t like certain types of boba balls, so I’d say give the different types of tapioca toppings a try before you decide if it’s not for you. Some boba can be sticky and chewy, such as the brown tapioca balls, and others can be more like jelly, like the crystal boba balls. My favorite boba order right now is honeydew melon avocado slush with sago because I like the subtleness of the sago flavor and the small size and texture of the pearls, which is kind of like what you find in tapioca pudding.
7. Tell us about your other works at Foxdrift Studios?
My first game under Foxdrift Studios was Garden of Seif: Chronicles of an Assassin, and the side story Curse of Gravehollow Peaks. The main game, Garden of Seif, is an assassin otome game where the player steps into the shoes of a female assassin and has the chance to betray or trust her enemies, the latter option potentially leading to love. It’s a game of deceit and captures the enemies-to-lovers scenario for people who like romance with a little bit of danger.
Garden of Seif: Chronicles of An Assassin Steam Page
Curse of Gravehollow Peaks is a short, alternate side story released on Steam shortly after the main game’s release in October of 2023. Curse of Gravehollow Peaks, or Cursed for short, is a story that centers around a few of the characters from the original game, including the MC Iris, and one of the love interests/enemy assassins, Seth. The story takes a slightly different approach in a winter-themed story that explores the magical world in Garden of Seif–a world where mysterious beasts lurk in the mountains.
Curse of Gravehollow Peaks Steam Page
8. What are your thoughts on All Ages of Geek?
From one indie creator to another, I am so appreciative of All Ages of Geek for taking the time to interview me about my game. I admire your dedication in creating a hub for indies to share their stories and reach a greater audience, something that can be challenging for many of us small creators. The indie community is like home to me, so I thank you for your work in helping geek culture flourish!
9. Goals for 2025?
My goal for Boba Monsters is to have a demo out by 2025. I’d also like to have enough content produced for the game so that we can have a trailer put together as well.
10. Where can folks support your work?
We’d love for people to wishlist Boba Monsters on Steam!
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