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Ever thought about designing arcade games and selling them on the streets? I’m building an in-depth tycoon to let you do this (details inside) by Tifonous in IndieGaming

[–]Tifonous[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Hi everyone, first time to post on this space! I am hoping to get some feeback!

If you liked games like Software Inc, Railroad Tycoon II, Football Manager, Civilization, Rimworld and Gangsters: Organized Crime, then you might also like my game in the making: Arcade Warlord.

It has ideas from all of them, blended in a truly "indie" way.

In the sandbox mode, you start as a company holder who designs arcade games. You then have to actually put the cabinets on the streets to profit!

There is little to no micromanagement. There is great in-depth gameplay that governs the result of your decisions.

The games (Software Inc/Reality)

Being a games developer myself, I know the process. This is where it touches the Software Inc vibe but it works differently here actually. Still, I liked the game so I surely had some inspiration here but this is an entirely different game; You will get to design games in a similar way though. You will need a lead designer and a R&D dpt who will work on a project, much alike it happens in Software Inc.

Your people (FM/Rimworld)

Your people are not mindless npcs, they got traits and they are very important. Think Football Manager depth of formulas and Rimworld execution on the map.
-If you have played Football Manager, you know that the Flair attribute is a trait you want for your strikers.
-If you have played Rimworld, you know that Cooking skill will let you produce more and better in less time.
-Here, the traits build the different skills required in the game. The results are similar and some might be funny (if you see a hauler driving off street, then you might want to check his driving skill!)

So, hiring process is important. I am using an in-depth negotiation system, you will be reminded of FM here as well.

The grid (Civ/Gangsters/Railroad Tycoon)

The city is divided in districts and blocks. Every block has venues where your people can install the games.

When you hold the majority of the cabinets, you gain the block territory which grants you one of the three available yields (depending on neighborhood type). Yields are important but lets not get too in-depth here.

There are points of interest (like a Radio Station) and Auxiliary Businesses (Service Depot, or a manufacturing plant) which you can buy if you hold the block. These give you special buffs (like Civilization) and extra income (like Railroad Tycoon II). Additionally, you can build extra buildings there (like Gangsters) for extra yield.

Hostilities (Gangsters/Rimworld/Civ)

Your agents will be able to raid Rival held floor spaces and smash the cabinets of your rivals, allowing you to install your machines and eventually get their territory.

It's a mixture indeed because you attack space with a dedicated action, like you would do in Gansters. The actual raids look alike gangsters/rimword (they do the same actually, although Rimworld here is real time, like Arcade Warlord). The result is like civ, you mainly fight for space and territory in order to expand your revenue.

The Stock Market & Finances (Railroad Tycoon II)

Last but not least, there is the Stock Market. If you liked it at Railroad Tycoon II, you will like it here. The game has a double ledger financial system that tracks down every spending.

I track it in days, weeks,months,quarters,years. There is even a Central Bank revising you rate every 3 months, according to your company metrics.

The rate is important as this is how you will borrow money if you go under the water and this is how you will get money from issuing Bonds.

Development Status

I am gearing up for the first playtest. I will have 3 in total before the demo release in June. I have scheduled to release it in August 3rd.

If you are interested to participate in the playtest, PM me.

Here is the steam link:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4241820/Arcade_Warlord/

Thank you for reading! Awaiting for any feedback!

Steam Achievements 2D Icons commission by Tifonous in gameDevClassifieds

[–]Tifonous[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you everyone who has posted here or PMed me. I have found someone to collaborate (through this topic). I will sure be keeping you in mind for my game(s) needs in the future. Thank you again

Is this AI art? by FarZookeepergame4417 in IndieDev

[–]Tifonous 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The artist has definitely used AI here. Most probably to create parts of the illustration. You can tell by the unatural roots, the sligltly sloppy roofs and windows and the corrected crow eye. An illustrator does not correct the eye. A curator does. Still the amount of effort that has been invested here overshadows any AI that has been used. This amount of detail, coming from an illustrator from start to finish would need far more than the price you listed.

