A Penang-based indie studio has launched a video game that puts Malaysian kuih on the global stage, turning traditional desserts into an interactive experience for players around the world.
Twilight Foundry Games founder William Chong created Kooeh: A Timeless Delight, a cosy restaurant management game released on 17 June. In the game, players run a kopitiam in an alternate world, serving traditional kuih and drinks to animal customers inspired by Southeast Asia’s endangered wildlife.
Chong said the game was inspired by his Peranakan heritage and his love for traditional kuih. He noticed that many millennials, as well as those from Generation Z and Generation Alpha, knew little about Malaysia’s rich cultural heritage.
“The game was inspired by our heritage, our food, and the stories that live in both of them,” Chong said at a press conference with Penang executive councillor Zairil Khir Johari during the game’s launch.
Players can prepare 26 menu items, including dodol, kuih lapis, ondeh-ondeh and vadai, alongside drinks such as sirap bandung, teh tarik and kopi O. The animal characters were deliberately chosen to highlight endangered species from the region, including tapirs, tigers, elephants, crocodiles, hornbills and water buffaloes.
Chong said the team deliberately chose to spotlight kuih rather than internationally recognised Malaysian dishes.
“We felt like, ‘Hey, people aren’t talking about kuih.’ At the same time, I like kuih. I specifically like dodol, that’s why I put it inside there,” he said. “We realised there was a lot of stories and communities tied behind those. Each of the kuih has a story.”
The studio comprises just seven people. Chong emphasised that the game was created entirely by humans, with every illustration, animation, line of dialogue and design decision produced by the team. The game’s illustrator, Chini Choong, is a one-handed artist based in the Klang Valley who completed all the artwork using her right hand.
“So, I’m proud to say this really clearly: Kooeh is made entirely by humans, for humans,” he said.
Development of Kooeh took more than three years. The last two years were accelerated after the studio received funding from Microsoft’s Xbox Grant and Cradle’s CIP Spark, which allowed the team to focus on the game without taking on outsource work.
Zairil said Kooeh is Penang’s first commercially developed video game to launch internationally on both Steam and Microsoft Xbox.
“While we always think of Penang as just a tech manufacturing hub, this shows that our digital content on the creativity side is also doing well,” he said. “I hope that this will inspire other would-be game designers from Penang.”
Kooeh: A Timeless Delight is currently available in English on Steam and Xbox, with Indonesian and Brazilian Portuguese language support planned depending on player demand. It retails at US$10.99, with a 20 per cent discount for players in Southeast Asia.
Source: Malay Mail
