The RETRORONTO Report #7
📅
Monday, May 5, 2025
☁️
Cloudy 11C
📅 Monday, May 5, 2025 ☁️ Cloudy 11C
This is The RETRORONTO Report, your go-to source for all the latest happenings and updates in the evolving city of Retroronto!
April Showers of Praise
It’s been a big month for Retroronto, and not just in development. Following the Toronto Game Expo, a surge of interest came from a surprising source: social media. On April 13th, content creator Mindzai Toy Shop posted a quick interview and showcase of Retroronto, highlighting the game’s art style, city vibes, and satirical edge. The TikTok video took off, racking up over 35,000 views, nearly 3,000 likes, and 500 favorites in just a few days.
That visibility carried over to our itch.io page, which saw a wave of new traffic and fresh eyes on the demo, increasing the page’s total views to more than 1k and nearly 600 browser plays.
The comments? Gold.
🗣️ "I played the game everything was overpriced lol" – EngineRooom
🗣️ "Sounds like Toronto." – Lucas
🗣️ “Amazing 😍 the packaging (cover art) is spot on“ - corgi.paws
🗣️ "Mm so I can be struggling in IRL and in my Toronto game? Perf 🥰😭😂" – ASMA 🌸
🗣️ "I could afford to move back into Toronto?!" – The Canadian Merfolk
🗣️ "But I already live this 😭😭😭" – lis
🗣️ “Please tell me there’s a standing in an event line side quest 😂” - PCJP
We also got a handful of other interviews and shoutouts from marketers and event reviewers at the expo, helping push Retroronto further into the public eye. Whether folks are laughing, wincing, or dreaming of a version set in Melbourne or Vancouver, the core message is resonating: surviving in the city is tough, funny, and weirdly beautiful.
With this boost of visibility, we’re actively looking into more events this summer to showcase the game and connect with even more Torontonians (and maybe beyond). Retroronto was made for the people here, and thanks to all of you, it’s starting to feel like it belongs to the city.
On top of that, Retroronto also had its very first Let’s Play thanks to streamer BreadAndButter, who dove into the demo with humor, curiosity, and genuine reactions to the game’s quirks and charm. We’ve also seen steady growth across our channels: 30 new Instagram followers, 10 fresh faces in our Discord, and the launch of our very own TikTok account to keep the momentum going. Seeing this kind of support roll in so suddenly is humbling. It’s the kind of spark that reminds us why we’re making this game in the first place.
- Joshua Holt, Editor
City Adopts Satellite Guidance
Navigating Retroronto just got a whole lot easier. Thanks to a new city-wide positioning system, residents can now access a full World Map, showing their location relative to key buildings, job sites, and hotspots across town. Combined with a revamped arrow guidance system that dynamically points to your destination with helpful icons and distance cues, it’s never been easier to find your way (or your workplace).
For many locals, this marks the end of aimless wandering and accidental cross-city hikes. Where once folks relied on memory, street signs, and sheer luck, the new system is helping players feel grounded in the sprawl. “It was hard to find anything before,” one resident muttered, “at least with real Toronto I had GPS.” Well, now Retroronto does too.
-Courtney Torres, Writer
Pay Up or Pack Up: No Rent, No Roof
The realities of city living have fully set in. Players must now pay rent every 7 days or risk losing their apartment entirely. After putting down a deposit, tenants are expected to keep up with weekly payments. Miss one, and you’ve got 24 hours to scrape it together before your lease vanishes into the skyline. The apartment is booted back onto the market, and your player is booted back onto the street.
Locals have chimed in with the usual resigned optimism. “It’s just part of living here,” says one tired commuter. “Fifty percent of my paycheck goes to rent, the other fifty goes to coffee so I can cry in public.” With no sign of rent control on the horizon, most citizens agree the market’s broken, but at least it’s their broken market.
-Wade Harrison, Writer
COMMUNITY CORNER
Where citizens say what’s on their mind, and we print it anyway.
The City Skips Spring Again
By Jenna M., 29
One week I’m shoveling snow off my driveway, the next I’m sweating in the sun waiting for a bus that never comes. I swear we don’t get seasons anymore, just weather roulette. Every year it’s like this, but it still surprises me.
What’s That Smell on the 504?
By Marcus T., 33
I took the streetcar after work and instantly regretted it. The smell hit me before I even sat down; sweat, food, something... sour? Why is it always like this? I started carrying VapoRub in my bag just in case!
Might As Well Just Walk Now
By Leo R., 24
I locked my bike right in front of the store, came back out with my sandwich and boom, gone. Second time this year. I think there's a whole squad out there just waiting for you to blink. Cops didn’t even flinch.
Classifieds
FOR SALE: DVD COLLECTION
Entire VHS collection, in pristine condition except for two, which was borrowed by my cousin and smells faintly of body spray. $60 or trade for a working microwave.
ROOMMATE NEEDED
Basement unit with low ceilings, high hopes. $725/month, includes utilities and occasional ghost noises. Must love plants. No drummers. Contact ASAP within two-three weeks.
