BoomBust Demo

Even if video games are generally designed to be fun and relaxing, many of them pose quite the challenge, and they can even cause a lot more stress than relaxation. However, that is something some people are searching for, especially in genres like strategy or simulation. A certain degree of ingenuity is required on behalf of the developers, on the other hand, because it’s not easy to make frustration sound like a feature.

BoomBust is an interesting experiment that combines clicker, MMO and strategy elements in order to provide you with a realistic experience on the subject of economy and market fluctuation. In essence, the gameplay mechanics are as simple as they can be, but unlike in a classic clicker, this one can actually be won, or even lost for that matter, depending on your strategy.   To begin with, production, deficit and surplus affect your profits and your ability to purchase new business. You start by buying simple products and you move onto bigger and bigger business, such as buying mills or factories. However, it’s not enough to keep purchasing production facilities in order to get richer, since too many of them can be a bad thing as well.

Another interesting feature comes in the form of the MMO element that ties things together, since you are theoretically competing against other real players, albeit not in the demo at hand. Being successful can actually make you a trendsetter, which means that you can control interest rates and a few other things for everyone in the game. It’s going to be interesting to see this in action, but there’s certainly potential here.   However, the game needs a bit of work in the interface department, because the PC version is a tad too uncomfortable in this regard. Hence, the game runs in a portrait window, which is bad enough, but the interface controls are even worse. There’s no scroll bar to help you, and you actually have to click and drag in order to scroll through the list. This is a real pain with a mouse, especially since you often have to check your facilities.

BoomBust is not a bad idea at all, but it still needs some work to work as intended. Some of the concepts might not go as planned once actual people are involved, but it’s worth the try. Hence, you can lend the developer a helping hand by participating in the game’s Kickstarter campaign.