Economy of Things

No, this isn't an NFT or the next evolution of the Internet of Things, keep your draws on. This week I've been looking at pushing forward the world economic systems in Honcho.

Economic Events

Though the current demo's game loop focuses on delivery jobs and truck maintenance, Honcho's core gameplay loop is about running a vending machine empire. Economic Events have been added to make playing through this more dynamic.

Economic Events have a chance to occur each day, and are specific to each region. Below, we can see Wadashima currently has the economic even "Workplace Wellness Policy". Oh no! The locals have been brainwashed into taking time off, therefore reducing their caffeine consumption, the markets are in disarray! How will our vending machines sell caffeine to the masses?

Bah! Any budding little capitalist knows that when there are disruptions in the market, then there is opportunity to make bank. Low consumer demand leads to wholesalers lowering prices in an attempt to stimulate the market. Well it should stimulate players to head over there and buy all the caffeine they can, and at bulk, for tomorrow is a new day, with new economical events. And besides, we can always travel to other regions.

UI for trade goods - that's anything players can sell through a vending machine - has been reworked a little. We now show the current "Cost", and the base "Market Value". Any goods purchased will save the "Cost" at which they were purchased at. This should help you get an idea of the potential profit when pricing it in vending machines. The UI here is my pitiful 2D art, Ruta is working on getting something a little prettier.

There's a bunch more economic events that can occur and I'm excited to see how you all deal with them.

I got inspired by the music video for CHAI - PARA PARA to give Keiko another hair type. A long ponytail with bangs and a big, pretty bow. Once more of the economic systems are locked down and the play loop is really good(TM), I'll look into getting her some of those cool threads the band is wearing too.

I've been embarking on a Sertraline detox this last week and as a result of all the headaches and brain zaps I felt compelled to share how I feel within a meme format, as are the times. So enjoy the above video as my gift to you all.

To close off the economy of things, we heard back from a publisher we were really keen to work with, and it was another no, unfortunately. I don't envy the job of publishers right now, it's incredibly difficult to know what is worth investing in. Friends of the studio Maschinen-Mensch had a tough launch with Mother Machine earlier this year. It's what I'd consider a shoo-in for a hit; multiplayer, co-op, meme potential and streamer bait, but it just didn't catch. Check it out if that's your bag.

As always, I'm incredibly grateful and humbled by everyone continuing to support this project. With the above work going into the economy of things, it's finally starting to form into what I originally envisioned; Vending Machine Tycoon-ism!

Cheers,
Greg