Technotopia by Yustas Game Studio is a deck-building game of high-stakes urban strategy, where every decision matters and the city’s fate lies in the hands of an AI architect named Iris. As players build their cyberpunk metropolis, balancing relationships with factions that hold competing visions of the future, they’re drawn into a world where each card played brings them closer to either utopia or ruin. But initially, Techotopia was a completely different game.
“The original idea was to blend elements from Dorfromantic and Reigns,” says lead game designer Ignat Negrei, “where players would create their own fantasy kingdom using cards representing forests, fields, and mills.” But after reviewing similar games on the market, the team picked a new direction. “We decided to change the style of the game from fantasy to cyberpunk, which turned out to be a great decision, though not without its challenges,” Negrei recalls.
The change from fantasy to cyberpunk had far reaching consequences for the team, like switching from 2D to 3D graphics. “That was a big shift since our initial vision was a 2D fantasy kingdom,” says Negrei. “The transition from exploring fields and forests to building city blocks had a big impact on the gameplay, but all the changes were for the better. Around this time, the idea of incorporating an artificial intelligence that builds the city came to life.”
Midcore audiences
Players assume the role of Iris, the AI architect whose every decision shapes the metropolis’s future. With a deck of cards, players design city districts, negotiate faction demands, and respond to crises like fires, gang violence, and natural disasters. ‘From the very beginning, we wanted the players’ choices to have lasting impacts.”
Yustas Games Studio, founded in 2014, has a diverse development history that spans popular time-management games and, more recently, midcore titles on Steam. “Our team is spread across the CIS region,” Negrei shares. “We’ve built a global following with games like Viking Heroes, New Yankee, and Golden Rails for casual players, while our more recent work, including Technotopia and Looking for Aliens, is aimed at midcore audiences.” He adds, “To date, we’ve worked on over forty projects, and our development team currently consists of twelve people.”
Inspired by a classic
For Negrei, the highlight of Technotopia is its innovative event and news system. “We wanted the players’ choices to have real consequences, so we developed a classic event system that feeds directly into the city’s news feed,” he explains. “Each decision players make generates news items, creating mini-stories that unfold over weeks. These snippets aren’t just cosmetic, they show the lives of residents impacted by the players’ choices. It gives the city a lived-in feel and keeps players invested in the community they’re shaping.”
The visual style of Technotopia takes inspiration from an iconic source: the 1927 film Metropolis. “It’s a timeless classic that’s approaching its 100th anniversary,” says Negrei. The visual language of Metropolis feels like a perfect fit for a game centered around an AI architect creating a futuristic city. It’s both retro and forward-looking, delivering a blend of utopian ambition and dystopian tension.
Balance work and creativity
Deadlines proved to be one of the toughest challenges for the Yustas team, as they struggled to implement all of their initial ideas. “We had to scale back and prioritize the most essential features to meet our timeframe,” Negrei says. “It was difficult to let go of some concepts, but this forced us to distill the game down to its core elements, which made the experience more focused.”
With Technotopia, Yustas Games benefitted from the support of its publisher, Alawar. “We developed the game with financial backing from Alawar.” The publisher also took on most of the marketing. Reflecting on the development process, Negrei offers a key takeaway for fellow game developers: “Find a balance between work and creativity.”
Technotopia is out now on Steam.