Tisane Tea-making Game (Pineapple Staircase) -Play NYC 2023
Back to: Play NYC (August 2023)
Game: Tisane
Developer: Pineapple Staircase
Tisane is a game about connecting with people through tea. You play a traveling tea merchant visiting far-away lands, but there always seems to be a problem; you can’t communicate in their language!
Despite the hiccup, you’ll do your best to find a way, won’t you? You can pick up clues about your customers’ likes and dislikes by observing their facial expressions, their environment, and by noting details about the recipe you’re using for this person. Using all this information, the merchant (you) can deduct what the customer could want.
Tisane is a cozy, narrative game with a deduction puzzle element. In developing the game, Tassneen & company are adding new elements like expanding scenes, interacting more with the environment, seeing what the locals in a given location are doing (like observing their traditions and customs) and seeing how those elements might inspire the teas they drink.
Tea-making isn’t hard. It follows the simple formula of adding the:
- Base ingredients (leaves)
- Infusion ingredients (fruits, flowers, roots, etc)
There are currently 3 bases and 3 infusions. Based on your choice of combinations, the resulting teas can offer… hopefully unique benefits!
It’s best to record your experimental mixtures in your recipe book though, just to be sure. You want to keep an eye out for what works and what doesn’t.
Tisane works on a reward system, unlocking the back-story of your customer when you serve them a tea that they like. You’ll then gain a deeper understanding of who they are, which will play an important role in your tea-making as your customer’s tastes progress during the game.
The good news is, there’s no penalty for getting a tea “wrong”. You won’t lose their patronage cause there’s no other tea-maker quite like you!
Development
INTERVIEW (edited for brevity)
Tisane is created by Pineapple Staircase, a 2 person team of Tassneen and Cam. They’re both narrative designers who wanted to tell a story about different cultures. They recently added JD to their roster (a programmer) so the 2 of them could concentrate on design and artwork.
Tassneen is a developer who recently graduated from NYU with a Masters in game design.
Availability
A demo version is complete. Pineapple Staircase are looking to finish development of the full game by the end of this year and release it early next year.
Platforms: PC & Mac
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More Info: https://tassneen.myportfolio.com/games
Download: https://gamesbycam.itch.io/tisane
Event: Play NYC (August 2023)
