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Whew! Thank you for actually taking the time to play through the first month. This is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping to get.

A few of the things you mentioned are actually areas I want to improve in the build I’m currently working on, especially the lack of visual feedback/animation, the amount of information communicated through numbers alone, and giving the systems more mechanical variety.

I also appreciate the feedback about the music and overall atmosphere. I’ve been thinking about how much the presentation affects the feeling of the simulation, so hearing how it came across to someone playing fresh is useful.

The fan growth and random event systems are also areas I want to deepen so that progression feels less fixed and more influenced by what the player is actually doing.

And Kairosoft is a really interesting comparison because I like how their games can present a lot of simulation underneath a very readable interface. I don’t want to copy their style, but that balance of visual feedback, progression and simulation depth is definitely worth studying.

Thanks again for giving it a real try and being specific about where you stopped enjoying it. That helps a lot.

Thanks for the heads-up. That definitely changes how I’d approach a browser version.

For right now, I think I’m going to keep my focus on improving the mobile version rather than splitting development between mobile and web. Record Company Tycoon was designed around a phone-first experience, and I still feel like that’s the best way to experience it.

I may revisit a free browser build later as an easier way for people to sample/test the game, especially since the core is already HTML/JS. But at this stage I’d rather put that development time into making the Android experience as strong as possible for the people willing to download and test it.

I appreciate the technical details too, because when I do revisit it, that saves me from going into the itch browser build completely blind.

Yeah, definitely. Rivalries and label decision events are actually two areas I want to expand a lot more.

Right now the game already has things like sabotage, drama, label offers and career decisions, but I want the next major update to make those systems feel much more connected instead of like isolated events.

For rivalries, I’m working toward artists being able to react to each other through interviews, gossip, chart competition, collaborations, praise, disrespect and other events that can build an actual relationship over time.

Labels are getting more personality too. Instead of just offering contracts, I want them giving the player deadlines, requesting certain releases or promo, pushing career decisions and occasionally putting you in situations where what’s best for the label might not be what you want for your artist.

I’m trying to make the industry around the player feel like it has opinions and moves on its own instead of everything waiting for you to press a button.

Is there a particular kind of rivalry or label situation you’d want to see in a music management game?

Thanks, this is exactly the kind of perspective I was hoping the thread would generate even without a full playtest.

Your point about the Android download friction makes a lot of sense. The game is primarily HTML/JS packaged for Android, so I've actually got a pretty good reason to investigate putting a browser-playable version on the itch page specifically to make testing easier. There are a few Android-specific features I'll have to account for, but lowering that barrier is something I'm going to look into.

I also really like your example about showing a derived number reacting to player decisions. Right now a lot of my simulation becomes visible through the results after advancing the week. Showing something like projected release momentum/demand changing as the player selects promotion, features, videos, etc. could communicate the underlying simulation much better without dumping formulas on the player.

And I hadn't thought about the timer vs. threshold distinction that way. That's given me something to think about with several of my production systems.

Appreciate you taking the time to write this. This was genuinely useful.

Hey everyone,

I’ve been building Record Company Tycoon, a mobile-focused 2D management RPG where you create an artist and try to build a full music career one week at a time.

The presentation is intentionally pretty straightforward, but underneath it I’ve tried to build a much deeper simulation around recording and releasing music, promotion, charts, fan growth, record labels, touring, music videos, awards, rivalries, career decisions and other parts of the industry.

I’m at the point where I really need perspectives other than my own.

I’d especially love feedback on:

• Does the game make sense when you first start playing?

• At what point, if any, do you feel confused or unsure what to do?

• Does progressing week-to-week feel addictive, repetitive, too fast or too slow?

• Which systems are actually fun to interact with?

• Is there anything you expected to be able to do that the game doesn’t let you do?

• Did you run into any bugs or UI problems?

• Most importantly: after playing for a little while, did you actually want to keep going?

You definitely don't have to write a formal review. Even something like “I played for 15 minutes and this is where you lost me” would genuinely help me.

I’d also love to hear from other developers who make management, simulation, RPG or browser/mobile games. One thing I’m trying to figure out is whether the game communicates how much is actually going on underneath the simple 2D interface.

And if music-industry games are already your niche, I especially want to hear what you think is missing.

Project:

https://damoneydistrictco.itch.io/record-company-tycoon

I’m happy to talk development too, so feel free to ask me anything about how I approached it. I’m trying to meet more developers and players here instead of just dropping a link and disappearing.