Financial World Simulation Games

Fixed bug with transaction system code. Day to day gameplay loop is functional. The bakery game is now fully playable and this project is ready to be shipped!
*Video shows a working round of transactions

Major Redesign of Sweet Success Bakery: 2d phaser environment implementation
Context: the game used to be a mostly formatted text game with primitive 2d interactive environments
Devlog achievements:

1. Main thing - Replaced 5 game mode hub with a 2d Phaser environment of the interior of player’s bakery
   +Modeled general floor plan first, then added realistic wall, floor, ceiling infill hatches, then coded 2d furniture
   +Coded 2d main character avatar and 2d customers; coded movements
   +Implemented custom algorithms to animate customers acting as independent shoppers
2. Completely redesigned setup phase to be more finanicially realistic.
   +Asked Github Copilot to generate me a 1 mile, 2d interactive map of a metropolean city; then fixed bugs of AI generated code
   +Placed open locations where user can choose to open their bakery
   -Each location has different perks and fees (e.g. customer rate)
3. Transation system (not working)
   +Modified how sales happen - instead of 2d dialogue box waiting for customer faces, customers put items in their “cart” and check them out.
   -In this way, I can put more emphasis into emulating financial trends, instead of simulating customer dialogue (which is important, but not directly)
   *Video is sped up 1.7x

-Built a 3D board game called “INVESTORPOLY”, inspired by Monopoly; about getting rich through investments
+Goal is to reach $50,000 net worth or bankrupt all other players
+Roll dice, buy properties, collect rent - but with stocks, crypto, and real estate instead of just streets
+2-4 players take turns moving around a 40-tile board
-Created way more property types than regular Monopoly
+Real estate, stocks, bonds, crypto, NFTs, and hedge funds
+Some investments are unpredictable - crypto can double your money or lose half of it +Properties can be upgraded to collect higher rent
-Added random event cards that change the game
+“Life Events” like weddings or promotions affect individual players
+“Market News” affects everyone - bull markets, recessions, housing booms +These make every game different and force you to adapt strategy
-Made it look and feel professional
+3D board with gold and green Wall Street aesthetic
+Dice tumble realistically with physics libraries (doesn’t quite land flat though)
+Particle effects burst when you buy properties or go bankrupt
+Live stock ticker scrolls across the center of the board
-Programmed special mechanics to make it interesting
+Tax Audit corner is like jail - escape by rolling doubles or paying $500
+Mortgage properties when you’re broke to get emergency cash
+Market effects last multiple rounds and change which properties are valuable
+Game tracks your total earnings for capital gains tax
*Video shows me going through Investorpoly

Expanded Market Terminal (Hyper-Realistic Investment Sim)
Bond Market: Added a page to buy bonds from 3 fictional startups. Features specific maturity dates, interest rates, and credit ratings. Bond prices fluctuate based on market conditions, and users can view detailed company profiles.
Tax Center: Added a page to track capital gains/losses. Calculates real-time tax liability, distinguishing between short-term and long-term tax rates.
Interface: Seamless navigation between stock, bond, and tax pages, maintaining a professional trading aesthetic.
Status: More bond types needed; tax logic requires further edge-case testing.
Sweet Success Bakery Rebuild
Tech Stack: Rebuilding from scratch using Vue.js and TypeScript.
Architecture: Improved code organization with modular components, centralized state management, and game mode switching.
Status: Currently experimental and buggy compared to the original version.
(Video demonstrates the new Market Terminal features with mood music.)

Made improvements to: Sweet Success Bakery
-Dramatically modified how customers behave
+Customers now have satisfaction levels, derived from the randomness of their behavior, how well your store looks, and how you small talk to customers
-Developed a more complex selling workflow
+Players can select dialogue to talk with customers
+Specifically assign a customer to one of your staff
-Fixed notification system
+Notifications for items baked appear on side of screen without impeding with gameplay
*These features have bugs and don’t completely work, but are somewhat functional

