A mayor simulator where corruption is gameplay

Hi HN,

We’re a small indie team working on a political sandbox game.

It starts like a traditional city builder, but escalates into gang conflicts, media manipulation, elections and police investigations.

One design challenge we’re facing:

How do you make “illegal mechanics” feel like meaningful systems instead of gimmicks?

We’re preparing for Next Fest and refining the core loop.

Would love feedback on: - The core concept - Whether this feels niche or scalable - What would make this interesting long-term

Happy to answer any technical or design questions.