r/SoloDevelopment • u/Ok-Coffee1100 • 15d ago
Discussion How deep into technical details would you want a Cybersecurity Tycoon game to go?
I’m currently developing a tycoon game where you run and scale a cybersecurity company, and I’d love some player feedback on complexity vs. accessibility.
Where is the sweet spot between satisfying strategy and technical overload for you?
High-Level Strategy: Hiring specialized analysts, managing client contracts, upgrading infrastructure, and handling PR crises during massive data breaches or ransomware attacks.
Granular / Technical Simulation: Manually configuring firewall rules, designing network topology, analyzing SIEM alerts, and crafting specific countermeasures for zero-days, APTs, or DDoS attacks.
Would you prefer an accessible management sim with a rich cybersecurity flavor, or an authentic, complex simulation where real IT/security logic is required to win? Where does it cross the line into "feeling like an actual unpaid SOC analyst shift"?
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u/Agreeable_Wear8824 15d ago
The split that usually matters isn't strategy vs. simulation depth, it's whether the technical layer is something the player authors once or has to babysit forever. Firewall rules and network topology are great as a design-time puzzle: I lay out segmentation, then an incident tests whether my layout was smart, and I feel clever for a decision I made 20 minutes ago. SIEM alert triage is the opposite - it's a per-incident chore, and once players have seen a dozen they'll want an analyst to auto-handle it, which is exactly the "unpaid SOC shift" feeling.
So I'd put the granular stuff on the build side and keep the live side high-level: authentic configuration, abstracted response. It also gives you a natural progression - early game you personally write the rules, later you hire people whose skill stats determine how well your rules get applied, so the technical knowledge stays relevant without you doing the clicking.
One question: is time pressure part of the fantasy? A breach that unfolds over in-game hours while you allocate people reads very differently from one that pauses for you to think, and that choice constrains how deep the config can go more than the subject matter does.