Personal life update! After getting laid off by Ubisoft, I've been juggling job hunting and interviews while posting here. I'm beyond excited to announce that the job hunt is over and I'll be doing cool data stuff for Netflix's gaming division!

More importantly, now that I have a steady stream of income again I can resume work on Sugarplum Cafe!! You've mostly been seeing old stuff I worked on last year, but it's actually been on hold so I could prioritize the job search. But now I don't have to prioritize that anymore! YAAAAAAA

Thought about adding a drive thru to Sugarplum Cafe. Decided against it for some reason

(original reference)

Don't think I've shared just the title art for Sugarplum Cafe individually, so here it is! Thank you to those of you who've liked my stuff, glad I'm not the only one who wants a game like this out in the world!

Question for you all - how would you describe these aesthetics? I've used phrases like "pastel frilly shoujo" and "elegant tea party", but surely there's a simple one-word descriptor I'm missing 🤔

My black and white outfits for the Game Developers Conference aka GDC 2025! Let me know if you spotted me this year!

What a week it’s been! I’ve made a lot of new friends and finally got to meet internet buddies in person, and got to talk to a lot of people I've admired from afar. So many people complimented Sugarplum Cafe’s art when I showed them, and I even got some people to playtest Sugarplum Cafe, including some of the Among Us devs?? Who recognized me from my high fashion Among Us fanart and said they couldn’t stop playing my game????? Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh

Since I shared the Ladies last week, here are all the Madelines for the flavors I’ve revealed so far too!

These girls are some of the guests you’ll meet in Sugarplum Cafe, my cafe game inspired by frilly pastel shoujo aesthetics. Unlike most cooking games, there are no time limits - it’s a cozy chill game you can play at your own pace!

Madelines are students who attend the academy near Sugarplum Cafe. When they're not in class, they’re fangirling over their favorite Ladies. Even though they’re required to wear the same school uniform, they like to make little changes to match the style of their favorite Ladies!

If you’d like to support this game, join my mailing list to get email updates since IG doesn’t always show you my posts! Link is in my bio or you can visit sugarplumcafe.carrd.co ✨

I heard we were celebrating Ladies today? 🤭

Fullbody references for the characters I’ve introduced so far for Sugarplum Cafe, my cafe game with no time limits! This game is inspired by frilly pastel shoujo aesthetics, and there are desserts and tea parties galore 🍰

Check my past posts to learn more about the game, and visit sugarplumcafe.carrd.co to learn how to support it!

Meet Lady Lime!

She’s very much inspired by mod fashion - I think lime is a perfect color for that era. Er, I’m definitely not good with 60s lingo but the only other quote I could think of was “Groovy” which…not my cup of tea, haha. So definitely open to suggestions for her!

Sugarplum Cafe is a sweet cafe game with no time limits! It’s heavily inspired by fancy patisseries, tea parties, and frilly fashion - I feel like there are never enough more pastel shoujo *aesthetic* games out there, and I can only be the change I wish to see! 😤

To meet the other Ladies and learn more about the game, check out the #sugarplum cafe hashtag!

Meet Lady Lemon! She loves drinking tea as much as she loves dishing it. She’s a sucker for gossip - but let’s be real, who isn’t?

Sugarplum Cafe is a sweet cafe game with no time limits! It’s heavily inspired by fancy patisseries, tea parties, and frilly fashion - I feel like there are never enough more pastel shoujo *aesthetic* games out there, and I can only be the change I wish to see! 😤

To meet the other Ladies and learn more about the game, check out the #sugarplum cafe hashtag!

Here’s a closer look at the Tea Room in my patisserie game Sugarplum Cafe! Your characters can have tea parties with each other and enjoy all the sweets you make. 

I’ve had a few followers ask about cafe customization, and I would love to add different cafe themes to choose from - cottagecore, celestial, seasonal themes, etc. But because of the amount of art involved, it depends on how much interest this game gets! That said, I’m still open to suggestions - let me know what cafe themes you’d like to see!

Also, sneak peek at new Ladies? New Lady reveals in the next few weeks perhaps? 👀

Did you know I have a newsletter for Sugarplum Cafe?

Every month I recap what I've shared on socials, so check out my newsletters if you don't want to miss a thing!

If you'd like to get these newsletters straight to your inbox, sign up for my mailing list - it's totally free!

(I censored out the words because the formatting made everything look weird lol I promise it looks better in the full post)

Meet Lady Jasmine! She loves all things tea, including the tea parties you host at Sugarplum Cafe. Yes, her outfit is porcelain. No, it is not comfortable. To her, clothing is an art form and should not be constrained by practicality.

Sugarplum Cafe is a sweet cafe game with no time limits! It’s heavily inspired by fancy patisseries, tea parties, and frilly fashion - I feel like there are never enough more pastel shoujo *aesthetic* games out there, and I can only be the change I wish to see! 😤

To meet the other Ladies and learn more about the game, check out the #sugarplum cafe hashtag!

Once you unlock a special room at Sugarplum Cafe, you can host Tea Parties! 

There are many Tea Sets to discover, each with its own theme. Different themes are associated with different flavors - for instance, a magical girl tea set could feature pink ingredients. Some Ladies will only appear if you figure out what Tea Party themes would match the flavors they like, so it’s up to you to find the right Tea Set to lure them in!

Of course, you can’t have a Tea Party without tea, and this lady next to Lady Vanilla will show you how it’s done. You’ll meet her in 2-3 days! 

I wanted to make Sugarplum Cafe an aesthetic game, so the backgrounds and UI are gonna have lots of pastel and frilly filigree ~

You’ll navigate between various rooms. In the main room (top image), you'll talk to customers and serve them their orders. 

In the kitchen (bottom image), you'll make their desserts. 

There's a giant window so the customers can watch you work, but you can also check customer orders through the window so you won't have to go back and forth!

If you notice some of the art looks sketchy, a lot of what you see is placeholder art that I plan to redraw closer to launch. You know how I am with constantly redrawing my art 🤣 So don't worry, it'll be smoothed out eventually!

Ursa Major photos are finally out, which means for the first time ever I have pics of people playing #SugarplumCafe!! It’s so surreal to see someone playing something you’ve had in your head for so long 😭 Oh, and here's a full photo of me and my magical girl lolita coord! If I look a little frazzled, I had to HURRY to make it to the photoshoot hahaha

Photos by bon.komera from IG, thank you and @bayareakei for the event <3

Let’s talk about the main gameplay mechanic of #SugarplumCafe!

The act of making desserts was inspired by mobile merge games. You’ll merge ingredients into desserts, then merge those desserts into more complex desserts. I always thought it was super satisfying to see things “evolve”! Here, the basic merge line is Ingredient -> Madeleine -> Macaron -> Petit Four -> Cake.

For accessibility, I’ve included little ingredients in the corner because there will be a lot of flavors and the colors can look very similar even if you’re not colorblind. What’s the difference between apple red and cherry red, really??

Of course these won’t be the only sweets you encounter, and there will be other ways to craft desserts! Stay tuned for more ~