Revision 0.1 – 2025/07/29 (Australia/Melbourne UTC+10 / 2025/07/28 14:00 UTC)
Factory Chaos Tycoon is a satirical, clock‑driven workplace‑management game set in a barely‑legal manufacturing business staffed by ex‑cons, chronic smoko‑takers, and the occasional competent worker. The player juggles personalities, compliance crack‑downs, and tight production targets while deciding whether to improve operations (automation, skilled staff) or scrape by with dodgy side‑hustles and humiliating quick fixes.
“Keep the lights on, keep HQ off your back, and try not to end up doing ‘favours’ in the car‑park.”
- Dark Aussie Satire — Lampoon real workplace dysfunction (90s ‘liquid‑lunch’ culture meets 2025 gig economy).
- Time‑Pressure Loop — A Jones‑in‑the‑Fast‑Lane‑style clock; every action costs minutes.
- Endless Degeneration or Growth — No hard fail; miss goals ⇒ harsher conditions; hit goals ⇒ uprated plant & staff.
- Player Agency Through Moral Ambiguity — Hide dodgy staff? Forge paperwork? Or go legit?
- Personality‑Driven Emergence — Each worker is an AI‑seeded archetype whose quirks create fresh chaos every run.
- “Blue‑collar nostalgia” with CRT monitors, faded safety posters, union gossip.
- Humour through implication: events can be read as wholesome or filthy ("community fundraiser" vs. parking‑lot favours).
- Language: light Aussie vernacular (VB, smoko, reckon).
- Violence kept slapstick; fatalities are reported via HR email, never shown.
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Back‑end: any LLM via SDK/API (e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.).
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Usage: generate worker bios, banter lines, event flavour, and adaptive nick‑names.
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Fallback: pre‑baked text pools allow offline/static mode.
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Prompt pattern example:
System: You are a disgruntled minimum‑wage factory worker in Victoria. User: Generate a one‑line complaint about mandatory drug tests.
| Phase | Time (08:00–17:00) | Actions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morning Briefing | 08:00 – 08:15 | Read HQ memo, fatality alerts, worker requests | Sets modifiers for the day |
| Scheduling & Pay | Player‑driven | Assign jobs, adjust pay, tip‑off staff | Costs 5–20 mins per action |
| Workday Simulation | Continuous | AI workers perform, events trigger | Engine ticks every 5 mins |
| Compliance Events | Random blocks | Drug tests, inspectors, audits | Freeze time while resolving |
| End‑of‑Day Wrap | Auto at 17:00 | Report: Productivity, Morale, Integrity, Incidents | Drives rewards/penalties |
graph TD
A[08:00 Briefing] --> B{Player Actions?}
B -->|Assign Jobs| C[Time –10m]
B -->|Adjust Pay| C
B -->|Tip‑off Worker| C
C --> D[Clock Advances]
D --> E{Event Trigger?}
E -->|Yes| F[Resolve Event]
F --> D
E -->|No| D
D -->|17:00| G[Wrap‑Up & Scores]
G --> A
| Horizon | Examples | Reward | Missed‑Goal Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily | ≥70 % productivity, ≤2 failed drug tests | +5 Morale, +$200 | –5 Morale |
| Weekly | Pass Friday inspection | Cheaper fines for next week | +Inspector frequency |
| Fortnightly | Promote 1 worker, keep Integrity > 40 % | Unlock new machine part | –$750 compliance fee |
| Monthly | Output target +10 % | Automation blueprint | Lose upgrade opportunity |
| Quarterly | Expand plant OR maintain 60 % Morale | New factory region | HQ ‘Oversight Mode’ (UI clutter) |
- Missed goals never end the game; they stack harsher modifiers instead (lights flicker, budget shrinks, gossip escalates).
| Tier | Description | Key Unlocks | Typical Chaos |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dodgy Workshop – ex‑cons, smoko fiends | None (baseline) | Fights, parole checks, machine fires |
| 2 | Semi‑Legit | Hire clean apprentices, basic maintenance budget | Mixed crew politics |
| 3 | Automated Facility | Entry‑level robots, engineers | Robot glitches, morale vs job‑loss fears |
| 4 | High‑Tech Plant | Full automation, compliance software | Bureaucratic audits, data breaches |
| 5 | Corporate Empire | Multiple sites, board meddling | PR scandals, cross‑site strikes |
| Archetype | Stats Highlights | Quirks & Event Hooks |
|---|---|---|
| Kev (Mascot Slacker) | Morale ++ / Productivity – | Boosts crew mood, brings beers, fails drug tests 80 % |
| Baz (Ex‑Con Fixer) | Machine Skill ++, Integrity –– | Can patch anything with duct tape, parole visits halt shift |
| Mandy (Nagging QC) | Quality ++, Morale – | Catches defects, annoys crew, threatens union call |
| Tina (Straight‑Arrow HR) | Integrity ++, Productivity – | Always passes tests, dob‑ins dodgy staff, adds bureaucracy |
Add 10–15 more for variety; randomly seed on save‑game load.
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Scripted Triggers: fatalities/near misses in other divisions, government drug‑test orders.
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Random Minor Events: forklift battery flat, smoko over‑run, rumours of union vote.
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Rock Bottom Recovery Events (unlocked when Budget ≤ 0 and Morale ≤ 20):
- Community Sausage Sizzle – ambiguous side‑hustle.
- Stream “Wellness” Session – pain for profits, Integrity hit.
- Pawn PPE – quick cash, +Inspector risk.
- Mascot Gig – dress as Wally the Widget, morale boost, dignity loss. (Keep wording double‑entendre; never explicit.)
Day 3, Tier 1 (Dodgy Workshop)
08:00 – HQ memo: “Mandatory drug test at 14:00 due to fatality in Logistics.” 08:10 – Assign Baz to fix conveyor (–10 mins). 08:20 – Kev asks for forklift duty (–15 mins). 10:00 – Random event: machine jam; Baz offers duct‑tape fix (–20 mins). 11:45 – Long smoko (automatic –30 mins, Morale +5, Productivity –10 %). 14:00 – Drug testers arrive. Choices:
- Tip off Kev (–Integrity 5, +10 mins).
- Hide Baz in storage (–10 mins).
- Two apprentices fail → Productivity –15 %. 17:00 – End‑of‑day report: 68 % productivity (missed daily goal), Morale 45, Integrity 35, Fine –$250.
- Actions vs Clock – ensure the average player can only resolve ~60 % of daily issues → constant triage.
- Morale Elasticity – big swings for visible events (fatalities, raises) so player feels immediate consequences.
- Integrity as Long‑Term Threat – low Integrity should slowly invite audits, fines, PR scandals.
- Tier Transition Cost – upgrade should require ≥2 full months of decent performance to keep rock‑bottom humour alive.
- Multiplayer Co‑op – split shifts between players.
- Workshop Mods – allow custom archetype scripts & event packs.
- Localization – swap slang/dialogue sets for other regions (e.g. US Midwest, UK Midlands).
- Mobile Port – shorten day length, reduce worker count.
- Prototype (4 weeks) – clock loop, 4 workers, 10 random events.
- Alpha (3 months) – full Tier 1, daily/weekly goals, inspector mechanics.
- Beta (6 months) – all tiers, automation, rock‑bottom stunts, AI text integration.
- Launch (9 months) – polish, QA, localisation, Steam release.
- Post‑Launch – mod kit & co‑op.
This design document is synthesised from internal ideation and anecdotal 1990s Australian workplace culture. No external sources cited; credibility rated at 0.80 (concept‑stage design).
End of document.