IDLE CITY

Inspiration The idea for IDLE CITY came from wanting to create a world that feels alive — one that grows and changes as players complete tasks and improve their surroundings. I wanted players to experience the satisfaction of progress through meaningful actions and see the world evolve over time, just like a real city.

What it does IDLE CITY is an evolving simulation experience where players complete jobs to earn money, upgrade buildings, and expand their personal empire. From delivering food and cleaning up the streets to rescuing a cat or fixing hydrants, every action contributes to the city’s economy. Players can buy and upgrade their homes, earn passive income from tenants, and complete daily challenges for bonuses. Each completed task feels rewarding — when items are delivered, NPCs respond with voiced thanks and friendly reactions, making the city feel alive and interactive.

How we built it Built fully in Meta Horizon Worlds, this version includes major performance improvements and system overhauls. All grabbable objects were reworked with new mechanics for smoother interactions and better optimization. A new day–night cycle was introduced (4 AM–8 PM Day, 8 PM–4 AM Night), creating a living rhythm with different tasks available at each time. Meshes, scripts, and systems were optimized to significantly boost world performance and reduce lag on all platforms.

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Challenges I ran into Balancing complex systems while keeping the experience lightweight and stable was a constant challenge. Maintaining visual detail and activity density while optimizing required creative problem-solving.

Accomplishments that we’re proud of Rebuilding key systems and achieving smoother performance while introducing a full day–night cycle and interactive NPC feedback were huge milestones.

What i learned How to optimize dynamic worlds at scale — finding the balance between interactivity, performance, and player engagement.

What’s next for IDLE CITY The next step is to expand the ecosystem by connecting IDLE CITY, IDLE CITY: NIGHT, and IDLE CITY: AMUSEMENT PARK into one shared network of worlds.

IDLE CITY has twice been featured on Devpost as an example world to build, highlighting its creativity and structure. While it hasn’t taken a winning placement yet, the recognition itself reflects the project’s strong design and consistent innovation.