Food in video games is often a resource that grants health or another advantage to a player. But in Venba, a narrative cooking game, food is something to work on, something to infuse with emotion, and something to savor.
In one scene, an immigrant mother cooks for her son, waiting for him to come home from college.
Chicken legs are simmered in a thick sauce; a fish sizzles in a frying pan. But the son does not arrive and the abundant plate of food grows cold.
Venba, released in July, follows the challenges of an Indian family that has immigrated to Canada in the 1980s. This scene of prepared food without eating contains almost all of the thematic thrust of the game: cooking is an act of care, and the generational distance and geographical can generate melancholy.
“For South Asian women who have been assigned the role of family caregiver, cooking is very important,” said Abhi Swaminathan, the video game designer. “If you refuse a meal, or don't go to a meal, it affects them a lot. For me, the reflection was, why is it like this?”
In the narrative adventure video game Thirsty Suitors, released in November, the food scenes are as much about the people as they are about the food.
While the player makes a flatbread called paratha, the dialogue between Jala, the protagonist, and her judgmental mother unfolds.
“For many of us, doing something with our hands, or doing an activity with your parents, is a way to start a conversation that you might not otherwise want to have,” said Meghna Jayanth, a narrative designer, who inspired by experiences with his South Asian family.
Consume Me, an upcoming video game from Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson, explores Jiao Hsia's experience of dieting in high school. “I was obsessed with the numbers on the scale and counting calories,” she recalled.
By assuming the role of Jenny, the player manages their needs metrics. If one of the metrics—energy, mood, or stomach, which applies to both stomach health and bravery—falls to zero, Jenny suffers nightmarish visions and the game ends.
“The game does not present solutions to these problems,” Thomson said. “We show you how this happened in Jenny's own life, and it's not necessarily resolved neatly or satisfactorily.”
Jayanth emphasized that food in video games can be an affirmation for those who are familiar with it, as well as an invitation for those who are not.
“It's a simple way to make people have access to your culture,” he said. “But, you know, if you're going to try our food, get to know us first. We are just as intense and vibrant.”
By: LEWIS GORDON
THE NEW YORK TIMES
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/7044714, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-12-26 22:15:05
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