Brewtopia

Cafe Scene
Click the coffee machine to order
Flower Shop Scene

Inspiration

Inspired by Stardew Valley, we wanted to create a cozy pixel-art game where players can explore a small town, interact with unique characters, and complete tasks while running their own café.

What it does

Brewtopia is a browser-based pixel-art game where players take on the role of a café owner in a small, cozy town. Players can explore locations such as the café, library, flower shop, and park while interacting with characters and completing tasks. The game features character movement, background music, collectible coins, an in-game day and night cycle, and a task system that encourages exploration.

How we built it

We built Brewtopia using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, with Phaser for game mechanics, character movement, and rendering. We created custom pixel-art assets for the characters, furniture, buildings, and outdoor environments to maintain a consistent visual style inspired by classic cozy games. We used GitHub for version control, Vercel to deploy the game, and a custom domain to make it accessible through the browser.

Challenges we ran into

One challenge we ran into was implementing character movement and animations while keeping interactions natural within the game environment. We also had to figure out how to organize our assets, manage different locations, and build a user interface that fit the game's aesthetic without overwhelming the player. Deploying our project and connecting a custom domain also involved troubleshooting DNS configurations.

What we learned

We learned how to use Phaser.js for character animations and interactive gameplay. We also discovered how organizing game code differs from traditional web development, especially when managing movement, collisions, and real-time interactions.

What's next for Brewtopia?

We wanted to expand the café management system by allowing users to prepare drinks, complete customer orders to earn coins. One feature we're especially excited about is giving players a customizable room connected to the café, where they can spend their earned coins on furniture, decorations, and other items to make the space their own.