When One Door Closes: From a Layoff to the Making of Bento Days

Source: Steam

To stand out in the crowd, most people believe you need to be the loudest one in the room. For Bento Days, the case is the opposite.

Sling and her small team develop this cosy management game at a Malaysian indie game studio, Fruitscandy Studio. In this indie game, you run a bento box shop where you tailor lunchboxes based on the tastes of your neighbourhood community. The soft pastel colour palette and cute character art style reminded me of a few mobile games I played in the past.

The feeling was almost nostalgic.

The first time I experienced the game was at Indie Jam 2026, where their booth was tucked right at the corner of the auditorium. In my experience, corner booths tend to get overlooked. But theirs already had a small crowd.

My first task was creating a bento fit for school kids. Without knowing how the bento tag system works yet, the variety in choices felt like there were endless possible combinations. In my playthrough, I was thinking less about game mechanics and more about the joys of combo exploration. I wondered, what do school kids want to see when they open that bento? I wandered into my childhood memory bank as I asked myself, 'What did I enjoy eating for lunch back then?'

Despite the thinking involved, Bento Days did not feel at all stressful. If anything, it was engaging, chill, and calming. It is the kind of game you would reach for at the end of a long day to unwind.

Fun fact: Before Fruitscandy studio, the team of three were colleagues at the same workplace — until they were laid off in 2025. One studio’s decision pushed them to bet on themselves instead. As Sling puts it, ‘No hard feelings there!’

From Layoff to Digital Lunchboxes

Source: Steam

Being laid off is never an easy feeling. Instead of ruminating on the ‘why’ of it all, the Fruitscandy team chose to look forward instead. They now gained the freedom to make exactly the kind of game they wanted.

TESSR: What sparked the idea for this indie game? What made your team decide to go for it?

Sling: From the get-go, we knew that we wanted to make a small, cosy game. The idea of decorating, cooking management and character stories seemed familiar and doable for us. It’s also important to make something we'd be interested in playing ourselves, seeing that this endeavour of ours is mostly fuelled by passion.

That sense of familiarity is the very foundation of building a cosy game. And within that cosiness, the team wanted to give players just enough to keep them engaged and not so much that it tips them into overwhelm.

Bento Days is built across three layers to create a pleasant experience for the players.

Firstly, the creative layer. Think of every bento box as a blank canvas. The choices and combinations players make are like putting a painting together — an avenue for self-expression and creativity, which makes the experience feel personal.

Then, the small decisions were built into the process: how many bentos to make, which customers to prioritise, and what the neighbourhood needs today.

And lastly, beneath it all are the stories that make players feel connected to the characters and the neighbourhood they serve. Creating a more immersive experience that ties the players emotionally to the game.

The Goldilocks of Cosy Games: Looking for Just Right

Making a cosy game is a bit like making an omelette. It looks and feels simple, but it’s also easy to get wrong. For the Fruitscandy team, finding that balance between engaging and relaxing is still an ongoing work behind Bento Days.

TESSR: From a game design perspective, what’s the most important thing you’re trying to get right in this game and why?

Sling: Generally, we're trying to balance the level of engagement with the cosy aspect. We don't want the game to feel tedious or boring. We are also struggling with making the UX intuitive, because the gameplay might be a bit different from what's commonly seen.

Tip too far in either direction, and the whole experience would unravel.

If the game gets too tedious, players drop off before getting a chance to connect with the storyline. If it gets too passive, there is no pull to play again tomorrow. Losing players to either frustration or boredom is a missed moment of connection. It becomes a retention issue.

Source: Steam

TESSR: When you say the gameplay might be different from what's commonly seen, can you walk us through what that looks like? How are you making sure it still feels easy to pick up?

Sling: The usual cooking game requires you to make what the customer ordered almost in real time; it's pretty straightforward. In Bento Days, you’ll have to familiarise yourself with the customers of the day and, in the beginning, figure out how to plate their preferred bento. For example, if a customer’s preferred bento tag is ‘nostalgic’, players need to figure out what ingredients make the bento feel nostalgic.

There’s also the sales management aspect: how many of certain bentos to make, depending on the customer profile distribution. If you make too many, resources will go to waste, and if you make too few, you won’t maximise sales. It’s rather indirect, so we have to make sure players know where to get that information. The onboarding process is an important step to show players this. We are also iterating the UX during development to smooth the experience.

That indirectness makes Bento Days stand out, and that's why playtester feedback becomes such a valuable data point for iteration.

TESSR: What gameplay systems, mechanics, or ideas did you decide to leave out or simplify, and what influenced those design decisions?

Sling: There were some mini-game ideas that we thought could spice up the experience, and some art/animation enhancements throughout. But because of time and resource limitations, it made us cautious about greenlighting them. Feedback from playtesters also gave us a lot of insights, and I'd say it would have an influence on the direction of the game. One major change we made because of playtester feedback was eliminating the ‘cooking’ phase.

One mini-game idea that did not make it was the Neko Atsume-inspired concept. It’s where cats would gather in front of the shop depending on what food was left out or even other fulfilled conditions. As Sling reflects, “Thinking back, the implementation will not be so ‘mini’ after all.”

TESSR: What was an idea or feature that sounded like a good idea at first but didn’t work out?

Sling: Previously, there was a phase where players buy specific numbers of ingredients and choose how many batches of a dish to cook before plating. The idea was to play more 'management'. That iteration had a game flow problem; combined with a lack of information from the UI, it felt tedious to play.

The Price of Passion, But Worth Every Bento

Developing Bento Days has its challenges. Sling and the team knew that going in. After a layoff, the team remained committed and funded the project out of their own pockets. No publisher to back them, no safety net, and no guarantees of profit.

TESSR: What’s been a tough decision or trade-off you’ve had to make while making the game?

Sling: We are self-funding this game, so time and resources are the major trade-off. The tough decision is deciding to take Bento Days into production itself, recognising the endeavour is not an easy one. The reward is going to be somewhat worthwhile on a personal level, regardless of the success of the game.

The final line says a lot. For Sling, it is about the intrinsic reward that comes with seeing the game come to fruition. The team went all in, betting on themselves and their talents, proving that they can still come out the other side despite the events that led to their departure from their previous studio.

TESSR: After the players finish playing the game, what do you want them to walk away feeling?

Sling: I hope they feel adequately satisfied, akin to watching a good movie or having a nice meal. A game that didn't take up too much of their time but had lifted their spirit for a moment. And if they crave that feeling again, it's easy to get back into. At least that's what we're aiming for.

In life, things do not always go as planned. Some of the best things bloom from hardship. For the Fruitscandy team, that layoff closed one chapter and opened a new one. Instead of waiting for the next opportunity to come knocking, they built their own. Bento Days is the fruit of an undying passion.

Bento Days is coming soon on Steam. Check out the page and wishlist this indie game!

Author Bio 

Alison Chai is a marketer at TESSR, an artist, and a gaming creator with a finance background. She enjoys exploring the intersections of creative work, structure, and mental well-being. Drawn to the idea of "organised chaos”, she believes that the right systems can elevate creative expression rather than limit it. Connect with her on LinkedIn.