Gotta Get Rich

Intro

• Retro-inspired life simulation and economic strategy game
• Players start with limited resources and build wealth over time
• Inspired by Monopoly, but designed as an interactive browser game
• Focused on progression, strategy, and replayability

How I Made It

• Designed the gameplay loop around careers, income, upgrades, and money management
• Built the game as a browser-based experience with a retro-themed UI
• Created interactive components for player stats, menus, progression, and city/gameplay screens
• Balanced visual style with usability and smooth gameplay flow
• Used Gemini to pre-generate structured JSON data for faster content organization and frontend lookups

Tech Stack

• Next.js for app structure and routing
• React for interactive UI components
• TypeScript for safer and cleaner game logic
• Tailwind CSS for fast styling and retro-inspired design
• Gemini API for AI-assisted structured JSON generation

Challenges I Faced

• Keeping the UI visually interesting without making it cluttered
• Managing multiple systems like progression, money, upgrades, and player choices
• Fixing UI layering while maintaining a clean retro design
• Balancing game pacing so progress feels rewarding
• Organizing structured game data efficiently during hackathon development

What Upgrades Can Be Made

• Add more career paths, promotions, and side hustles
• Introduce property ownership, investments, and passive income
• Add random life events like bonuses, taxes, and emergencies
• Implement multiplayer or competitive mode
• Add save/load functionality
• Include leaderboards and achievements
• Expand AI-driven dynamic events
• Improve polish with animations, sound effects, and interactions

Built With

• css
• next.js
• react
• tailwind
• typescript