https://github.com/rahidmondal/life-at-dev
A strategic life simulation game where you navigate a software developer's career from student to tech veteran.
https://github.com/rahidmondal/life-at-dev
appwrite game life-simulator nextjs typescript
Last synced: 5 months ago
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A strategic life simulation game where you navigate a software developer's career from student to tech veteran.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/rahidmondal/life-at-dev
- Owner: rahidmondal
- Created: 2026-01-03T12:43:29.000Z (6 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-01-11T14:31:50.000Z (5 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-01-11T14:58:45.990Z (5 months ago)
- Topics: appwrite, game, life-simulator, nextjs, typescript
- Language: TypeScript
- Homepage: https://life-at-dev.rahidmondal.com/
- Size: 4.76 MB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 2
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# Life@Dev
### 🎮 Survive the Grind. Climb the Ladder. Build Your Legacy.
[](https://github.com/your-repo/life-at-dev)
[](LICENSE)
[](https://nextjs.org/)
[](https://react.dev/)
[](https://www.typescriptlang.org/)
**A strategic life simulation game where you navigate the challenging journey of a software developer's career from student to tech veteran.**
Make critical decisions, manage your resources wisely, build your skills strategically, and discover multiple paths to success—including hidden easter eggs for the most strategic players!
[Features](#-features) • [Contributing](CONTRIBUTING.md) • [License](LICENSE)
---
## 📖 Table of Contents
- [About](#-about-the-game)
- [Screenshots](#-screenshots)
- [Features](#-features)
- [Game Mechanics](#-game-mechanics)
- [Actions & Strategies](#-actions--strategies)
- [Tech Stack](#️-tech-stack)
- [Contributing](#-contributing)
- [License](#-license)
- [Credits](#-credits)
---
## 🎯 About The Game
**Life@Dev** is an immersive career simulation game that captures the real challenges and triumphs of being a software developer. Starting from your choice of either a traditional CS degree path or a self-taught bootcamp journey, you'll face realistic decisions about how to spend your limited time each week.
### Why Play Life@Dev?
- **🎓 Educational**: Learn about different career paths in tech
- **📊 Strategic**: Plan your moves carefully - every week counts
- **🌟 Realistic**: Based on real-world developer career progression
- **🎨 Engaging**: Beautiful UI with smooth animations and responsive design
- **🏆 Replayable**: Multiple paths and endings to discover
---
## 🖼️ Screenshots
🏠 Start Screen - Choose your path and begin your journey
🎓 Path Selection - CS Student with Family Support or Self-Taught Bootcamp
💼 Gameplay - Manage your career, skills, and life balance
---
## ✨ Features
### 🎮 Core Gameplay
- **🛤️ Multiple Starting Paths**:
- **CS Student (Family Supported)**: Easiest start - family covers tuition and rent for 4 years
- **CS Student (Self-Funded)**: Medium difficulty - pay $10K/year tuition + $4K/year rent
- **Unemployed/Bootcamp Graduate**: Hardest start - learn to hustle, freelance, and survive
- **⏰ Time-Based Progression**:
- Each year consists of 52 weeks
- Actions cost weeks and resources
- Plan carefully - time is your most precious resource
- **🎯 Action-Based System**:
- Build side projects (3 weeks)
- Grind LeetCode (1 week)
- Network online (1 week)
- Freelance gigs (4 weeks)
- Attend hackathons (2 weeks)
- And many more strategic choices!
- **⚡ Resource Management**:
- **Energy**: Depletes with actions, recover through rest
- **Stress**: Increases with work, manage carefully to avoid burnout
- **Money**: Earn through jobs and freelancing, spend on rent and upgrades
- **Coding Skill**: Scale from 0-1000 through practice and experience
- **Reputation**: Build through networking, open source, and achievements
- **🎓 Progressive Career System**:
- Auto-promotions at junior/mid levels
- Manual job hunting at senior+ for strategic career pivots
- 6+ distinct career paths with unique progression
### 💼 Career Paths
| Path | Starting Point | Key Positions | Peak Role | Salary Range |
| ----------------------- | ------------------- | ------------------------------ | -------------------- | ------------- |
| **🏢 Corporate Ladder** | CS Student → Intern | Junior → Mid → Senior Dev | Senior Developer | $60K - $140K |
| **👔 Management Track** | From Senior Dev | Team Lead → Eng Manager | CTO | $160K - $300K |
| **👨💻 IC Track** | From Senior Dev | Staff → Principal | Distinguished Fellow | $200K - $400K |
| **💼 Hustler Path** | Unemployed | Script Kiddie → Freelancer | Digital Nomad | $5K - $75K |
| **🚀 Business Track** | From Hustler | Agency Owner → Tech Influencer | Tech Mogul | $120K - $1M |
| **🔒 Specialist Track** | From Hustler/Senior | Contractor → Consultant | Industry Architect | $180K - $2M |
### 📊 Game Systems
- **📅 52-Week Years**: Realistic annual progression with year-end reviews
- **📈 Stat Scaling**: Long-term progression with 0-1000 scale for coding and reputation
