Full project name: Highway Traffic - Car Idle
The core gameplay is an endless runner - the player's car moves through procedurally varied environments (city streets, highways, and more).
The project started with a team of 3 (developer, game designer, artist). After strong early metrics, the team expanded with 2 more developers and 2 artists. Our goal was a lower barrier to entry with enough depth to retain players long-term.
Gameplay trailer
Main technical challenges
- Keeping endless generation feeling fresh without losing performance on lower-end mobile hardware
- Balancing progression so idle rewards felt meaningful without making the grind obsolete
Progression system
The long-term goal is to beat all competitive race levels against bots with human-like nicknames. To do that, players need to grow their car collection and upgrade speed stats in main game scene (I call it IdleScene). The game also features 3 fully customizable cars and 3 biomes to give a strong sense of progression.
Below is an example of the same car evolved from early levels to a fully upgraded level 70+ build with improved stats and style.
Customization
To drive long-term engagement, I built out a car customization system where players unlock and equip parts that are both cosmetic and affect performance. Paired that with an idle rewards mechanic so the game keeps giving players something to return to even when they haven't opened it in a while - a small thing that made a noticeable difference in retention.
Every few miles (usually under 60 seconds of play) players receive lootboxes containing random cosmetic items or stat upgrades. Items are drawn from a weighted randomization system based on rarity - building that system was its own challenge. Items collected from lootboxes can be equipped in the garage:
PVP Racing (vs Bot)
Store page
