Ask HN: Tell us about your project that's not done yet but you want feedback on
I&#x27;m creating a 2D ant colony simulation that runs 24&#x2F;7 in your browser. It&#x27;s supposed to feel like a pet and you&#x27;re supposed to want to keep it alive and check in on it as tunnels are dug, ants are born, food is found, etc.<p>You, the proud owner of some new ants, must keep them alive. For the MVP, you&#x27;ll just get a ration of food each day when you show up, but there&#x27;s a catch. To unlock the food, you need to arrive at a self-designated time each day, you can&#x27;t miss your time window, and you&#x27;ll need to participate in a breathing exercise. Black screen, white text, breathe in&#x2F;out, repeat for a minute, etc. You emerge calmer than before, get your food, feed your ants, watch them thrive, and get on with your day.<p>Long-term, I&#x27;d like to continually increase the complexity of the simulation to make it more engaging, disguise the self-care offerings behind game lore&#x2F;mechanics, and provide more self-care offerings such as journaling or guided meditation.<p>The goal is to get people who like using technology a lot to unintentionally dedicate a few minutes each day to checking in on themselves. They get into it thinking they&#x27;re caring for some wannabe-Tamagotchi ants, but they stick with it because they&#x27;re on a seven day self-care streak, feel good about that, and don&#x27;t want to let their ants down. It&#x27;s similar to <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;finchcare.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;finchcare.com&#x2F;</a> but less on-the-nose about feelings and more for those who&#x27;d appreciate a RimWorld &#x2F; Dwarf Fortress simulation aesthetic.<p>This is my first attempt at anything like a ~game and I have very little to show in way of functionality, but I&#x27;ve been enjoying teaching myself Rust&#x2F;Bevy and writing with an ECS-first mindset. Trying to use these tools has slowed down development several magnitudes compared to throwing TypeScript at the wall, and I haven&#x27;t seen significant benefits yet, but I&#x27;m hoping that long-term the low-level control and fast-growing game engine will pay dividends.<p>Anyway, here&#x27;s a few ants which dig dirt and make some sand piles. I know it&#x27;s not much :)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ant.care&#x2F;" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;ant.care&#x2F;</a><p>I&#x27;m hoping to get people checking back on their ants for seven straight days by spicing up the visuals a little bit, adding a queen, nesting, egg laying, hunger, death, and then a top-down view for food discovery &#x2F; pheromone trails.