Hail, Contractors of the Culinary Capital!
This is our very first development log, and we hope it gives you a deeper look into the journey behind the game. Our story begins with the initial spark of inspiration for Feastopia.
Now, let Reinhart take it from here!
Hello everyone, I’m Reinhart from WhiteStar Studio, producer of Thriving City: Song and Feastopia.
The conception of Feastopia came at a rather delicate time—right after the full release of Thriving City: Song. Around then, the whole studio was in a state of burnout. For our programmers and artists, it was the fatigue that came with over four years of continuous development on one project. But for me, it was more about hitting a creative block—I wasn’t sure how to move forward with game design.
I’d come into the studio every day, open the Thriving City project files, and just feel lost. Even with all the feedback and suggestions from players, I had no idea where to even begin. It’s a tough spot for a game designer—even if you pause a project, what do you do next?
Right in the middle of all that mental wrestling, my little one at home—who’s always clamoring for milk—suddenly inspired me: What if we blended nurturing elements into a city-builder to make urban planning more engaging?
（Yep! That’s my kiddo! ）
Once this new direction popped into my head, I couldn’t wait to bounce the idea off the rest of the team. Everyone loved it, and we started brainstorming more details together: a city forever locked in spring-like warmth, where weather shifts would affect operations rather than ruin the vibe; a food-based nurturing system allowing for tons of delicious dishes; architecture that looked good enough to eat—like something out of a candy-coated dream. In fact, once we aligned on Feastopia’s world, the name itself just clicked. It instantly felt like the perfect expression of the game’s heart.
But blending nurturing mechanics organically into city-building posed some real design challenges. And let’s be real—we couldn’t just have players raising an actual baby, right? So we expanded the lore. During brainstorming, we looked to Against the Storm for roguelite inspiration, and eventually shifted the “creature to nurture” toward our studio’s two chonky cats.
（Our studio mascots—always cuddling! ）
Around that time, our art team was experimenting with new styles. They soon realized that using realistic cats as the city’s central “creature” lacked fantasy appeal and limited architectural creativity. Since the new game revolved heavily around food, we took inspiration from mythical beasts like the Taotie and Behemoth—and that’s how we eventually arrived at Dango: a round, squishy, utterly adorable being!
（Early concept art of Dango! ）
Watching my own child grow day by day also got me thinking about giving Dango distinct life stages. In Feastopia, Dango is very much like a child—behaving differently in its baby phase, and developing unique traits based on what you feed it. These traits then translate into different buffs affecting your city, forming part of the roguelite mechanics.
The more we developed Feastopia’s gameplay, the more hooked we became—and slowly, I found my rhythm again. Now, the whole team is pouring heart and soul into this new project. We’re in the final stages of development, constantly polishing the demo, and working hard to deliver a fresh, fun, and fascinating city-building experience!
If you have any feedback – share bugs, ideas, or culinary fantasies, welcome to join our community in the Feastopia Discord!