Announcing the Development Roadmap

Hey Builders!

I hope you're having fun with the demo. We've already got over 100 people that have tried the game! That is huge for me that so many of you have been interested in my little idler game. I really hope you've enjoyed it, and there will be much more to come!

Demo Release Response

Steam post image

It's been awesome to watch the videos and livestreams of the demo, and read the article reviews. There have been about five YouTube videos created for the demo, and about seven streamers have picked it up and showed it off on Twitch. In addition, I was able to find four online articles written about the demo release! The game was featured in the OTK pre-show, and is currently being featured as part of Clemmy's Best Indie Games summer showcase. This is a way bigger response than I saw for Attack of the Karens, so thank you to all the content creators and promoters that have chosen to feature the game.

Responding to Feedback

I wanted to address a few issues with the demo based on user feedback and what I saw from content creators. These items will be first on my list to address immediately for the demo:

• The upgrade system seems to be a little awkward for some people. They aren't sure to click on the card when it pops up, etc. I plan to rework this into something easier to understand.

• All seven tier 1 buildings will be made available from the build menu at the start of a new game, instead of having to unlock everything. This will give the player a bit more freedom and choice at the start of the game, and bit more to do during the first few minutes of the demo. This will hopefully also help with player retention.

• The inspection menu doesn't have much to do aside from a few one-time upgrades, and I think it's showing some misleading info. I'm going to simplify it a bit, and add a few more controls to adjust the shops.

• Combining buildings deserves a front-and-center treatment in the game. It's the main way to grow your boardwalk. You can expect some UI updates to direct player attention to the Combine tool as well as Erica providing some additional persuasion to use the it if the player hasn't done so yet.

• The marketing campaigns screen is a bit too hidden. Some players didn't even know it existed until about 20 minutes into playing. This, like combining, will get a better upfront presentation to the player with some additional persuasion from Erica.

And finally...

• Yes, a docked mode will be developed for the game! This will allow you to have the game at the bottom of your screen in a docked window while you multitask.

Development Roadmap

I'm generally happy with how everything else about the game is being received. With that, I wanted to layout my roadmap for the rest of the game's development leading up to release.

As always, I'll be responding to feedback at each of the milestones above. Next up is the "Demo Feedback" milestone and I'm excited to see what you'll think of the improvements I've listed.

"New Upgrades" will tackle some exciting new ways to upgrade you boardwalk.

"Event & VIP Systems" delves into two fun new systems to promote your boardwalk and earn unique rewards (including some of the rarest buildings in the game!)

"Finish Tier 2, 3, and 4 Buildings" will cover implementing the remaining businesses to grow the boardwalk to it's full potential.

"Balancing & QA" will handle the delicate process of making sure the game is engaging.

And then RELEASE with localization into Simplified Chinese and Russian!

Happy building, and keep sending feedback my way!

joel@studioprimitive.net

-Joel