From Messy Prototype to Actually Publishable
Remember that AI-assisted Eco Tycoon prototype I built last year? The one where I let Gemini do most of the heavy lifting and ended up with something I didn’t fully understand?
I decided to try the opposite approach.
RevOps Ascend started as a single HTML file — 2065 lines of chaos. No build system. No modules. Just raw JavaScript, CSS, and a dream of making business operations actually fun. (Okay, “fun” might be stretching it. Let’s say “engaging.”)
The Refactoring Crisis
Six months ago, that monolithic file was fine. It was just me poking at a side project. But when I decided to actually ship this thing on itch.io, I hit the wall every solo developer knows: the mess you made six months ago is now your problem.
The refactor was brutal but educational:
- Before: One file, 2065 lines, scroll until your finger hurts
- After: 319 lines of HTML, 117 lines of CSS, 1646 lines of JS
- Philosophy: Separate concerns, not just because it’s “best practice” but because I couldn’t read my own code anymore
The game uses a scenario-based structure where you play as a RevOps lead navigating CRM disasters, forecasting fiascos, and team mutinies. It’s basically Papers, Please but for spreadsheet people.
The Tech Stack System
The feature I’m most proud of isn’t the branching narratives or the delayed consequences — it’s the Tech Stack.
In the game, when you buy a tool (Data Enrichment, Marketing Automation, Forecasting Platform), it doesn’t just give you a one-time bonus. It adds to your tech stack and starts charging you quarterly recurring costs. That shiny AI forecasting tool? $4,000 every quarter. Forever.
This came from a real realization: in RevOps, the tools you buy today become tomorrow’s legacy debt. The game tracks:
- 📊 Data Enrichment Tool - $3,000/qtr
- 🔮 AI Forecasting Platform - $4,000/qtr
- 📧 Marketing Automation - $3,500/qtr
- 💰 Commission Automation - $1,500/qtr
- 🎯 Lead Routing System - $2,000/qtr
When you hit End Quarter, those costs auto-deduct from your budget. Some players will realize too late they’ve built an unsustainable tooling empire. That’s the point.
Mobile-First (Sort Of)
I also learned that nobody plays browser games at their desk anymore. So I spent a morning making the responsive grid actually work:
- Scenarios stack vertically on phones
- Choice buttons become full-width (because thumbs are fat)
- The navigation bar switches from vertical icons to a horizontal strip
It’s not perfect, but it beats a 2065-line file that only works at 1920px wide.
Publishing Prep
itch.io is refreshingly simple for HTML5 games. You literally just zip your files and upload them. I made a 630×500 cover image in SVG (converted to PNG because itch doesn’t do vector), wrote a description, and that’s basically it.
The whole “publish to itch” workflow:
zip -r revops-ascend.zip index.html css/ js/ scenarios.js- Upload to itch
- Set dimensions to 1280×720
- Enable “Mobile friendly”
- Done
No build steps. No deployment pipelines. Just a Python HTTP server on my Pi at home and a zip file.
What I Learned vs. Eco Tycoon
| Eco Tycoon (AI-Assisted) | RevOps Ascend (Hand-Rolled) |
|---|---|
| Built in 20% of normal time | Built in… normal time |
| Didn’t understand the mechanics | Know exactly why the NRR decays by 0.2 each quarter |
| Felt like cheating | Felt like craft |
| Prestige system never worked | Tech Stack costs actually deduct |
| Abandoned | Shipping |
The AI was great for velocity, but terrible for ownership. With RevOps, every line of code (even the ugly refactor commits) is mine. I know where the bugs are because I put them there. Deliberately. With foresight.
Okay, not deliberately.
The GDD
I also wrote a full Game Design Document this time — partly for me, partly for any masochist who wants to see how 70 scenarios become 33 become “maybe 40 if I’m feeling ambitious.”
The GDD documents:
- 5 difficulty tiers with metric requirements
- The “chickens come home to roost” consequence system
- Tech stack integration costs
- The executive desk aesthetic (forest green leather, brass accents)
What’s Next?
Right now the game has ~33 scenarios. The GDD wants 70. There’s a gap.
I could:
- Add more early-game scenarios (Y1Q1 has only 2 right now)
- Build the tech stack view (currently it only shows in history)
- Add team relationship tracking (ally/neutral/strained instead of just morale numbers)
- Actually finish the funnel visualization
Or I could call it done at 33 scenarios and move on.
Probably the second one, if I’m honest.
Play It
If you want to watch your pretend budget hemorrhage while managing pretend team morale, it’s here:
RevOps Ascend on itch.io (coming soon)
Or grab the source code and run it locally. It’s just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. No npm install. No webpack. No dark magic.
Just you, a broken CRM, and the board wanting hockey-stick growth.
Good luck.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go update my Jekyll site for the first time in four years.