The Hawker's Dream (Heritage Game Jam 2020)

"Back of the box" Summary

"A granddaughter recounts the story of her grandfather's survival as a hawker in 1960s Singapore, and how he created a legacy of family and food."

The Hawker's Dream is a 2D narrative game with point-and-click elements that explores Singapore's heritage through food and generational struggles. Beginning in the 1960s, the granddaughter of the Hawker narrates the context for the game - Singapore had just broken away from Malaysia, and the people that remained struggled to survive with broken hopes for a better future. 

Yet, a Hawker in the Tanjong Katong area believed in the future of an independent Singapore. Through his hard work, he managed to eek out a living. He braved the turbulent times and continued cooking food and bringing smiles to the faces of his customers. Even though the low prices of food meant he couldn't make a profit, his words warmed hearts while his food filled bellies. His dream was to one day own his restaurant, so his first goal was to save $70 to put forward to renting a shop...

How to play

The game is played using the MOUSE. 

There are no keyboard controls. Use a mouse or track pad to play.

In the map view, use the mouse to click the "continue" button to progress the narrative. Then click on the red area button once it pops up.

In the city view, use the the mouse to click the food buttons on the top bar and cook some food! Customers will come by your stall and request specific food. To give them the food, make sure you have cooked the specific food, and then click the customer on their body. If successful, the customer will leave. 

Objectives 

In 1960, the goal is to earn $70 or more in savings to progress.

(Note: The 1960s goal is hard to hit, not by design, but by the economics of the 1960s. At 20cents per bowl, there wasn't much room for profit, just enough to continue living and working. The 1960s was about survival, and in survival, there isn't much growth. As you play through the 1960s decade, you'll notice your savings don't improve by a lot. In fact getting from the starting of $50 to $70 is a struggle. Our team originally tried to balance that, but ultimately came to realize to keep the truth of the situation: the 1960s really was a struggle).

In 1990, the goal is to gain 100 or more social standing to progress.

(Note: The 1990s goal is designed to be achievable. Not too easy, not too hard. We aimed to have the 1990s act as contrast to the 1960s. In the 1990s, Singapore's economic boomed and everyone prospered. Compared to the 1960s, there was growth, more leisure time, and more expendable income. To reflect this jubilant time, the Hawker's savings are no longer a worry, having saved enough over the years to put his son through higher education. All the Hawker wants to do now is leave a lasting impression as he grows older by making people happy with his food)

Full Narrative Transcript

Life in Singapore in the 1960s was a perpetual struggle. Singapore had just been booted out of Malaya and everyone was unsure about the future.  

My grandfather thought running a food stall seemed like an excellent way to earn a living. Afterall everyone said he was a very talented cook.  

But he often couldn’t even make ends meet as his daily earnings were often taken by corrupt officials and gang members. Yet, he remained positive about his future.  

Everyone loved going to grandfather’s stall, not so much because of his delicious food, but his friendliness and good humour were a big draw.  

Grandfather had a dream. And it started here. 

With his meagre earnings, Grandfather invested in the future and inched towards his grand dream of owning a restaurant. 

Life got better for my Grandfather in the 1990’s. No one could have imagined the economic miracle of Singapore.  

Grandfather was proud of the success he saw in his country.  

However, he still worked very hard running his food stall so that he could save up enough to give my father a good education.  

“Don’t slave over the hot stove like me. Work in an office!” Grandfather always said, “But never forget where you came from and the friends who supported our stall.” 

My father became a lawyer, which made my Grandfather immensely proud. 

However, Grandfather had still not reach his grand dream of owning a restaurant. 

In his old age, Grandfather is unable to continue cooking. He often tells me what his restaurant would have served to his beloved customers and what it would have been like. 

Watching my Grandfather run his stall as I was growing up, I knew it was my calling as well.   

My family's heritage is the food we have fed the generations of people.  

Today, I intend to continue that heritage and achieve my Grandfather's dream.   

"Carrying on The Hawker's Dream"

 - The Hawker's Granddaughter 

Team Members

Danish Iftikhar - Writer, Gameplay Design

Zhu Kuan - Audio, UI, Gameplay Design

Fraven Bravo - Art (Backgrounds)

Krash (Alejandra Vaca) - Art (Characters)

Timothi Ellim (Timothi Lim) - Technical Design, Production 

Special thanks to...

Lynnette Ee for the insights to the 1990s (and for touching up the narrative too!) 

Louis Ee for the insights to the 1960s (and for the tip on Green Sport - we wish we could taste it again too) 

Soo Meng Lim for buying food for the team~

The Saga Kaya team for hosting this awesome game jam and for the excellent handling of the game jam logistics, including the great video call and setting up all the virtual rooms on Discord etc. Especially Jedidiah! Thank you for your reminders, check ins, and for helping us navigate Discord and itch.io~

Development Time

Total: 3 days, 5 hrs. (Tuesday afternoon - Friday deadline)

(Our team couldn't use the full 7 days as spending the public holidays with family took top priority. Additional client work on Mon and Tues also meant a later starting date)

Ideation time: 5 hrs

Development time: 3 days

Breakdown of development: 

• Day 1 - Foundation systems and mechanics. Key art test. Narrative test. Music test.
• Day 2 - Dynamics - connecting systems. Key art being colored. Music almost done. Narrative being accomplished.
• Day 3 - Aesthetics and tying everything together. All key art and music made it in! Some stretch stuff didn't. We didn't get into post-processing as well T_T. 

Game Engine

Made with Unity LTS 2019!

Unity is <3

Thank you for empowering us to make more games!

Design Notes

Will add it in once we do the debrief!