Microcosims is a top-down city-builder focused on items and crafts. As the microcosms artisans gain skills, the demands for their products drive the trends for the townspeople within community. Eventually, as the size of the community grows, outside interest will open avenues for trade. However, as luxury develops within the town, so does inequality, and players must balance the town’s economy well enough to keep making the refined products their artisans can produce.

Taking inspiration from Dwarf Fortress, each playthrough of the game is intended to be unique, making use of procedural generation techniques. Algorithms and models are used to create the world, determine the types or resources available at a given location, and the different personalities of the townsfolk. The goal is to allow the player to set challenges for themselves, exploring different strategies and designs for the microcosms they foster.

The artstyle will be pixel-based for two main reasons: time efficiency and imagination. This is a passion project with no current outside funding, so the pixel artstyle is achievable with the developer’s current skillset. Pixel art also engages the mind just enough to provide some context for visualization but does not define worlds explicitly, leaving room for the player’s mind to fill in their own experiences.