Happy death is a cute 2D roguelike game that was released in early access in March of this year and last month it got its first free major update in the form of the Fast Food expansion. Players control Death, a character who can use many weapons and spells in addition to the iconic scythe. In the Fast Food update, Death faces monstrous creatures like hamburger sandwiches that shoot tomato slices like projectiles or muscular pickle jars, all of which come from the Toxic Food-Processing Department, where food is both metaphorically and practically the enemy.
In fact, in the new update of this Gearbox Software published sidescrolling action game, unhealthy food is portrayed as the greatest evil to be overcome due to the major impact that overprocessed food can have on people’s nutrition and well-being. Nicolas Leger, the creative director and animation director for Happy death, described the Fast Food update as a way to address issues such as diabetes and unhealthy diets as the leading causes of death around the world. Leger spoke to Game Rant about what it meant to make Happy death‘s Fast Food expansion and what the creative process was like behind it.
Have a Nice Death’s Fast Food Update Tackles Junk Food and Health Issues
With images reminiscent of Hollow Knight and a gameplay loop more similar to games like Dead cells, Happy death quickly became popular among roguelike fans. Although the themes of these games are quite different, Happy death has a unique take on the story, as Death must discipline the employees of his company through his scythe. In the case of the Fast Food update, Death hacks and cuts his way through junk food monsters to defeat the ultimate boss: Waldo.
“The theme we wanted to address with this new department is the dangers of the food processing industry, which is responsible for sugar addiction and ‘poisons’ our meals with elements that have nothing natural. Fast food restaurants are only an aggravating factor.”
Leger says Waldo is the perfect boss for the Fast Food expansion, as it embodies the aesthetic of 1950s American diner mascots, elevating unhealthy food to new standards in terms of how bad it really can be. According to Leger, designing a world where the enemies appear in food-filled rooms and corridors was surprisingly easy, and the inspiration for coming up with the various new enemies came just as easily. By making Death take in armies of fries and burgers, Hades equal Happy death aims to highlight the over-consumption of toxic food from which modern society finds it difficult to escape.
Leger and his team, of course, encountered challenges while working on this project, but one of the highlights for him was coming up with creative ways to animate the enemies, such as a burger that spawns or despawns in layers, just like a sandwich would. . Happy deathThe Fast Food update does highlight the dangers of fast food restaurants, but Leger tried to clarify how these health risks relate to the food processing industry as a whole.
“Funnily enough, we had a lot of ideas for this world! Junk food is really a universal concept. But we had to make choices based on gameplay utility or appearance. The clearer the design, the easier it is for the player to grasp the threat. Visual understanding has to be immediate and intuitive, even before the animation plays, which is a constant challenge.”
It is Leger’s belief that the added sugars and preservatives are the really dangerous sides of the food chain, as they can ‘poison’ people’s meals and become the primary causes of cholesterol problems or worse, diabetes and obesity. The darker tone of the new update doesn’t necessarily change the playing experience Happy death, but it still sends a powerful message about how junk food has long been deeply ingrained in modern habits. Overall, when we look back on the process of creating the Fast Food update, Leger is quite pleased with the outcome, and he and his team are already working on their next project.
Happy death is in Early Access on Steam for PC.
0 Comments