Savor Sim

Inspiration

We drew inspiration from the challenges faced by low-income individuals who often opt for fast food due to a lack of cooking skills and confidence. Our goal is to empower players to learn cooking, which is crucial for better nutrition. Improved nutrition is directly linked to better attention, academic performance, and behavior in school. To ensure authenticity, we consulted a real nutritionist and chef who works in a nursing home, helping elderly people get proper nutrition.

What it does

SavorSim is a mobile cooking simulation game for the Meta Quest where players:

• Buy and manage a restaurant
• Collect ingredients at the grocery store
• Cook meals based on real-world recipes
• Serve customers with unique tastes and moods

Every decision — from shopping on a budget to selecting the right meal — affects customer satisfaction and business success. The game emphasizes affordable, nutritious meal planning and builds skills players can carry into real life.

How we built it

We developed an advanced Cookbook system using the CustomUI API, incorporating the Camera API to enhance focused interactions within the kitchen and cookbooks. Due to numerous workarounds required for the pages, our Cookbook grew to over 5,000 lines of code, reflecting the complexity of its implementation.

Our vision was to create a dynamic gameplay loop in which players prepare meals for their family and customers while strategically managing their supplies. When ingredients ran low, they could purchase essentials and uncover new recipes across the world map, adding depth to the experience.

The game features four distinct levels—the lobby, house, world map, and restaurant—each offering unique characteristics that shape player progression. Every environment presents its own challenges and opportunities, encouraging thoughtful decision-making.

Although we had ambitious plans, certain key features remained unimplemented due to engine limitations and time constraints. Nevertheless, the foundation we established lays the groundwork for future enhancements.

Challenges we ran into

• Syncing logic between multi-scene transitions (store → kitchen → restaurant)
• Balancing realism and fun in the grocery system
• Designing a clean, readable cooking UI in VR
• Time constraints limited the number of recipes and interactive systems

Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Created an intuitive, non-text-heavy interface accessible for a wide range of users
• Delivered a playable prototype with multiple interactive scenes and logic layers

What we learned

• How to scope for a functional MVP in a short time
• Best practices for immersive UI design in VR
• The importance of testing physical interactions early and often
• How to align real-world learning goals with game mechanics

What's next for Savor Sim

• Add family simulation: Serve meals that account for mood, allergies, and dietary needs • Introduce nutrition and cost feedback after each dish • Expand the recipe book to include 400+ global meals • Launch PvP recipe battles where players cook, vote, and adapt under constraints • Integrate ML models to personalize dish suggestions and teach food synergy • Unlock Michelin-star progression mode, complete with kitchen upgrades and customer reviews

Built With

• camera-api
• custom-ui
• focused-interaction
• typescript