itch.io

Hi everyone,

I just released Hive Empire, a browser-based strategy game that mixes incremental mechanics with logistics management.

Play it here: https://bouldouklu.itch.io/hiveempire

About the Game This is a portfolio project I built to practice systems architecture and data-driven design in Unity. Unlike many idle games that go on forever, this is a finite strategy run designed to be beaten in about 20-30 minutes.

You don’t control individual bees. Instead, you act as the “Hive Mind,” allocating a global fleet of workers to different tasks (harvesting, processing, delivering) to optimize your supply chain.

The Loop:

Manage Resources: Balance pollen income against consumption rates.

Survive Seasons: A 21-week campaign where seasons (Spring/Summer/Autumn) drastically change flow rates and bee speed.

Automate: Unlock recipes that allow bees to self-sustain the colony while you focus on expansion.

Why I made: it I am learning game dev in my free time. My goal was to create a game that focuses purely on optimization and pacing without the need for micro-management or clicking furiously.

Since this is a prototype, I am very interested in feedback on the mid-game pacing (Weeks 10-15). If you give it a try, let me know if the transition from Spring to Summer feels fair!

Thanks for checking it out.

https://bouldouklu.itch.io/hiveempire

Thank you so much for your time and effort in the critique! I highly appreciate it and this is super valuable! I have some work to do now, haha. Thanks again :)

Hey!

Thank you so much for playing through Day 3 and taking the time to write such a feedback! You’re right on all points.

The gameplay loop: You are right - right now it’s too passive. To be honest, I had a plan in the beginning with more synergies and dynamic mechanism, and during development I had to revise based on what I could develop and the time I had. And I kept scraping stuff again and again.. But now this is too boring, but at least the game is out, haha.

Recettear comparison: Great reference! I need to add more interesting sourcing beyond just bulk ordering. I also had an idea to have a second room, where you manage a small army of minions that go raid dungeons and places for you. But again, scope and time made it difficult to make … :D

Evil theme clarity: This is also true. The “evil shopkeeper” fantasy completely fails if players don’t feel evil. Standard RPG gear doesn’t cut it - I need controversial items or morally questionable goods to sell the fantasy properly. And I would need very distinct “bad guys”, with bad guys dialogues, animations and maybe even references.

Your feedback is vrey valuable and I’m genuinely learning from players like you. These are exactly the insights I need to improve my game design skills. Thanks again for investing the time - it means a lot!

I just updated the post with more detail. Thanks for the reminder!

Hi everyone! 

I just made my first "real" game! Dungeon Mart. 

Run your own fantasy shop in this fast-paced merchant simulator! Serve quirky customers, manage inventory across 6 item categories, expand your shop and complete objectives to unlock new tiers of legendary loot.

Only point and click mechanic, super easy to pick up and play. 

I released in parallel a devlog for the ones interested in the dev behind. 

You can play it here: https://bouldouklu.itch.io/dungeon-mart 

I would love to have your feedback on it, specially the economy and pacing :)

Thanks for checking it out!

Yes I know.. I need to find a way from Unreal Engine 5 to export to Web gl. or I need to leanr Unity or Godot for the next jam, haha. 

Anyway, thanks for the input and for rplaying!

This is what I was looking for, thanks!

Good point! This is one on the things that I would like to add one day. Thanks for your inputs and for playing!

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Yes I agree with you.. I developed using Unreal Engine  5  and I did not find a way to export for web yet.

oh good to know, I should have a look on that and correct it! Thanks for playing :)

Thank you for your detailed review! 

I do agree with you, I think I can work on the shrinking and scaling game design. Maybe by hiding the button or by adding a key bind to let the player control when to do what.  And offering different paths is definitely a good idea. I had this in mind but was not able to do it in the timeframe...

Maze is something I tried :) I am still not sure about it, haha

I appreciate you playing the game, thank you!

Thanks for playing! 

Many thanks, I appreciate!

Thank you for that! I indeed spent quite a lot of time working just on the level design :)

haha nothing fancy, it is just a mountain close to where I live in Austria that is called Untersberg ;)

Good level design, excellent vibe and right on theme. That's a 5 stars!

Loved it! It is like what if you take Age of Empire, and you tune itdown to the most simple yet satisfying gameplay.  Boom it is your game. Congrats

nice game! Cool level design and vibe! You nailed down the control, congrats!

Nice game! I think I was not the best at it, but I had fun ^^. Well done. 

This is an interesting take on the theme scale. Well done! I like the art and the music.The overall vibe is nice. Congrats!

Very cool vibe, and cosy. I ended up playing more than I thought because I was simply sucked in. Good job!

Impressive game done in 4 days! Controls were intuitive. It is challenging but rewarding. Overall design does service to the game idea and concept. Well done. Congrats! I can see that as a complete real game in the future on all kind of platforms. 

Cool idea, good level design, some thinking to do, and art style is nice. This is a 5 stars!

Nice game! Controls were not easy, but rewarding. Congrats!

I will do  my best ;) Thanks for playing

Thank you :)

Thank you for your comment! I agree with you, it would be better to give the player a sense of choice.  Another player suggested to have key bind scaling effect, which I think could help the replayability on the long run. Thanks for playing :)

You mean that you select to scale up or down by just pressing a key? Great idea!

Awesome story telling. You have something that could actually be a real game. I hope you keep working on it :D

Now I want to give a hammer hit to everything I see and listen to the sound of it for control. Cool idea!

I spent 25 mins clicking... Well done!

Really cool vibe and style. I love it. Having come parkour control would add even more satisfaction to the game. Why not a Grapple in order to be able to draw on remote places?

Congrats!

Very neat and interesting concept! You took the scaling to a direction I was not expected! Congrats!

Thank you! I appreciate! I am planning to keep working on it, indeed :)

Fantastic style! I love it. Good gameplay mechanics as well. Control and the "feel" of the control could be improved as well but nothing you can't update after the jam ;)

Interesting idea! And I like the vibe and the style. The control could be improved but nothing a patch can't fix after the jam :)

I made it to the high score table! Nice!

Cool game. but the reticule is sometimes hard to see.. Yould be cool to have it more stand out of the background to know where we are aiming.