As we prepare for Steam Next Fest, we’ve been revisiting the place where Story Mode begins.
Our original garage served as the starting office, but we felt we could give that opening more character. We’re now working on a house that combines everyday living with the first steps of building a software company.
It’s still a work in progress, but we’re happier with the direction. Here’s an early look at the space we’ve been developing.
Design preview: An early look at the new starting house. Exterior concept art; final design and in-game appearance may change. Click to enlarge.
Explore the early house layout:
Early concept: The layout that started the redesign. Some door details have since changed; dimensions remain provisional. Concept art, not a gameplay screenshot.
Alongside the house, we’ve been refining building tools, door and window placement, and interface text across the game’s eight supported languages.
This house is where your company’s story begins. But beyond your first desk, the software world is already moving. Meanwhile, inside the game...
Operating systems are competing for users. Malware is threatening them. Security companies are racing to sell protection, and some have reasons to keep the danger alive.
In Hacker Inc., these businesses are connected. What happens to one can change the fortunes of the others.
Gameplay concept: One connected market. Conflicting interests. An explanatory illustration, not an in-game interface. Click to enlarge.
Operating systems
Malware
Antivirus
Provide the platform and depend on users’ trust.
Threatens users and can increase antivirus sales.
Competes to protect users and keep their business.
Malware outbreaks can increase antivirus sales by driving demand for protection. Effective protection fights the threat and helps keep the platform healthy. But if infections persist and users lose trust in an operating system, they can leave, taking part of the security market with them.And there’s a darker side: some security companies can secretly create the very threats they sell protection against.
That tension is part of the experience we’re building. Running a software company means responding to a world your products, your rivals, and your decisions help change.
From the room where you write your first software to the market it enters, we want that journey to feel connected. Thanks for following the development of Hacker Inc. as we work toward our demo.
Would you trust a company that profits from keeping you safe?