Started creating: Market Terminal - a hyper-realistic stock market simulation/game
-Coded beautiful Candlestick chart, the standardized chart for visualizing stock prices and transactions
+Used Tradingview Lightweight-Charts js library
-Imported samples past stock exchange data from actual companies
+Used Alpha Vantage API
-Used React to design UX and workflow to be indistinguishable to actual professional online stock trading services, such as Tradestation
+Has multiple windows; Chart, Watchlist, Order Entry, Order Book, Personal Stats
+Windows are resizeable and can be positioned in different areas
+Text, font, symbols are all custom and feel more immersive than a normal website
-Able to buy and sell stocks of 5 big companies
+Orders show up in game logs
+Your portfolio (the money you have) is affected by the virtual stock market movement
-PLAY SIMULATION
+Synthesizes data from a coded algorithm that mimics basic real-life stock patterns
+The stocks you possess will affect your portfolio
+This virtual stock market has realistic financial factors, such as inflation, slippage, etc…
*Next devlog, Market Terminal will have more complete functionality.

-Implemented Autonomous Staff Gameplay
+In buying mode, use employees to automatically buy inventory for you. More skilled staff will buy amounts more appropriately
+Assign employees to bake certain items and watch different skilled employees have varying time and quality
+Employees will handle customers automatically if you don’t
-Expanded Ingredients Market Selection
+Sorted ingredients into 2 categories: Basic and Extra
+Added 3 markets and a lot of ingredients
-Added recipe book feature in hub
+Players can create custom recipes with any amount of ingredients
+Ingredients and price selection affect sales
-Leveled UP UI and animation of game elements
+Utilized GSAP js library plugins for animating static text and button elements
+Redesigned walking Hub and Pre-op Phaser environment to have realistic lighting, appealing colors, shadows and complex geometry
Dealt with start button issues because GSAP variable was conflicting. Fixed white text over white background in pre-op phase.
Video is 3x sped up because video was too long

After the first functional prototype of the game (as in you could buy flour, bake something, and sell it), it was basically a glorified finance calculator with emojis. Since then, I have coded some major changes, so it has gone into making it feel less like clicking through menus and more like running around inside your own tiny business. The pre‑operation phase evolved from a simple setup screen into an actual space you move through, with decisions about location, style, and starting choices that actually change how your bakery plays. Instead of just “next, next, next,” you’re asked to think like an owner: where you set up, what kind of vibe you’re going for, and how risky or safe you want to start out.

On the numbers side, the game leveled up from basic profit/loss into a small financial lab. I wired in a proper economic simulation so things like ingredient prices, demand, seasons, and random events can actually mess with your plan (in a good way). A dedicated finance dashboard with charts lets you see trends over time instead of just a single “you made X coins” message—so you can spot when your costs are creeping up or your margins are getting squeezed. Inventory and spoilage started getting more realistic too, so baking too much or storing stuff forever actually hurts, and smart planning starts to matter. All of that was about turning the game from “click to bake” into “experiment with real business concepts and see what happens,” without losing the fun of running your own digital bakery.

This game now has functional gameplay. There are 4 modes; buy inventory, produce goods, sell pastries and summary/review stats. Only have basic financial stats, such as net loss, profit, etc… Had AI generate a bunch of bakery recipes, ingredients, customers and used emojis as pictures for everything. Is currently more of a text game the a visual game.
Will transition to free-roaming architecture instead of forced mode change. Future updates will introduce a more immersive environment, allowing players to explore the bakery, interact with equipment, and manage staff and resources visually. The tutorial will guide new players step-by-step, showing optimal actions through interactive bubbles and dialogue, making it easier to learn the game mechanics and strategies.

Decided on first game; a small bakery business simulation. This is a classic scenario to explore the real-world nuances of money behind a setting up a business. It will have stats and gameplay similar to running an actual bakery. Players learn critical business concepts such as COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) - Track exact production costs using FIFO (First-In, First-Out) inventory; Just-In-Time (JIT) Ordering (juggle freshness with running out of incredients), etc…

This game uses Phaser.js for main game engine, and other js libraries. Right now, there is a very short moving text tutorial and some SVG image assets. Will develop longer interactive gameplay where players can move around in 2d bakery environment.

I’m working on my first project! This is so exciting. I can’t wait to share more updates as I build.