I'm creating a 2D ant colony simulation that runs 24/7 in your browser. It's supposed to feel like a pet and you'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'll just get a ration of food each day when you show up, but there's a catch. To unlock the food, you need to arrive at a self-designated time each day, you can't miss your time window, and you'll need to participate in a breathing exercise. Black screen, white text, breathe in/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'd like to continually increase the complexity of the simulation to make it more engaging, disguise the self-care offerings behind game lore/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're caring for some wannabe-Tamagotchi ants, but they stick with it because they're on a seven day self-care streak, feel good about that, and don't want to let their ants down. It's similar to <a href="https://finchcare.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://finchcare.com/</a> but less on-the-nose about feelings and more for those who'd appreciate a RimWorld / 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've been enjoying teaching myself Rust/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't seen significant benefits yet, but I'm hoping that long-term the low-level control and fast-growing game engine will pay dividends.<p>Anyway, here's a few ants which dig dirt and make some sand piles. I know it's not much :)<p><a href="https://ant.care/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://ant.care/</a><p>I'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 / pheromone trails.