Diner Dash
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| Diner Dash | |
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| Developer(s) | GameLab |
| Publisher(s) | PlayFirst |
| Release date(s) | (PC) December 3, 2003 (NA) (DS) January 12, 2006 (NA) |
| Genre(s) | Strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) |
| Platform(s) | Mac OS X, Windows |
| Media | CD-ROM |
| System requirements | Windows 98/2000/ME/XP / Mac OS X 10.2 or later |
Diner Dash is a casual game developed by New York game development studio GameLab and published by PlayFirst. One of the top-selling downloadable games of 2004, Diner Dash was later ported to cell phone, retail, and on-line form, and Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue was released in early 2006, as well as Diner Dash 3: Flo on the Go, which was released later on in 2006.
Its popularity has led to the development of versions for Playstation Portable, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. [1] The PC version was released on 12 January 2006. [2] A free trial of the game can be found on the publisher's website PlayFirst.com.
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[edit] Game storyline
Diner Dash is an action game in which the player takes the role of Flo, an executive who quits her job to run her own diner. The game follows Flo as she serves customers, earns money, and slowly restores her first restaurant and builds new ones.
[edit] Game mechanics
The game's play mechanic centers around serving customers as they enter the restaurant. The player controls Flo using the mouse; Flo moves to the spot that the player clicks and performs the appropriate action. As customers arrive in the restaurant, the player must seat them at a table. Then Flo must be sent to take their order, deliver their food (when it's prepared), give them their check (when they are finished eating), and clean the table (when the customers leave). Each successful action earns the player points, and performing the same action multiple times in a row earns the player a chaining bonus.
Customers have a series of hearts over their heads that indicate their mood. The longer the customer is forced to wait, the more hearts s/he loses. When customers lose all their hearts, they leave the restaurant, costing the player points. The goal of a level is earn a certain number of points. There are also expert point totals for advanced players to achieve.
The game has two modes: Flo's Career (which follows the story of Flo) and Endless Shift (a survival mode in which the player must last as long as possible in a single level).
[edit] Customer demographics
In Diner Dash there are a variety of customers. Each type has different degrees of patience, noise tolerance, and tipping habits. They are:
- Young Ladies
- Businesswomen
- Seniors
- Hot Shots
- College Kids
- Food Critic
Customers in italic are no longer featured in sequels.
Later versions have other kinds of customers. Diner Dash 2 adds Bookworms, Cellphone Addicts, Joggers and Families. Diner Dash 3 has Lovebirds and Tourists.
[edit] Industry positioning
As the casual game industry is repeatedly accused of being filled with derivative games and outright clones, Diner Dash was noteworthy for its original gameplay mechanics and content.[citation needed] (Diner Dash was not the first casual game set in a service establishment, however; it was preceded by Betty's Beer Bar, a game with a very different core mechanic). Diner Dash itself formed a new genre of casual games, spawning a variety of followers including Cake Mania as well as several direct clones.
[edit] Published reviews
Diner Dash has been mentioned in the New York Times[3], USA Today[4], CNN (Diner Dash dishes out offbeat fun By Marc Saltzman)[5]and in a variety of casual game studies, including Nicole Lazzaro's[6] analysis of player emotions at the 2005 Game Developers Conference [7].
[edit] Sequels
[edit] Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue
Diner Dash 2 is the first sequel to the successful online or offline interactive computer game. In this game, Flo has to help all the popular restaurants gain enough popularity to keep them in business.
[edit] Diner Dash: Flo On The Go
Diner Dash 3: Flo On The Go, is the second sequel to the popular online or offline interactive computer game Diner Dash. This game was released in October, 2006, and is the newest in the series.
[edit] Diner Dash 4
There isn't a confirmed sub-title, but it is confirmed that there will be a third sequel to Diner Dash. It says in the Dress-Flo Sweepstakes that if you win your outfit will be shown on Flo in the next Diner Dash game. Therefore it is confirmed.
[edit] Spin-offs
[edit] SpongeBob SquarePants: Diner Dash
PlayFirst also published a game in 2006 right before Diner Dash: Flo On The Go entitled SpongeBob SquarePants: Diner Dash. It has the same format as the Diner Dash games just with a SpongeBob SquarePants theme.
[edit] Credits
- Lead Designer: Nicholas Fortugno
- Game Design: Peter Lee, Mattia Romeo
- Process/Art Direction: Peter Lee
- Game Programming: Peter Nicolai
- Character Design: Amy Kim Ganter
- Visual Design: Carolina Moya, CL Woncheol Lee, Beom-Sik Shim
- Audio Design: Audiobrain
- Executive Producer: John Welsh, Kenny Dinkin
- Producer: Erik Zwerling
[edit] Online version
You can also play the online version of Diner Dash here.
