Chapter 133: Urban Chaos

Sid quietly sat in front of his computer for quite a while, yet nothing on the screen seemed to change.

It was all very strange. Normally, every game began with some sort of guidance, no matter how it was presented. Take Super Mario, for example. Its opening section doubled as a tutorial, naturally teaching players the controls through level design.

As a game developer himself, Sid understood exactly why this was necessary. It was a hook, a gateway that drew players into the game itself, an essential part of immersion.

Yet the first impression this game gave him was... no impression at all. That simply wasn't the level of polish he expected from GAMENOVA.

"Uh... so it's actually a city-building game?"

Looking at the icons lining the left side of the screen, he realized this wasn't remotely what he'd imagined.

Demolish, roads, power grid, railways… A quick glance was enough for him to grasp the basic idea. The game gave him plenty of information, as everything was there, except one thing.

A goal.

That was the main reason Sid felt so lost.

Even the infamous disaster E.T. had a clear objective, collect spaceship parts and repair your craft. But this game said absolutely nothing, simply dropping a blank map in front of him. As if it were saying:

"Here. Draw whatever you want."

Sid picked up the game box again, checking several times to make sure the developer really was listed as GAMENOVA, because this thing felt absurdly rough around the edges.

After carefully reading everything on the screen, he finally noticed a line beside the funds display:

More Residential Zones Needed.

"Finally, a hint. Guess I'll start by building a road."

He selected the Road tool and drew a street across the map, and the moment he decided to give it a try, the gears of fate began to turn. This was a Pandora's box that could never be closed again.

Residential zones needed electricity.

Fine, just build a power plant.

Crime was too high, so no one wanted to move in?

Then build a police station and a fire department.

As rows of little houses began rising from the residential district, demand for industry and commerce suddenly shot upward.

Then build those too!

What? Running out of power?

Expand the power plant!

"...Fine! I built your industrial district, and now you're complaining there aren't enough residents? I'll build more!"

"Wait a second... maybe I shouldn't have started here in the first place. Why is there so little land?"

Scratching his head, Sid suddenly had an idea and tried building a road over the water. Sure enough, the road automatically transformed into a bridge.

As long as he kept extending it, he could expand the city across the river. The cramped land problem instantly eased.

Still… something felt off.

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"...Where did my money go?"

He hadn't been paying much attention while building. Now that he looked, his budget had somehow dwindled to only a few thousand dollars.

"Hold on... this can't be right. How am I supposed to make money?"

Just then, a window suddenly popped up.

[1904 Fiscal Budget Proposal]

Tax Rate: ↑7%↓

Tax Revenue: $58

Budget Allocation

Transportation: $41

Police: $100

Fire Department: $100

Cash Flow: -$183

Funds: $6,907

"...Seriously?"

Sid might not know how to play the game yet, but one thing was obvious. Negative cash flow was bad. He was running a deficit! And no matter how you looked at it, deficits were terrible!

"So, if I just sit here doing nothing, I still lose money every month??"

That wouldn't do. Time to slash the budget!

"Fire department... Honestly, it probably doesn't need this much funding. It only affects residential satisfaction anyway. Drop it to 60%... no, make it 40%."

"The people will have to suffer a little. It's for the greater good."

"The police don't need this much either. Forty percent should be enough."

"Transportation? I haven't even built an airport. What do I need transportation funding for? Cut it!"

He quickly finalized next year's budget proposal before turning his attention to the Tax Rate option.

"Oh… so this is where the money comes from. Makes sense, everything makes sense now."

Of course, running a city meant making money through taxes.

"These are emergency measures. We'll have to raise taxes for now."

"The people suffer today so future generations may prosper."

"...Why does it only go up to 20%? That's nowhere near enough. I'm still losing money."

After thinking it over, he realized the city's population was still tiny. Even with a higher tax rate, there simply weren't enough taxpayers to generate meaningful revenue.

"Whatever… This will have to do for now. Submit the budget and use the remaining funds to rapidly expand North City."

But the moment he approved the new budget, he froze.

Buildings collapsed, all of them. The commercial district went first, then the residential district, then the industrial district, and like a chain reaction, entire blocks crumbled one after another.

Judging by the timeline, not even a month had passed before the entire city was reduced to nothing. Only the power plant, fire station, and other government-funded buildings remained standing. Oh… and two expensive villas built next to the park.

Sid sat there in silence for a long while, staring at the message on screen.

[Citizens believe taxes are too high!]

"...Well."

"I'm cooked."

The money was gone.

The city was gone.

What was left to look at?

Still, he'd learned one very important lesson from that disaster, maintain a balanced budget.

He'd originally thought this was little more than a map editor, where making the city look pretty was all that mattered. Clearly, the game was far deeper than he'd imagined.

"Yeah... that's more like GAMENOVA's style."

Scratching his head, Sid simply deleted the save and started over.

"Building space is important. I'd better pick an inland plain..."

"...Hmm, no. I need docks, so I should stay near a river."

This time, he approached things much more carefully. He immediately set the game speed to Pause, then meticulously examined every system and menu. That only made him even more confused.

"Employment rate?? Pollution index?? What are all these?"

"Residents need stable living conditions and satisfying jobs... and taxes can't be too high..."

"Industrial zones create pollution. If they're too close to residential areas, citizens will protest and move away..."

"...???"

He'd been playing for ages, and it turned out he hadn't even scratched the surface. He hadn't even made it out of the tutorial.

….

Two hours later, Sid slammed the desk in frustration.

"What a bunch of damned troublemakers!"

They were unbelievably difficult to please!

His city now filled an entire corner of the map. The residential districts had even upgraded into high-rise buildings thanks to nearby parks and other high-value structures.

Yet the slightest expansion that didn't perfectly cater to these troublesome citizens and they'd immediately revolt, creating one problem after another.

"You little whiners! You're already complaining about an 11% tax rate? Imagine how much you'll complain once this city actually becomes prosperous!"

"I'm going to set you people straight today!"