Electron Grid

A humble game design document

Cameron Brown

Executive summary

A small, fun game which is targeted towards casual tycoon players, which sees them manage the energy infrastructure for a small but growing city. They must adapt to handle the challenges of growth to provide the highest quality energy at low cost to the consumer.

Core loop

Players enter the loop with their city in a certain state. Based on customer demand, they try and best deploy the resources on hand to grow the city.

Progression

• Failure will result in complaints and impact the stock price.
• Failure happens when the stock price is too low and a hostile takeover occurs.
• Much like an incremental, the player can move onto different environments.

Theme & art style

A low poly theme is used in the vain of Tiny Town VR, with a small village slowly growing from houses & shops into a sprawling metropolis. This is fueled by energy supply/demand. To increase replayability, different location styles (e.g. desert, plains, etc…) are available. A day/night cycle is also used to show off the beautiful lights in the night.

Economy

The player’s company has a few interesting metrics, including:

• Bank balance including debts
• Assets & liabilities
• Stock price (and custom TCKR)
• Supply/demand curve
• Cost per kW/h
• Customer base

This money is reinvested into several things:

• New energy generation, such as greener options
• Engineering research to productionise scientific discoveries, like fusion power
• Laying power lines (ugly) or underground lines (expensive)
• Paying salaries for staff at HQ, distribution centres, etc…

Challenge

The key is to optimise for low cost, but high green rating. This can be done with specific grid placement of distribution centres, power lines, windmills, etc… For example, four power lines heading through a 1x1 substation should have an efficiency bonus. Other challenges come from random events like forced upgrades due to growth, natural disaster, etc…