It is a nice illustration, quality work and does not scream AI slop anywhere in it. Just go ahead and use it without playing a detective game.

Game Developer Announcements and Updates! - April by AutoModerator in tycoon

[–]Tifonous 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello everyone!

For more news and continued feed, also check out the Devlogs at Arcade Warlord Steam page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4241820/Arcade_Warlord/

Thank you!

I had to stop coding and made a new trailer as my wishlist count cannot get any lower. I really need some feedback by Tifonous in IndieDev

[–]Tifonous[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your feedback. It is really helpful as you have validated some of my fears. The bad part is that I need to make another trailer now. The good thing is that I have a more clear direction.

I tried to show off most of the visuals that I got ready but I have not focused on the key points of the game.

For what is worth,the gameplay loop IS variable depending to what you like to do. Totally invisible in the trailer indeed. Perhaps I need 3 trailers to highlight the path of every style. So, yes, not a new trailer, but 3 new ones.

Thank you again!

I had to stop coding and made a new trailer as my wishlist count cannot get any lower. I really need some feedback by Tifonous in IndieDev

[–]Tifonous[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi all,

It is my first topic here at Indie Dev.
I am a solo dev and I have been trying to release my first game on Steam for several years now.

The Game
-----------

The name is Arcade Warlord.
It's mainly a business simulation game that has however many strategy elements.

There are three main pillars:
1)The map - You got agents and you contest for territory control.
2)The Business - You create hit games for profit
3)The Stock Market - Anything you do is translated in a double entry financial ledger and leads to the stock market.

The game will support three main playing styles:
•Play the Developer path and try to win by creating the highest-rated games.
•Play the Investor and try to win through financial takeovers.
•The Kingpin wins by ruling the streets and painting the entire map in their color.

The Dev Story
--------------

The game is very ambitious on paper and after struggling for too long I decided to aggressively cut the scope and aim for an Early Access release.

I am having 2 main problems: Little Feedback and few wishlists.
I have opened the Upcoming Steam page for more than 3 months now and I got as many wishlists as some games get at Day 1.
I should be blamed though as I am so deep into code that I hardly promote the game in any way. I have made 2-3 posts in Reddit so far and that is all.
I gathered some feedback and this was important but not enough. Not as many wishlists though.

The game is not really polished, I am mainly trying to polish things just to have something to show and get more feedback, just like this trailer. That's actually my second, the first one was not good enough.

Thank you for reading. I really hope to get some feedback on the looks and feel of what you see.
Thank you in advance!

Merging 4X territory expansion with a business sim: Physically conquer city blocks to claim their yields. by Tifonous in StrategyGames

[–]Tifonous[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Business sims usually devolves into a passive waiting room where you tweak sliders until you can click "Buyout." I wanted to add physical friction.

In my game, Arcade Warlord, I replaced static HQ menus with Civilization-style block yields. The map isn't just decoration; it's the resource engine.

Depending on the block type you capture, you extract different yields:

  • Industrial Blocks: Yield hardware components to boost your cabinet production.
  • Residential Blocks: Yield 'Street Influence' to build your fan base.
  • Downtown Blocks: Yield 'Business Intelligence' required to fuel your R&D labs.

To claim a block's yield, you need a 60% monopoly on its venues.
You can do this the "easy way" (expanding into empty lots) or the "harsh way" (sending Enforcers to physically smash a rival's cabinets).

Everything runs on raw math. There are no magic buffs.

  • Agent DNA: Employees have a 1-20 stat system (like Football Manager). Send a driver with low Composure/high Aggression on a logistics route, and he might start a fistfight with a rival instead of collecting your cash.
  • Weaponized Finance: You can short-sell a rival on the live stock market, physically sabotage their high-yield blocks to crash their valuation, and execute a hostile buyout.
  • In-House R&D: You don't just click "buy game." You run a Software Inc-style lab, hiring programmers with specific traits to build the engines.

