Rapid Game World Creation Leveraging Geospatial Data in Game Jams: The ’Galactic Gourmet’ Post-Mortem

Abstract

This paper presents "Galactic Gourmet," an innovative fusion of cooking simulation and first-person shooter (FPS) gameplay, conceived and developed during the Games Now! Game Jam - Autumn 2023. The game positions players as an intergalactic sous-chef tasked with retrieving rare and exotic ingredients from Earth to salvage a prestigious culinary competition. The game delivers an immersive open-world experience, utilizing real-world 3D geospatial data to generate high-resolution, realistic environments at runtime through 3D Tiles. Players navigate the globe in a spaceship, encountering and combating local chefs, and gathering the finest ingredients to craft extraordinary dishes. This game aims to blend the thrill of FPS mechanics with the intricacies of culinary arts. Integrating real-world geospatial data enhances authenticity and immersion, setting a new standard for realism in gaming environments. This paper details the game’s development, key features, and objectives, illustrating its potential as a novel approach to rapidly creating immersive game worlds and how future game jams can benefit from this system.