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Welcome to Neo-Lagos
Inspiration The inspiration for NEO-LAGOS came from a desire to see more African narratives in the cyberpunk genre. We often see Neo-Tokyo or a futuristic New York, but Lagos, with its incredible energy, chaotic hustle, and rapid tech adoption, is the perfect setting for a high-stakes survival story. We wanted to blend the minimalist, addictive gameplay of Stacklands with the rich, gritty atmosphere of Nigerian resilience. The goal of "living to 80" isn't just a number; in a world of cyber-coups and bio-hackers, it’s the ultimate badge of honor.
What it does NEO-LAGOS: Survival Deck is a card-based resource management game where every decision determines if you survive another year in the sprawl.
Card Management: Players drag and drop cards to interact. Stack a Citizen on a Cyber-Cafe to generate Crypto, or stack Jollof Rations on a Citizen to restore health.
The Hustle: You must balance earning credits with maintaining your physical health. Buying black-market augmentations might help you work faster, but they cost sanity.
Survival Events: At the end of every turn, the city pushes back. You might face a Grid Collapse, a Military Checkpoint, or a Data Raid.
The Endgame: Unlike typical RPGs where you defeat a boss, your victory condition is simply survival. You need to manage your resources effectively to reach the life expectancy of 80 years without starving, going broke, or being flatlined.
How we built it We built this project using AI Studio, leveraging its ability to handle complex logic and narrative generation through natural language prompts.
Logic Engine: We designed a system of "recipes" (e.g., Card A + Card B = Card C) that the AI enforces to create the crafting loop.
Narrative Flavor: We engineered specific prompts to ensure the AI generates text and events that feel authentically Nigerian incorporating slang, local food references, and culturally specific challenges, all wrapped in a neon-drenched cyberpunk aesthetic.
Iterative Design: We used the rapid prototyping capabilities of the platform to test different "death scenarios" and balance the economy so the game feels challenging but fair.
Challenges we ran into Balancing the Economy: It was difficult to tune the resource generation rates. Initially, players would either starve immediately or become billionaires by age 30. Finding the "sweet spot" where resources are scarce but attainable took many iterations.
State Consistency: Ensuring the game remembered previous turns (like current age or accumulated health debuffs) was tricky. We had to refine our system prompts to ensure the game state persisted accurately between rounds.
Theme Integration: Avoiding stereotypes while creating a distinct "Naija Cyberpunk" vibe required careful prompt engineering to get the tone just right—gritty, funny, and intense.
Accomplishments that we're proud of The Atmosphere: We are really proud of the world-building. The game feels alive with flavor text that references everything from Danfo buses to futuristic cyber-markets.
The "Age" Mechanic: Successfully implementing a linear progression system (Age) that scales difficulty over time. As you get older, you gain wisdom (new unlockables) but lose vitality, changing how you have to play the game in the later stages.
Cultural Representation: Creating a sci-fi game that feels uniquely African without losing the universal appeal of the survival genre.
What we learned Game Design is Math: We learned that beneath the cool cyberpunk aesthetics, a survival game is really just a complex spreadsheet. Balancing the math of consumption vs. production is key to player engagement.
The Power of AI for Logic: We learned how to use LLMs not just for generating text, but for acting as a game engine that enforces rules and logic.
Simplicity is Key: The most fun mechanics were often the simplest ones (like stacking money to pay rent). We learned not to overcomplicate the core loop.
What's next for NEO-LAGOS Mobile Port: The drag-and-drop mechanics are perfect for touchscreens. We plan to wrap the game for mobile devices so players can hustle on the go.
Faction System: We want to introduce distinct factions (e.g., The Tech Cabal, The Area Boys, The Oil Barons) that players can ally with or fight against for unique perks.
"Legacy" Mode: Implementing a roguelite element where, if you survive to 80, your next character starts with an "Inheritance" perk, making the next run slightly different.
Visual Overhaul: While the text-based logic is strong, we plan to integrate generative AI art to create unique, cyberpunk-style illustrations for every card type in the deck.
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