Cookie Run: Kingdom, a story of adorably sweet and courageous Cookies who escaped the Witch’s Oven in order to find a sweeter life filled with fun and adventure. Since its launch in January, Cookie Run: Kingdom has claimed the #1 Top Grossing game in the Apple App Store and #2 Top Grossing in the Google Play Store. The Cookie Run world and characters have captured the hearts and minds of players worldwide with over ten million downloads worldwide. With the game having passed its one-hundred day mark, we sat down with Co-Producers Eunji Lee and Kilhyeon Cho to hear their thoughts and opinions on the story of Cookie Run: Kingdom’s birth, the progress they’ve made so far, and its future. 

Co-Producers of Cookie Run: Kingdom, Eunji Lee (Left) & Kilhyeon Cho (Right) 

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Previous | #1. Constructing the Kingdom

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The Start of a Grand Journey & Obstacles to Overcome

Cookie Run: Kingdom was first announced to all members of Devsisters after many nights of roundtable discussions held during our time in Jeju Island, which primarily focused on setting up the direction and goal for the project.

Next, we took the initial designs conceived during those discussions and set out to develop a concept for the finalized product. All procedures, such as prototyping and building the system architecture, went smoothly as we had already laid down the fundamental and core aspects of the game, in addition to having a clear goal in mind.

The project was making great strides, and we initially expected steady progress. But as we dove deeper into the Cookie world and its lore, the more we focused on the user experience, the emotions, and the endless pursuit of providing a top-quality product, we discovered new obstacles that needed to be surpassed. This cycle continued for the entirety of the project’s four-year development.

Screenshot from the initial Cookie Run: Kingdom (Prototype)

The Most Difficult of Obstacles: Doubt

Among the many challenges and obstacles, the most difficult to overcome was a sense of doubt that pervasively surrounded the interior and exterior project.

Among the most difficult was the doubt of “genre and target.” SMGs (social-media games) and RPGs (role-playing games) are vastly different from each other, especially when it comes to game properties and user characteristics. Concerns were voiced early about how difficult it would be to meld the two genres together, and it would result in an increased workload. Among the most difficult was the doubt of “genre and target.”

Another point of doubt was centered on the gaming market’s trends. SNGs were fading out at the time. In addition, our push to create an RPG when the gaming industry was already filled with prevalent RPG titles was seen as another difficult challenge.

These internal and external factors played a significant role in the end. Our members also wavered in the face of such uncertainty during development. The road we faced was filled with twists and turns, such as backtracking on decisions to verify our thoughts on balance and harmony, pausing development, and starting back at square one to identify and solve our problems. Looking back, it’s clear that the goal of Cookie Run: Kingdom was a road not taken in the gaming industry, a road that had not seen success before.

Despite All Odds, the First Choice Mattered

We knew that combining two different genres harmoniously into one would be challenging. But we also knew that if we could maximize the charm and characteristics of the Cookie Run IP, the obstacles we faced could be overcome. We kept that idea close to our hearts and continued our efforts.

And with that idea in mind, it helped us stay the course. Despite the external gaze of doubt and prejudices, we didn’t falter in our hope to deliver a game that touched upon intrinsic experience and emotion. The doubts and suspicions about Cookie Run: Kingdom slowly faded in time.

The doubt surrounding the Cookie Run: Kingdom genre resolved itself during the development phase as we continually asked ourselves, “What kind of experience do we wish to provide for our players?” We approached the drawing board through the eyes of players rather than game developers. Rather than holding an endless debate on which of the two genres, either RPG or SNG, to put more weight on, it felt more natural to focus more on improving the gameplay and immersion of Cookie Run: Kingdom to a higher level. Players do not simply choose to play and enjoy a game for its genre. Players seek certain games because they anticipate a fun and entertaining experience.

Likewise, the doubts surrounding our target audience were also resolved similarly. Instead of focusing on market data on specific age groups, genders, and purchasing habits, our focus solely remained on the human experience and player needs. For example, a typical question to ask would have been, “What RPGs do men in their 20s play?” But we switched perspectives to ask questions such as, “Who might have played Cookie Run in the past and holds a fond memory of it?” Or make observations such as, “Everyone in the world is fond of cute and adorable gameplay.” The development of Cookie Run: Kingdom was defined by this philosophy of staying true to what's pivotal for the player experience.

Many different attempts were made to balance gameplay and the delivery of emotions.

