How will you implement the re-elections system?
The election system will be periodic. Every 4 years in the game, new elections will be launched and will be the occasion for the mayor to move up in level: the citizens’ vote will decide this. For citizens to vote for you, they must be happy in your city. On the other hand, having more than 50% unhappy residents will not work in your favor, and you will not be re-elected. We have modelled ourselves on the reality of the Western world, i.e. municipal elections. So there will be a test to pass this checkpoint in the game, and if the player does not manage to pass it, it will be Game Over.
What will be the changes compared to the current versions of the game?
Indeed, all this political aspect is not yet implemented, except for what can be seen in the Silizens' Twitter. The followers will be used to measure and show how popular the mayor is with his citizens. The interface is being developed: where is the happy and unhappy population? How many subscribers and non-subscribers are there to the mayor? All the analytical data that goes around politics will be visible, as well as the game pop ups with re-election events. The player will be able to know if he is good in the polls or not, what issues need to be solved before the elections in order to be re-elected and to be able to continue playing. Mayor's ranks will also be added, which will unlock new buildings according to new needs. The higher the mayor's rank, the greater the needs of the citizens to be met.
Are you trying to make the game time unlimited?
Indeed, we aspire to make a creative game. The goal is to give players a tool to play with the algorithm of evolution of a city according to what he will build, and on the other hand to give him the tools to develop his creativity, like a canvas on which the player can paint, erase and start again infinitely according to his desires. The unlimited life span is related to the creative tools the game offers. As in all CityBuilders, the game is unlimited, there is no end goal. Here, as long as you have money and as long as the citizens vote for you, the game continues and you can continue to do whatever you want.
What competition will the player face in the election?
When the elections come every 4 years, the player will have to face a fictitious political opponent who will confront his ideas with those of the mayor. This opposition will be added for story and narrative purposes.
How will the difficulty of the game be adjusted to the player? Will it be increasing?
There are two ways to manage the difficulty: the first one is when the player starts a game and he can choose the difficulty level (which will vary different parameters afterwards), while the second one is a difficulty undergone by the player, which is due to the progression and the increase of the needs and things to manage during his progression. The level of difficulty of the game will be linked to the level of development of the city. During the first municipal elections, the challenges are lower because the city is less developed and the citizens have fewer expectations. The more developed the city is, the higher their expectations are, and the more points the citizens will be dissatisfied with. "With a great city comes great responsibilities."
What would it take to be the ideal mayor and be re-elected for sure?
To be the ideal mayor, I think you have to build your city little by little, follow your citizens and optimize the population density and the productivity of your businesses. You have to think about solving the problems of your citizens before trying to "expand" your city, which means that you have to make your citizens happy too. The game provides several tools to improve the player's understanding of why the citizens are unhappy. Finally, it is important to find the right balance between managing the happiness of the citizens and the money that comes in. I don't think that the game allows you to be a perfect mayor: it will be up to the player to determine where he will put the cursor, i.e. if he will put himself at 50% and thus have enough money to build more, or if he will put himself at 80%, which will make the game more difficult because less money will come in the coffers.
