Chocolatier (video Game) - Gameplay

Gameplay

The player assumes the role of a young chocolatier in 1880, during the Victorian era. The game has two modes of play: story and free play. Story mode involves a number of quests, including delivering specific chocolates and restoring the fictional Baumeister chocolate empire to its former glory. The player is enlisted by Evangeline Baumeister to rebuild the Baumeister chocolate empire which has been ruined by Evangeline's younger sister who scattered chocolate recipes around the world. The player must locate the 64 lost recipes, visit 14 different cities across the globe, purchase 6 closed Baumeister factories, establish business relationships with outlets and suppliers, and manufacture chocolates to keep in business. Free play mode allows the player to travel, manufacture, and trade without undertaking quests. This mode starts the player with a small amount of cash and all chocolate recipes unlocked for use. In story mode, players begin with a single factory and a recipe for simple chocolate bars, the player must visit the market to purchase ingredients and begin the manufacturing process.

The game is turn-based. Each turn represents one week, and travelling between cities takes a number of turns depending on the proximity of the destination city. Many cities have a chocolate shop, where the player can sell his or her stock, and a market where ingredients can be purchased. Some specialty cacao beans can only be purchased from plantations in certain cities. Factories manufacturing chocolates produce a set amount of product every turn, as long as the required ingredients are in stock. During story mode, quests are given by non-player characters; these typically involve producing a particular volume and type of chocolate and delivering it to another non-player character, who is either traveling or can be found at a set location. Quest rewards take the form of a high price for the chocolates or a new recipe. Some encounters with characters give the player an opportunity to gamble a large amount of money on a dice roll. Market owners can be bartered with, though this carries the risk of them becoming irritated and raising prices rather than lowering them.

When producing a particular chocolate for the first time, a mini-game is played where ingredients are fired from a cannon to fill circular trays which revolve around the cannon. The ingredients and quantities needed vary, depending on the recipe. Each time a circle is filled with the correct ingredients, it is removed and an empty circle put in its place. The trays spin faster as more circles are filled. If too many ingredients are wasted by misfiring the cannon, production is brought to a halt and the mini-game must be attempted again. The mini-game ends when the timer runs out; the number of completed circles is equal to the number of chocolates produced by that factory every week. The mini-game cannot be played unless the player owns the correct ingredients, and it can be replayed if the player wishes to try and improve the efficiency of the factory. Playing the mini-game advances in-game time by one week. Different chocolate types, such as truffles and squares, require the factory to be upgraded first, costing money.