The Invisible Fist of the Free Market

The Invisible Hand of the Free Market is the oft misunderstood idea in economics that self-interested actions may lead to greater social benefits. Modern economists tend to inflate this idea into the principle that markets always self-regulate, producing optimal outcomes. Anyone who lives during these times knows this to be a fallacy.

For the invisible hand of the free market to actually work, the world needs to be built perfect. People need to always act rationally, with everyone having equal access to market information. Our world isn't perfect, and therefore neither should the world in which Honcho takes place.

To ignore this would mean making Honcho a "Cosy" game. That genre has already been criticised enough. And while I do appreciate them existing as a therapeutic form of escapism for players, I'm not particularly interested in making them.

Additional pushback towards the modern interpretation of the Invisible Fist concept includes Monopolies and collectives working together to corner a market. I'll be exploring this idea with the Keiretsu in Honcho, but I'm not fully ready to explore that publicly yet. One aspect I am, however, is the negative effects of market activity.

Real-world negative impact examples of the invisible hand of the market in action can include anything from AI creating a dependent underclass to rivers being recklessly polluted. Whilst reworking the debt system in Honcho, I've added interest-rates to all loaned money, and due dates. These two inclusions have upped the desperation and shifted the tone towards a place I'm much more interested in. Keiko is now really fighting against the invisible hand, or what I refer to as a mechanic as the Invisible Fist.

Interest-rates are high and due dates are tight. Interest is compounded daily so it can soon feel like Keiko is drowning trying to get her little truck business off the ground. Missing a payment date and leaving herself vulnerable can lead to the invisible fist paying her a visit in the dead of night and wrecking her truck.

I'm yet to settle on how far I want to push this concept. While I doubt I'm about to push players into diving into the practice of Burusera, I do want the world of Vending Machine Tycoonism to feel heavily weighted against the player. For players to be driven by the worry and dread of a due date. I am, after all, experiencing this hell of modern feudalism like the rest of you, and don't intend for my work to ignore it.

In brighter news, even if our poor girl Keiko is riddled with debt, she can still get dressed for success. I've now added a preview screen when players choose to load into their game. Don't forget to wishlist Honcho!

Have a great weekend, and thank you for your continued interest and support.

Cheers,
Greg