- **💰 Dynamic Income**: Freelance payouts and salaries scale with your skills
- **🎯 Smart Promotions**: Strategic job changes unlock new opportunities
- **👨👩👧 Family Support**: Financial safety net for CS Student path (first 4 years)
- **🎲 Random Events**: Unexpected opportunities and challenges
- **🎤 AI Interviews**: Practice interviews with AI-generated questions
- **🎉 Multiple Endings**: Different outcomes based on your career choices
### 🌟 Special Features
- **🥚 Easter Eggs**: Discover hidden achievements
- **📱 Responsive Design**: Play on desktop, tablet, or mobile
- **🎨 Modern UI**: Clean, professional interface with smooth animations
- **⚡ PWA Ready**: Progressive Web App structure (offline support coming soon)
- **💾 Save**: Game state persistence with manual save option
- **📊 Career Statistics**: Track your lifetime earnings and progress
## 🎲 Game Mechanics
### Resource System
```
Energy (0-100)
├─ Depletes when taking actions
├─ Recover through rest and self-care
└─ Required for all productive activities
Stress (0-100)
├─ Increases with work and challenges
├─ Reduce through self-care and breaks
└─ High stress leads to burnout (game over at 100)
Money ($)
├─ Earn through jobs and freelancing
├─ Spend on rent and investments
├─ Can go negative (debt) but risky
└─ Bankruptcy at year-end if unable to cover expenses
Coding Skill (0-1000)
├─ Improve through practice and work
├─ Unlocks better job opportunities
└─ Scales freelance income
Reputation (0-1000)
├─ Build through networking and achievements
├─ Opens doors to better positions
└─ Increases freelance rates
```
### Weekly Action System
Each action costs:
- **Weeks**: Time investment (1-4 weeks)
- **Energy**: Effort required (5-60 points)
- **Stress**: Mental toll (5-40 points)
- **Money**: Sometimes required for investments and shop
Each action provides:
- **Coding Skill**: Technical improvement
- **Reputation**: Professional network growth
- **Money**: Direct income
- **Special Effects**: Unlock new paths or opportunities
### Year-End System
At the end of each year:
- **📊 Performance Review**: See your annual progress
- **💰 Salary/Financial Summary**: Review earnings vs expenses
- **📈 Promotion Check**: Eligible for advancement?
- **🎯 Career Suggestions**: Recommendations for next steps
- **🎉 Achievements**: Unlock special milestones
## 🚀 Actions & Strategies
### Work Actions (Build Your Skills)
| Action | Weeks | Energy | Coding | Reputation | Money |
| --------------------- | ----- | ------ | ------ | ---------- | --------- |
| 🧮 Grind LeetCode | 1 | 15 | +5 | 0 | 0 |
| 🛠️ Build Side Project | 3 | 30 | +8 | +5 | 0 |
| 💼 Freelance Gig | 4 | 25 | +10 | +2 | Dynamic\* |
| 🏆 Attend Hackathon | 2 | 40 | +20 | +5 | 0 |
\*Freelance income scales with your coding skill and reputation
### Social Actions (Build Your Network)
| Action | Weeks | Cost | Effect |
| ----------------- | ----- | ---- | -------------- |
| 🌐 Network Online | 1 | $100 | +10 reputation |
### Self-Care Actions (Manage Resources)
| Action | Weeks | Effect |
| -------------- | ----- | ----------------------- |
| 😴 Sleep In | 1 | +50 energy, -10 stress |
| 🏝️ Touch Grass | 3 | +100 energy, -50 stress |
## 🛠️ Tech Stack
- **[Next.js 16.1](https://nextjs.org/)** - React framework with App Router
- **[React 19.2](https://react.dev/)** - Latest React with concurrent features
- **[TypeScript 5](https://www.typescriptlang.org/)** - Type-safe development
- **[Tailwind CSS 4](https://tailwindcss.com/)** - Utility-first CSS framework
- **[Google Gemini AI](https://ai.google.dev/)** - AI-powered interview generation
- **[Appwrite](https://appwrite.io/)** - Backend-as-a-Service
- **[ESLint](https://eslint.org/)** & **[Prettier](https://prettier.io/)** - Code quality tools
## 💡 Tips & Support
### Beginner Tips
- Start with **CS Student (Family Supported)** for easier gameplay
- Balance energy and stress management carefully
- Build coding skills early through LeetCode and side projects
- Save money for career transitions
- Network consistently to build reputation
### Advanced Strategies
- Scale freelance income with high coding + reputation
- Plan strategic career pivots at the right time
- Discover easter eggs through unique action combinations
- Optimize with multi-week actions for efficiency
### Need Help?
- 🐛 [Report Issues](https://github.com/rahidmondal/life-at-dev/issues)
- 💬 [Join Discussions](https://github.com/rahidmondal/life-at-dev/discussions)
## 🤝 Contributing
We welcome contributions! Whether it's bug fixes, new features, or documentation improvements, your help is appreciated.
**Please read [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for detailed guidelines.**
### Quick Guidelines
- Follow TypeScript best practices
- Use Prettier for code formatting
- Ensure ESLint passes without errors
- Add comments for complex logic
- Test your changes thoroughly
## 📄 License
This project is licensed under the **MIT License** - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.
## 👥 Credits
### Powered By
Built with ❤️ using React, Next.js, TypeScript, Appwrite and Tailwind CSS.
---
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