In Search of History: The Cookie Kingdom

We poured our hearts into the entire process of contemplating, implementing, and enhancing the overall quality of the product. One of the most important tasks before us was building the world of the Cookies and their kingdom.

In the early stages of the project, development focused on having the Cookies build a new city on the ruins of a lost Cookie kingdom. But then something occurred to us.

“Who Built this Lost Cookie Kingdom?”

If it was a kingdom of the past, someone must have founded it, and something must have led to its downfall. Losing a kingdom must have impacted its descendants, meaning the kingdom itself needed a history. But we still needed that crucial piece: history.

At that moment, we decided the best course of action was to create a compendium, a “History of the Cookie World” that contained details about the kingdom and the Cookies. We felt that creating a world we, the developers, loved and immersed ourselves in was needed and that this love and passion for lore would resonate with our players. We also knew that with the worldbuilding lore in place, we’d adhere to it at all phases of development.

Luckily, members of the team felt the same. We got out our pens, unrolled a piece of paper, and started jotting all the past clues of stories, lands, and history teased in the previous Cookie Run series. With this intricate web of clues and hints, we let our imaginations soar to create new stories and even make concept sketches with them. For example, the ruined kingdom that appeared in another series, Cookie Run for Kakao, is where players could meet Princess and Knight Cookie. Meanwhile, in Cookie Run: OvenBreak, players can meet Dark Choco Cookie in the Shattered Kingdom. But looking back upon those two kingdom designs, they did not seem to be in the same place. This begged the question: are there currently two fallen kingdoms within Cookie Run? That created a new question: What if multiple ancient kingdoms existed in Cookie Run?

Compendium of the Cookie World: The Birth of the Cookie Kingdom & Its History

 
The more we proceeded with creating and unraveling the past of the Cookie World, the clearer its story and rich history came to life. At the peak of history, there were legends and myths of five ancient Cookie heroes, with four grand kingdoms founded throughout all corners of the land. The more backstory and history were written, the more captivating Cookie Run: Kingdom became.

Artwork depicting the story of the Five Ancient Heroes and the founding of the Vanilla Kingdom

One of the most enjoyable memories of creating the world and its history was creating the concept of a world of four continents surrounded by five great oceans. The world contained places such as the Giant Icing Ridge, stretching across the continent of Crispia. Another region was called Sugarberg, a land of perpetual winter with sugar icebergs melting into its fjords and, at its end, a grand waterfall pouring into the Stolen Heart Sea. Along the world’s equator, we created the Green Salad Jungle and, nearby, the Soda Ocean, with its candy reefs and endless spring of carbonated bubbles. Somehow, we became akin to the Cookies, exploring new lands and imagining what was beyond the borders. The continent that we had created and grew to love even earned a well-fitting name: Earthbread.

Actual concept sketch for Earthbread, drawn only with pen, paper, and imagination

What started as a simple question, initially bringing concern and uncertainty, became a grand adventure filled with excitement. It was a journey of untold progress and growth, culminating in creating the “Compendium of the Cookie World,” a massive 300-page document that served as a sturdy foundation for all our efforts. 

Creating such a framework for a casual mobile game was difficult. But thanks to laying the groundwork, the narrative of Cookie Run: Kingdom became more and more solid with each step we took. We tried to incorporate this spirit of adventure, this passion for exploring the world for ourselves, into the Cookies through their dialogue and stories. We invested a lot of time and faced many concerns along the way. Still, this step was crucial to overcoming if we wanted to provide a game that all players could immerse themselves in and fall in love with the world.

Excerpts from the “Compendium of the Cookie World”

So Many People, So Many Cookies

Meanwhile, we were also investing a lot of effort into the designs of the Cookies themselves, the protagonists of our compendium and Cookie Run: Kingdom. As mentioned before, we hoped that players could immerse themselves into the world, a world where the Cookies’ dialogue and actions could give more shape and form. Ultimately, we wanted players to feel the world was genuinely alive thanks to the Cookies while also experiencing the charm of the Cookie Run IP.

We put a lot of thought and care into this part of the project. We truly wished for the Cookies to be perceived as individuals with unique personalities, aspirations, and goals, just like humans. Our characters would have to work together, or even face each other in conflict. We sculpted our characters with various stories and narratives to make them shine even more. As much time as we spent shaping the narrative of our protagonists, GingerBrave, and friends, we invested just as much time into exploring the forces of evil and the Cake Monsters.

