Development Log #1 -

Factory was my life for nearly 10 years. That might be part of the reason I'm crazy enough to attempt an idea like this. I mean, I had a lot of time to daydream and design over the years. I was the Chief Engineer of a bottling plant, and spent a third of my life fixing and maintaining the equipment used to make juice. Sometimes it was hectic and my day was spent putting out fires and getting my hands dirty, while other days hours would go by staring at conveyors with absolutely nothing happening. It was on those latter days that I would imagine the ideal tycoon/management game that incorporated many of the real aspects of factory life that the average person doesn't even think about.







Yes, I've Played Factorio, and Satisfactory... and many more...

What makes this game any different than the rest? Well for one, it's not set on a planet with hostile aliens (not that there's anything wrong with that). But more than that, the game I envision plays off some of the strengths of those games while offering a more human, real life approach to factory life.

Note: I absolutely love all the games I've mentioned and take inspiration from, spending hundreds of combined hours in them.

In games like Factorio, most of the fun comes from efficiency. In other words, you spend hours trying to make your set ups as efficient and ideal as possible, which becomes more of a challenge as you grow.

Logistically, setting up your conveyor belts shouldn't be the most complicated thing in your game. Managing all the moving parts of the factory is where the challenge in Factory Life will be. Employee management will be huge, ordering goods and having a well organised warehouse will be essential. Planning will be the key to success rather than optimising (not that there won't be plans for conveyors and making efficient systems; they won't be the only focus however).

One of the more recent inspirations for the game play style of Factory Life has been Two Point Hospital. There are actually quite a few ideas that I've drawn from watching my girlfriend sink a few dozen hours into it. Like Theme Hospital before it (another game that I have spent plenty of time on in my childhood), it takes a humorous but somewhat simplified approach to the tycoon genre. I wanted to keep this in mind when making Factory Life, because I believe no one wants to watch someone getting crushed inside a machine just as much as they would rather not witness real open heart surgery in their hospital tycoons.

Without further ado, here are some of the systems/ideas in place for Factory Life to give you an idea of what the game actually is.

Building Foundations/Rooms

This is the first pillar of the game play in Factory Life. You as the player will be able to place down the foundations of your building and choose how it's shaped. At the start, players will only be able to place warehouse space, which serves as the foundation of your building. Think of it like the outer shell. Rooms themselves will be able to be placed inside your warehouse. Think of these like different treatment rooms in Two Point Hospital. You will have separate rooms for different types of production machines, for washrooms, break rooms, etc.





The end goal is that the player feels like they have a choice over how their factory looks and performs. I didn't want to constrain the player to a certain size or shape for their factory, so the building system goes a long way to giving you control over your operations. In the coming weeks I'll have a technical break down of how I'm currently making the building and where I plan to go from there.

Placing Items

The next main component of Factory Life is placing things! It seems obvious and not really worth explaining in too much detail, but this is how you'll populate your factory with stuff. Everything from warehouse storage (racking and shelves) to decorative items (such as trees and plants) and even machines themselves. Currently there's a selection of storage items and several foliage options to decorate the exterior. The idea is that you can beautify your factory to gain additional score/rating. You can also currently place doors, paths, and even shipping doors/driveways that connect to the road and allow the next important game pillar to function.



Logistics/Shipping and Receiving

Factories need a supply chain, and a way to sell/export their finished goods. This is where shipping/receiving doors will come in. The player will be able to order in raw goods and a delivery truck will arrive at one of these doors. From there, warehouse employees will unload trucks and store the materials in the spot of your choosing. This feature is still in it's infancy but the idea is that finished goods will also be shipped out of your warehouse in the same fashion, allowing you to actually make money.

Hiring Employees

One of the most important parts of your factory will be the employees! Still a huge work in progress, a lot of inspiration has been drawn from other games in regards to stats/skill systems for employees. Most of this will be subject to change as the project progresses, but needless to say choosing and training the right employee will be essential in building a functional factory.

Machines!

The last component of the game play loop is machines themselves. There will be a variety of equipment; ones that create power/utility, ones that turn raw goods into finished product, and much more. Operators will run the machines and mechanics will keep them maintained. This is also a huge work in progress so most of it is only planned out and not yet implemented.

Closing Thoughts

This has already gotten quite long winded so I'll close by saying everything here is subject to change. These are just the ideas I've had so far for the game, but of course not everything is fun in practice and many of these systems may be modified, removed, or expanded upon as time goes on.

Next week I plan to talk about some of the behind the scenes work, including information about the engine, tech, and how things are made. Thanks for reading!