Hey Boardwalk Builders!
I'm so excited to finally be showing this game after months of development. Thanks again for the warm response on Steam, and I hope you're looking forward to the demo as much as I am!
Today I wanted to start introducing some of the fundamental system of the game, starting with the build system!
In most building management games, you unlock new tiers of buildings as you go and can "plop" them onto the map. In Boardwalk Builders, things work a little differently.
Build Categories
Boardwalk Builders has different categories of businesses you can build. There are seven total - Art, Media, Entertainment, Food, Health, Gifts, and Fashion. Each one has their own "tiers" of buildings. You can only build the lowest tier of buildings, which are small stands. You then have to "grow" those stands into higher tiers by leveling them up and combining them! You start the game with only a couple of stand types unlocked, and can unlock more types as you earn "fame points".
Fame Points
Each customer that visits the boardwalk has a unique route they want to take. For now let's just say that each shopper's route is different. Customer visits earn exp for the stand, and once the stand levels up you earn a fame point, which are blue stars. Those fame points can then be spent to unlock new building types and combination recipes in the upgrade menu (again, we'll delve into that in a future post).
With this system, it lets the player "grow" their boardwalk as they keep an eye on what customers want.
Next update we'll dive into the management system!
Happy building!
-Joel