Yesterday we brought you the news from Casual Connect that Puzzle Retreat would be coming to Windows Phone 8 this year. Now let’s follow up by discussing a Windows 8-specific game. This one comes from Game House, who we didn’t expect to have a mobile Windows presence at the show.
Imagine my surprise when I stopped by their booth and saw the Windows 8 version of Delicious: Emily’s Wonder Wedding running on a big and beautiful touch-screen monitor right at the front of their booth. Ruby Urlings, the game's producer was even on-hand to demonstrate its story and gameplay for us on video. Give it a watch (and read the history of Delicious on mobile Windows platforms) after the break!
Series herstory
Emily’s Wonder Wedding is the seventh installment in the long-running Delicious series of time management games. It follows Emily’s True Love for Windows 8 (which debuted at GDC in March) and Emily’s Taste of Fame (the fourth entry) for Windows Phone. An eight installment – Delicious: Emily’s Honeymoon Cruise is already in development, and hopefully will come to Windows 8 as well.
The series has always revolved around protagonist Emily’s adventures as a restaurateur. What separates Delicious from other time management games is its lighthearted and well-developed narrative. The events from one game influence the story of the next, and numerous characters like Emily’s sister Angela and her fiancé Patrick show up in multiple games. In fact, Patrick debuted in Emily’s True Love, so Windows 8 players can follow the couple’s relationship from its inception if they buy both games.
Working overtime
The game starts with a soap opera-like introductory sequence in which Patrick has apparently left Emily at the alter on the day of their big wedding. We then flash back two months to a happier time. Emily runs a thriving restaurant while Patrick sells flowers nearby.
The player serve both groups of customers, preparing their food or floral arrangements, cashiering their purchases, and cleaning up when they leave. It’s standard time management stuff – you’ll need to juggle the needs of multiple customers at once, prioritizing who to help and trying to keep everyone happy. Check out several customers in a row to score a combo bonus.
Mouse in the house
Adding a wrinkle to the gameplay, mice also pop up in the restaurant from time to time. Tap the unwanted rodents to send them to mouse hell, a place filled with gigantic, superfast cats and terrifying blade-riddled mouse traps. Err, that's not right. Knowing the series’ cheerful demeanor, the mice probably get released safely into the wild or to lucrative careers running through mazes.
The mice pop up in greater numbers in one of the game’s new mini challenges. Each of the 25 episodes (levels) throws in a mini-challenge for variety. In the episode Ruby showed us, Emily basically had to play whack-a-mouse with hordes of meeses while still serving her cheerfully oblivious customers.
A key game for Game House and Windows 8
The two latest Delicious games are Game House’s way of testing the waters for Windows 8. If the titles do well, we can expect not only the next Delicious sequel but also future Game House titles. Time management fans should grab one or both games to help ensure the publisher stays onboard with Microsoft’s tablet and PC operating system. Maybe Emily will even return to Windows Phone again someday!
- Delicious: Emily’s True Love – Windows 8 and RT – 174 MB – $6.99 – Store Link
- Delicious: Emily’s Wonder Wedding – Windows 8 and RT – 230 MB – $6.99 – Store Link
