In this post, we would like to introduce you to Ecomania. Our game, that we are working on right now, and which is almost ready to be released into the world.
You start on an empty, randomly generated island with a limited number of coins, for which you can add animals, plants, and decorations to the landscape. You can earn more money whenever the animal eats something (instead of poo, it will expel a coin) or by completing quests, which also serve as a tutorial that will guide you through the basic mechanics of the game.
As in nature, animals are guided by their needs. It includes sleep, hunger, thirst, reproduction, and survival (escape from predators). If they have nothing to eat or drink or they didn't escape a predator, they will die. And just like in nature, if there are not enough natural predators on the island, the animal will multiply and flood the whole landscape. And that brings us to the goal of the game. It is to create the most diverse ecosystem that can function in harmony.
In the beginning, the island has a so-called landscape capacity, which determines the maximum number of animals and plants that can be present on the island. Each plant and animal requires a certain number of capacity for its reproduction. If there is not enough space left, they won't reproduce. Fortunately, it is possible to increase the maximum capacity. You can increase it by planting trees or by adding a new species on the island.
The animals have their favorite food and also predators they are afraid of. To make the animal population survive, it is always necessary to provide enough food, water, and also partners for reproduction.
The player can use coins to terraform the landscape and thus provide more space for the animals or prevent their access to places where we do not want them.
You must also control the water level. If the water level falls, the plants out of reach may die. If the water level rises too much (whether due to weather or the player's action) the animals may drown.
For a long time, we have been thinking about how the game will make us money because we want at least part of our efforts to come back to us.
We have come to the conclusion that we won't add microtransactions to the game or annoy players by unskippable ads because these are things that make us uninstall a lot of otherwise good mobile games ...and we don't want people to uninstall our game, right?
The ads are present in Ecomania, but in a non-violent form, because watching them is voluntary. You can finish the game without them. It will only take more time. Because our ads are here to give you more coins for your island!
Every 5 minutes, you'll have the opportunity to click on the treasure icon to start an ad. After watching it, you will get a financial injection - 10 silver coins. Without ads, you would earn ten silver coins after about 10 minutes of gameplay (at the beginning, when your island is almost empty).
After watching two ads, a UFO icon will be available. It summons an alien who collects all the coins on the island for you. Otherwise, you would have to collect coins personally by clicking on them, which won't be a problem from the beginning of the game, but in the endgame, with an enormous amount of animals pooping coins, it would be annoying.
After watching ten ads, a meteorite icon is unlocked. When it falls to the ground it, in addition to a crater, leaves a gold coin behind. It means 10 ads x 10 silver coins = 1 gold coin + 1 gold coin from the meteorite = 2 gold coins for watching ten ads. Great boost, isn't it?
For gold coins, you can buy decorations and skins for animals and terrain. Or you can just spend them on more plants and animals.
Skins for terrain
There is a limited number of animals and decorations in the game so far, but if Ecomania becomes popular, we will add more content and expand the gameplay. Therefore, we will be happy for your feedback, which will help us push our game in the right direction!
