Table Manners is a physics-based dating simulator where the player goes on dates via a dating app to various themed restaurants to find love. 

Players control a clumsy hand and try their best to impress dates who ask the player to complete tasks for them. 

Depending on how well the dates go, the player is rewarded with new levels, customisation options, and bragging rights. 

Table Manners has 20 levels across 5 unique environments, as well as a special ending level and a new drunk mode when players complete the game.

Each environment (excluding the first) have unique environment mechanics from sliding between tables on a yacht, and simulated zero-gravity in a private jet experience. 

The Classic Restaurant is the first environment in the game where we introduce the core mechanics. Each objective has been carefully curated to give the player small stepping-stone challenges which initially require the use of one mechanic and before slowly adding and layering mechanics and concepts to teach the player through playing. 

The initial levels are fairly forgiving to give the player time and space to learn and familiarise themselves with the mechanics and game feel. The objectives we ask of the player are new at first, so we give them time to understand what's being asked of them and reward them with appropriate character animation, audio, and HUD feedback.

As another example of learning through play; the first level only contains items the player needs to complete objectives on the table. In the second level we introduce the order menu by drawing attention to it via the intro cutscene. The first thing we ask the player is to order one item from the menu so they interact with it straight away. This then teaches the player they can order items which are missing from the table to complete objectives.

Koi Sans is a Japanese themed restaurant which introduces conveyor belts, hot plates, and a split-order menu.

The main environmental modifiers added to the sandbox style gameplay are movement and cooking via the conveyor belts and teppanyaki style hot plates. 

This restaurant experience takes place on a yacht. 

Everything the player has learned up till now e.g feeding, serving, cooking, pouring drinks etc are now tested further with this new environmental mechanic: table switching. 

Players intermittently slide back and forth between 2 to 3 tables; some items are only available on certain tables so the player needs to juggle objectives and carry items with them across tables either by hand or using the sliding tray.

This environment is made of ice so most of the surfaces are slippery. There are areas on the table (coasters and dinner mats) which provide the player some relief by acting as friction areas to prevent objects from slipping around. 

The table surfaces become more uneven across the 4 levels using 'snow moguls' which are essentially hills of ice to alter the trajectory of sliding objects. When players order items to the table they slide in from the side, and in later levels we also introduce ramps to make it even more chaotic. 

The last environment in Table Manners takes place on a private Jet, similar to the vomit comet experience; it simulates zero gravity. 

Players are put to the test when they have to deal with intermittent periods of zero gravity which makes pouring a liquid into a glass or lighting a candle very tricky!

Players always return to the hub room which is where they can select levels, pick or chat to dates via the dating app, customise their hand, and change game settings. 

To show a glimpse into the process, pictured above on the left is the whitebox environment I used to establish the hub space using our established player metrics. Pictured right, is the final art pass with all the interactables. 

I wanted to keep all the UI elements in Table Manners as diegetic as possible, by having the player use the hand to interact with the world in as much of a believable way as possible. 

The Hub Room also serves as an organic refuge space for players to get used to the hand mechanics and interact with the various objects in the scene. 

As the player unlocks and reaches new environments in the game, we reward players with trophies in the form of environment-related items such as: a seagull plushy, Koi San singing wall mount, and more.