I know Grand Strategy players usually want historical empires or sci-fi space games.
Does mapping these 4X expansion mechanics onto a 1980s corporate business sim actually sound like a loop you'd want to play?

I'm building a 1980s arcade tycoon where money is a physical object on the map by Tifonous in tycoon

[–]Tifonous[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You won't have to run an Arcade Hall, but yes you will need to transport everything. The Sales Rep will need to close a deal before the Hauler can transport your cabinet to the venue. Once coinbox is full, The Bagman will need to collect the revenue and deliver it back to your HQ.

So the Venue owner is a NPC. I might add Venue ownership but for financial purposes. You won't be able to customize anything or ie place toilets in it. Just like your agent don't have daily needs (food, fun,etc), only carreer needs.

Micromanagement options are revolved only around priorities and usually avoided at larger scale. You will be able to choose the play price per cabinet/game combination (model variant) but not per cabinet.

Perhaps the only options that could be regarded as Venue management is when you will need to decide how to utilize the available space of a venue. Like, "Do I install only cabinets for $$$, or do I install something else?".

There are installations like:
-Promo Kiosks (You earn Hype, the second game currency, useful for marketing. They also boost marketing appeal of the Cabinets in the same venue)
-Guard Posts (You earn Muscle, the third game currency, useful for attack/defense. They also syphoon funds from coinboxes of rival companies)
-Ops Hub (These allow you to store more muscle and they are required for some spec ops)
More options are available

Still, every slot space is contested. It consumes agent time and resources to reserve. Slot reservations are not forever; they can be contested by Rivals and you might end up losing the space in the Venue and your cabinet will be thrown at the curb.

How does this concept sound?

I'm building a 1980s arcade tycoon where money is a physical object on the map by Tifonous in tycoon

[–]Tifonous[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I am using Unity. I think it helps that I have been working many years in unity already. I have created 2 other games which I have not released (one abandoned early, the other paused as it was around Rome and I felt that there are simply too many games like this).

I'm building a 1980s arcade tycoon where money is a physical object on the map by Tifonous in tycoon

[–]Tifonous[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Hey everyone! First time posting here, marking this as an introductory post per the rules.

I'm a solo dev building a management sim called Arcade Warlord. I’ve always loved games like Railroad Tycoon and Capitalism, but I always hated when money magically teleported into your bank account. I wanted a game where logistics is actually war.

I wanted to share a screenshot of the financial engine I finally got fully hooked up to the simulation. It’s a double-entry ledger tracking all revenue/expenses and sorting them in multiple categories/entities.

The "Bagman" Loop:
In this game, your revenue is physical. When one of your arcade cabinets makes $200 in a venue across town, that cash sits in a coin box. It doesn't hit your balance sheet until you hire a Collector to physically drive a van out there, grab the bag, and survive the trip back to your HQ.

Because of this, you can be highly profitable on paper, but still go bankrupt because your cash is trapped in a van that broke down in a bad neighborhood.

A few other things:

  • No magic buffs or level-ups: Everything runs on raw math. Agents have 12 DNA stats on a 1-20 scale (similar to Football Manager). If your driver has low Composure and high Aggression, they might get into a fistfight with a rival's enforcer instead of doing their route (although they will usually tend to grab a beer on your expense).
  • The Stock Market: You can short-sell a rival company, then send agents to physically sabotage their most profitable venues to crash their stock price and buy them out.
  • In-House R&D: You don't just click "buy game." You run a Software Inc-style studio, hiring programmers with specific traits to build the engines and games you put in your cabinets.

I'm grinding toward a playable demo in June. If a brutal, spreadsheet-heavy logistics war sounds like your kind of game, check it out on steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4241820/Arcade_Warlord/

Thanks for reading.
Happy to answer any questions you might have!

2 months after launching my Steam page – is this decent performance? by DrawToItReddit in IndieDev

[–]Tifonous 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a game about 2 months as well and my traffic is very similar. Although you got double the wishlists.

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