This endeavor was fueled by a quirky philosophy we created for ourselves: the inspiration for designing all Cookies comes from the entirety of the world’s population (chuckles). “Just as there are many unique people in the world, there can be just as many unique Cookies.” This sentence probably sums up the hearts and minds of all creators within the Cookie Run IP. This was born from another small idea: “Wouldn’t it be an amazing experience for someone, anyone in the world, to look at this character and say, ‘Hey, this character’s just like me!’”

With this philosophy in mind, we hope players and fans can discover parts of themselves, find meaning and attachment, and even find comfort in our characters. It also reflects our firm commitment to melting down the essence of natural human emotions and incorporating them into our Cookies. Thus, all characters in Cookie Run: Kingdom have their personalities (or Cookie-nalities, if you will), where each word they speak reflects their story, each sentence containing a breath of life. This plays a significant role in helping players fall in love with the world of Cookie Run.

Cookies and narratives designed for players to discover parts of themselves, find meaning, attachment, and even comfort.

Bringing the Cookies to Life With Movement & Voice

To deliver the impression of the Cookies being truly alive and part of our world, we boldly decided to pursue a life-like movement and voices for the Cookies.

The pivotal idea behind all movement and animations for the Cookies was to “breathe in the essence of life” for everyone. To that extent, each Cookie’s facial expressions, gestures, actions, reactions, and battle skills were designed with the utmost physical, emotional, logical, and technical care and expertise. The most basic actions, such as walking, talking, and even the sweeping motions of using a broom, could radiate a certain charm, revealing a Cookie’s unique personality and quirks. We knew that with each action could come a spark of affection for all Cookies, which made us pursue this goal with no stone unturned.

Storyboard for designing a Cookie’s facial expressions, movement, actions, reactions, and battle skills

Cookies Breathing with Life Through Movement that Highlights Unique Charms and Traits

On the other hand, the start of bringing the Cookies’ voices to life was born from a desire to build an immersive experience that would help players immediately recognize the Cookies as living, breathing characters. Fortunately, there are many amazing and talented voice actors in Korea. After intense deliberation, we chose voice actors that we felt were a good match for the Cookies, those who could amplify each Cookie’s personality and characteristics. Careful preparation and direction helped us grant voices to our beloved Cookies for the first time. We also believe that this decision to bring voice acting to the game helped create a unique experience for all players.

Voice acting for the Cookies helped provide an even more immersive experience

Paying attention to these subtle details and constantly thinking foremost about the user experience reflects our intention to have people feel genuine affection and love for our Cookies. We wished to provide a fresh new experience that would bring many emotions that other games could not provide. At first glance, managing all details, big or small, may seem unnecessary. Still, these efforts are integral to bringing the characters to life, allowing players to fully enjoy the game, take pride in their Cookie Kingdom, and fall in love with the world and its Cookie denizens. We also hoped to bring moments of warmth, joy, comfort, and respect through the game.

This process took immense thought, time, and effort. Many onlookers thought the process could have been more efficient. They had to have our desire to amplify the Cookie Run IP’s charm to the next level. Ultimately, it fueled our efforts to work steadily and remain on course.

An Arduous Four-Year Journey Built Upon a Strong Foundation

Ultimately, the obstacles we encountered and the doubts and concerns we faced during the whole development process of Cookie Run: Kingdom allowed us to start fresh and anew. It also enabled us to discover the root of such issues and gave us a chance to resolve them in advance. As a result, the end product has turned out to be greater than we first anticipated. Not only that, the process has served as a reminder that our hopes, desires, and philosophies were not wrong; they were worth remembering and hanging onto.

Nonetheless, at this point, Cookie Run: Kingdom still needed to greet players worldwide. We knew that not every doubt and concern had been alleviated. It reminded us that we needed to stay focused with a clear goal. We continued with meticulous effort and devotion to every element of the game. We all knew that every step of the journey was critical for creating a more complete and flawless experience in Cookie Run: Kingdom. We constantly reminded ourselves of this as a necessary procedure, in addition to the hopes of expanding the potential of the Cookie Run IP to a whole new level.

As time passed, the final touches to Cookie Run: Kingdom continued. As the grand opening of Cookie Run: Kingdom approached, we felt as if we had almost reached the end of a long and arduous journey that felt like we had been running non-stop for four years. Our destination was challenging to reach but clear: meeting you, our players, to provide a brand-new experience.