Greetings, 👋

Our last newsletter presented two new wireframe sketches for the game. Each with its unique appeal – one detailed and player-centric, the other minimalist yet dynamic.

We’ve now crafted a blend that captures the best of both designs. As Henry Ford aptly said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.“

A Glimpse at the New! 🤩

We focused on improving your gameplay by decluttering the interface and prioritizing interaction and decision-making.

Some immediately apparent changes from the previous UI 🔄:

  1. Environment Shift: After careful analysis, we’ve shifted it to the right to achieve more natural eye movement and smoother navigation.
  2. Icons Get Labeled: Icons are great, but labels are better because they provide clarity. No more guessing games – you’ll now know exactly where each icon will lead you.
  3. Tabs Galore: We’ve transitioned from mere buttons to horizontal tabs for main action items and vertical ones for sub-actions. Tabs help improve data presentation and usability while ensuring everything’s within a few clicks’ reach.
  4. Nested Data: We get it; information overload is a real thing. By nesting data like population and weather information within dropdown buttons, you get to see only information you absolutely need, decluttering the User Interface.

Wireframing the Research View 🔬

Research is the backbone of many strategy games, and in this episode, we talked about why we added it to Business Heroes.

The current design is a comprehensive research tree with 3 tiers and 7 tantalizing research paths that cover various operations and business management functions:

  • Customers: Provides customer segment access and insights.
  • Menu: Contains all you need to perfect your recipes.
  • Money: Everything related to financial strategy.
  • Promotion & Forecasting: For predicting and planning, the two Ps of success.
  • Supplies & Storage: Your stock management improvement path.
  • Stands & Speeds: For better vehicles and speed.
  • Team & Queue Control: Workforce management path for maximum output.

How does it work? 🤔 Well, you can choose to research one item in each research path per turn. A turn is one night and day cycle. Items in Tier 1 unlock after 1 turn, Tier 2 after two, and Tier 3 after three. Your research choices can now set the tone for your business’s trajectory.

From Breaking News to Boost and Bust 📰

The game’s events mechanic has also evolved. Recall that the Events Mechanic is our way of infusing the game with unexpected twists and turns, often inspired by surreal news headlines.

Players experienced a mix of ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ events, dictated by randomly generated numbers and chosen news channels, spanning five impact levels. You can catch up on how the previous mechanic worked here.

While the old mechanic had its charm, we recognized the need for a mechanic that infuses more strategic considerations into your gameplay. With this in mind, we’ve transitioned to the “Boost and Bust” system.

This system gives players more agency, allowing them to align their event experiences with their risk appetite.

Here’s how the three news channels now work:

  • Free Option: Outputs a random Level 1 or 2 event, designed for those who prefer minimal risk with low returns.
  • Moderate Price Option: Outputs a random Level 3 event, offering medium risks with medium rewards. This option is designed for players who like to keep things exciting yet under control.
  • High Price Option: Designed for the Go big or go home, high stakes lover, this option outputs a random level 4 or 5 event. It promises potentially grand rewards but at a greater risk.

Achievements and Icons 🎖️

For all you achievement hunters, we’ve also started designing the in-game achievements and their icons. Here’s a preview of some of them:

We currently have over 95 in-game achievements on the list, and it’s only going to get bigger.

Suggest Achievement Ideas 💡

We’d love to include your ideas, especially for Hidden Achievements. Here are a few things to remember as you brainstorm:

Reflect on achievements you’d love as a player.

The best suggestions will be creative yet easy to implement.

Ready to bring your innovative suggestions to the table? Contribute your ideas under the ‘Suggestion Header’ on this sheet. ✍️

As always, we are eager to read your contributions and get your feedback. 😉

And that’s a wrap for today, Cheers 🥂

Don’t forget to Wishlist the game if you haven’t!

Live Long and Prosper 👋,
Kunal & Team