u/Exotic-Kitchen-40

Free Windows demo: https://indieoffshore.itch.io/pongzi-scheme

The game: Pong on the surface, a Ponzi underneath. Every block you smash is a fake

"investment"; money buys upgrades; playing greedily raises suspicion; you cash out

(prestige) before it collapses and start a bigger scheme. Active incremental, made in

Godot 4.

- Code: most of it written with an AI coding assistant, me directing and making the

design calls.

- Art: instead of image generation, the assistant authored everything as vector/SVG

drawn in-engine, the UI, the candlestick "trading terminal", the fraud-chip pickups,

the CEO portraits, the icon. No diffusion images anywhere.

- Audio: procedural synth (WAVs generated from code at runtime).

- Text is mine; translations to six languages are machine-assisted.

Feedback on the actual game loop very welcome too.

It's Pongzi Scheme, an active incremental where you play Pong to run a Ponzi.

Free Windows demo: https://indieoffshore.itch.io/pongzi-scheme

Game Title: Pongzi Scheme

Playable Link: https://indieoffshore.itch.io/pongzi-scheme

Platform: Windows (free download via itch)

Description:

Pongzi Scheme is an active incremental where Pong physics meet financial fraud. You

bounce a coin off a candlestick paddle, and every block you smash is a fake

"investment" that skims cash from your "clients". Chaining hits without missing builds

a combo multiplier, so clean play pays far more than sloppy play. But every payout

raises SUSPICION, a timer that fills the greedier you get; let it max out and the

scheme runs hot. Before it collapses you retreat to your office and reinvest the loot

into shady instruments (ROI, leverage, pump-and-dumps, shell companies, a compliance

tree to outrun the SEC). Eventually you liquidate the whole fund and vanish to the

Cayman Islands, banking a permanent prestige multiplier and starting an even bigger

scam. The numbers go up and the bubble never pops... until it does. Unlike most

incrementals it's fully active, you play every payout, no idle waiting. The free demo

runs to the first prestige wall (~15-30 min), with keyboard, mouse and gamepad support

in seven languages. I'm after feedback on whether the active loop stays fun past the

first few rounds and where the balance or pacing drags.

Free to Play Status:

- [ ] Free to play

- [x] Demo/Key available

- [ ] Paid

Involvement:

I designed it, made the calls, and built it in Godot 4.

It's Pong, but every block you smash is a fake "investment" that funds upgrades

to smash more. Play too greedily and suspicion rises, so you cash out (prestige)

before it collapses and start a bigger scheme.

Active incremental: you're on the paddle the whole time, but the upgrade/prestige

loop is all there. Demo runs ~15-30 min to the first prestige wall. Looking for

feedback on whether the active loop holds up and where the balance drags.

itch: https://indieoffshore.itch.io/pongzi-scheme

AI Disclosure:

Most of the code and the vector/SVG art were made with an AI coding assistant

(art is drawn as code, not generated images).

Audio is synthesized in-engine. In-game text is mine; translations are machine-assisted.