Hotel Rush

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  Hotel Rush

Inspiration

Hotel Rush was inspired by the real world intensity of hospitality work balancing check-ins, room service, and guest satisfaction all while the clock is ticking. I wanted to capture that fast-paced, multitasking energy and turn it into an exciting mobile management experience where players feel both the chaos and reward of running a successful hotel.

What it does

Hotel Rush is a fast-paced mobile game where players check guests in, deliver food, clean rooms, and collect payments before the timer hits zero. Each task earns Hotel Bucks, which can be used for upgrades, boosts, and new hotel levels. The faster and more efficiently you manage your hotel, the higher your score and rewards.

How we built it

Hotel Rush was built entirely in Meta Horizon Worlds using TypeScript. The game runs on multiple connected systems that all work together to keep things running smoothly.

The NPC system controls guest behavior — they check in, move to their rooms, and head to checkout on their own. Each one follows a set of actions, and I had to make sure they never froze, got stuck, or overlapped with others.

The task system manages everything the player can do at once: check-ins, room service, cleaning, and checkouts. It keeps these tasks organized so nothing conflicts or breaks while the player is multitasking.

I added an AI character named Billy, who acts as both a helper and comic relief. He gives players tips and jokes during gameplay but stays quiet during the tutorial so he doesn’t interrupt.

There’s also a power-up system with boosts like Freeze Time and Double Money, all timed and animated to match the gameplay.

Behind the scenes, the game uses event-driven coding, meaning everything communicates through signals rather than direct links. This makes the systems faster, cleaner, and easier to update.

I also built dynamic difficulty, where the game automatically gets harder as you level up.

Challenges we ran into

Managing Chaos in Real-Time: The biggest challenge was handling multiple things happening at once. Imagine guests walking to rooms, players clicking buttons, and cleaning tasks all happening simultaneously – the game needed to track everything without getting confused or letting things break. I used special timing systems that ensure one action finishes before starting another, like a traffic controller making sure cars don't crash at an intersection.

Remembering Your Progress: When you leave the game and come back, everything you've earned (lives, unlocked rooms, boost inventory) is still there. This required building a save system that stores your data and loads it back perfectly every time you return, like a digital filing cabinet that never loses your paperwork.

Making Systems Talk to Each Other: Instead of having every part of the game directly connected (which gets messy fast), I built it like a radio station. When something important happens – like a guest checking out – the system broadcasts an announcement. Any part of the game that cares (the AI, the money counter, the UI) can "tune in" and react independently. This keeps everything organized and easier to update.

Automatically Getting Harder: Rather than manually deciding when to spawn guests for each level, I used a mathematical formula: each new level spawns guests 20% faster than the last (1.2 times faster). Level 1 might spawn a guest every 10 seconds, Level 5 every 4 seconds, and Level 10 becomes pure chaos. The game naturally gets harder without me programming each level individually.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I’m proud that Hotel Rush became a fully working time management game built completely from scratch in Meta Horizon Worlds for mobile using almost nothing but GenAi Tools. It combines fast-paced gameplay with simple tap controls, yet runs complex systems behind the scenes like NPC pathfinding, task management, and dynamic difficult all working smoothly together.

One of the biggest highlights is Billy, the sarcastic AI assistant who gives the game personality. Instead of boring tutorials, Billy talks to players, cracks jokes, and reacts to what’s happening. He turns basic tasks into fun moments that players actually look forward to.

Another big accomplishment was making all the systems run at once without breaking NPCs moving, players tapping, power-ups activating, and level transitions all happening smoothly. Getting that level of stability took a lot of testing and problem-solving.

Designing for mobile was its own challenge, but simple one-tap controls and clear visuals made the game easy to play while keeping it exciting. The difficulty curve and boost system keep players challenged but not frustrated, and the tutorial blends right into gameplay so it never feels like a chore.

Finally, I’m proud that Hotel Rush shows mobile games on social platforms can be deep and repayable, not just quick mini-games. Players keep coming back to beat their high scores and improve their strategies, and that’s exactly the kind of experience I set out to create.

What we learned

Writing Code That Handles Complexity: I learned advanced programming techniques to manage all the moving parts of the game. Think of it like being a traffic controller at a busy intersection I had to make sure guests, tasks, timers, and player actions all worked together without crashing into each other. The code uses special patterns that let multiple things happen at once (like guests walking while players tap buttons) without the game breaking or getting confused.

Building Systems That Talk Without Being Connected: Instead of having every part of the game directly wired together (which becomes a tangled mess), I built it so systems communicate like people texting in a group chat. When something important happens like a guest checking out the system sends a message. Any part that cares (the money counter, the AI assistant, the UI) can "listen" and respond independently. This keeps the code organized and makes it way easier to add new features or fix bugs without accidentally breaking something else.

Making Every Tap Feel Satisfying: On mobile, if you tap something and nothing happens immediately, it feels broken. I learned that players need instant feedback a sound effect, an animation, a color change, something to know their action worked. Every button press, room selection, and boost activation needed to feel responsive and rewarding. It's like the difference between a light switch that clicks instantly versus one that makes you wonder if it worked.

Finding the Perfect Challenge Level: The hardest part was making the game challenging without being frustrating. Too easy and players get bored. Too hard and they rage quit. I spent lots of time testing different difficulty curves how fast guests arrive, how much time you get, when to unlock new rooms. I used math formulas (each level is 20% harder than the last) so the game naturally gets more intense without me having to manually design each level. The goal was that "one more try!" feeling where losing feels fair and winning feels earned.

What's next for Hotel Rush

Next, I plan to add more Hotel extensions and upgrades to future hotels, and seasonal hotel themes. I also want to expand Billy’s AI to react to player performance with different moods and responses. Hotel Rush is just getting started, and every update will make it more fun and repayable.

Built With

• metahorizonworlds
• typescript