Translated from the original Japanese article
Doujin & Games

Nostalgia: I Want to Make a Soba-Eating Game (Hobby)

Doujin Game Development

What Is うぃずゆーTOYBOX?

There used to be a game called “With You ～みつめていたい～”.

Its fan disc was released as “うぃずゆーTOYBOX”. It filled in story bits the main scenario couldn’t cover—especially the protagonist’s little sister—so it was a must‑buy for fans.

Honestly, the little sister was more popular than the heroines.

Of course I bought it.

Noemi cosplay

If I recall, she worked part‑time at the family café dressed like this.
Not Touhou.

菜織のはいぱぁ う・ドォン

It’s a collection of mini‑games, and one of them—“菜織のはいぱぁ う・ドォン”—was my personal favorite.

A game about eating udon. Simple, yet strangely addictive.

Naori cosplay

Incidentally, one heroine’s family ran a shrine, so there’s a good chance that’s where my fondness for shrine maidens started.
Where does one even meet a miko…?
And that miko was canonically an udon lover.

I Want to Make It

A game like this—surely I can make it now, right?

That’s the vibe, so I’m going to give it a shot.

Specs (Target)

Core Rules

  • Player character starts at the bottom of the screen
  • Enemies walk in from left and right
  • Touching an enemy makes you flash and freeze for a few seconds
  • Interior objects are impassable
  • Enemies basically move left–right, but path around objects so their movement can vary
  • Enemies enter from off‑screen and exit off‑screen; the player cannot leave the screen (no wrapping)
  • We’ll ignore the fact that enemies never eat soba

Eating Soba

  • The soba shop is busy, so bowls take time to appear
  • Soba is placed on the counter
  • After a set time it’s pulled back if you don’t reach the counter—no dawdling during the lunch rush
  • D‑pad (arrow keys): move up/down/left/right
  • A button: eat
  • B button: discard
  • You can cancel mid‑bite with B
    • On success, you toss it and can move
    • On failure, you finish the bowl and freeze

Judgment

  • If it’s soba: success (you can’t move during the success animation)
  • If it’s not soba: you eat it and then freeze for a bit

Clear Conditions

  • Bowls of soba required vary by stage (i.e., hunger level)
  • Clear when you’ve eaten the required amount
  • Bumping enemies doesn’t kill you, but running out of time does

Under Consideration

  • Show a preview of whether the next bowl is soba or udon (like NEXT in Tetris/Puyo Puyo)?
  • Display a timer somewhere (lunch ends at 1 p.m., that kind of vibe)
  • Show remaining soba to eat (maybe a stomach‑shaped indicator?)

Characters

I can’t do pixel art, so I generated it with AI. Objects are being generated the same way.

This is just a test build for now; if it turns out well, I’ll ask a pixel artist to take over.

Characters

Why Soba and Not Udon?

Because I love 100% buckwheat soba.

My favorite chain is Sagatani—highly recommended. I once meant to add nori to my mori soba and mistakenly added extra green onions.

If it’s just for curry, probably Yomoda Soba (not related).

What’s Next

First, I’ll try building a single template stage.

Web might be fine. I could use Godot or Unity, but it’s better to lock down the feel first.