WANTED: COUCH MOVER
Someone to help me move a couch from my ex’s place. Must be discreet, have a car, and ask no questions. Couch is blue. Ex is not. Call ahead when you’re around the block ready for pickup.
Obituaries
REMEMBERING LORETTA NG
(1958-2025)
The city mourns the loss of Loretta Ng, a treasured artist, curator, and lifelong advocate for community art spaces, who passed away peacefully last Tuesday at the age of 67. Best known for spearheading the West End Art Walk, an annual neighborhood-wide showcase of underrepresented creators, Loretta spent her life turning alleyways into galleries, shopfronts into stages, and strangers into collaborators. Her work often blended found materials with city grit, echoing Toronto’s layered stories through texture, rust, and paint.
Beyond her installations and curatorial work, Loretta was a fierce mentor to a generation of young artists, often inviting them into her studio for tea and critiques. Many credit her with jumpstarting their creative careers. Though the city grows more polished and pushed out by the day, Loretta’s legacy reminds us that art can still live in the cracks, if we let it. A public memorial will be held next Saturday at the community centre she helped fund, with an open mic and gallery of her final works.
Events
PARK CLEANUP & PIZZA PARTY
The City is organizing a volunteer cleanup of Trinity Bellwoods this Saturday at 10 AM. Bags, gloves, and weird conversation with strangers provided. Pizza slices for all volunteers after the mess is gone. No RSVP needed, just show up and pretend you weren't the one who left that iced coffee cup under the bench. A friendly raccoon mascot may or may not make an appearance, depending on how early he wakes up.
LOST & FOUND AUCTION
Ever wonder what happens to all those lost mittens and mysterious USB sticks? Head down to the TTC Lost & Found Live Auction next Thursday at Bathurst Station. Bid on unclaimed treasures like half umbrellas, vintage iPods, and one very cursed-looking plush doll. All proceeds go to the transit fund (we think). Doors open at 6PM, get there early before someone else snags your long-lost scarf.
Changelog
Changes/Fixes:
- Fixed bug where food vendors wouldn't regenerate their appearance as well as highlighting themselves when approaching them
- Adjusted auto-opening doors so they don't close unpredictably when colliding with them
- Fixed bug where player could keep moving after interacting with fridge, softlocking player in fridge UI
- Fixed bug where player couldn't sleep in bed ever after initially declining to unless leaving apartment
- Fixed bug where player could leave mid-minigame carrying produced items, essentially getting free food
- Fixed bug where store cash registers would flash when colliding without carrying items to buy
- Fixed bug where player would get a newspaper but couldn't leave store as they had to 'buy' the paper, but it costed 0 dollars which the cash register wouldn't accept. Newspapers are now 1 dollar
- Fixed Player Feedback to not play previous feedback when leaving/entering interiors
- Adjusted Computer station dialogue in Library to mention [INTERACT] instead of [SPACE] to not confuse players using gamepad
- Adjusted colliders of cars so players can walk easier off roads
- Adjusted player animation speed inside and outside to double when moving
- Bike Objective in demo now skips when player enters an apartment
- Adjusted Target Arrows to now show above buildings
- Fixed bad bug where player wouldn't spawn outside banks when leaving them, softlocking the game
- Adjusted spawn rates back to default in minigames to avoid bug where customers would overlap other customers and never order anything, softlocking the player and minigame
Additions:
- Updated Target Arrows to show icons of overworld targets and to point to target locations when in view
- Added Target Arrows to stations and cash registers when they're meant to be interacted with, after producing items, submitting orders, and buying in stores
- Added bouncier animations to Target Arrows
- Energy UI has been adjusted to now fill/deplete and flash when gaining/losing energy, and perpetually flash when running out
- Added player feedback for trying to get into places while riding a bike
- Added Map feature using TAB/Select to instantantously see whole city map and locations
- Discovery Places now allow players to keep moving, zooming out and in when player moves away from area
- Fonts have been redone and cleaned up, including some new characters and other adjustments
- Main Menu now has Audio Settings
- Landlords will now ask for a rent deposit when leasing an appartment, taking the rent cost away from the player upon leasing They will show back up every 7 days for rent payment, and will allow an extra day to pay rent before evicting the player
- Players now start with 900 dollars to afford whichever apartments they want
- The Demo objective now asks the player to deposit the same amount of money as their rent into the bank.
Removals:
- Removed arrows from left doors in bank locations
- Removed camera controls using Mouse/right joystick
- Removed nightstands besides beds in some home interiors
Got feedback, questions, or concerns about the development of Retroronto? Join our discord server below!
EDITOR’S NOTES
Hello again!
If you ever want time to evaporate in the blink of an eye, try game development. Who needs the time-dilating effects of black holes when you can just spiral around the event horizon of bug-fixing in Unity?
This month leaned more toward quality-of-life improvements than flashy new features, as I tackled the mountain of notes, bugs, and feedback gathered from Toronto Game Expo. It’s amazing how invisible the obvious becomes after endless loops of coding, testing, breaking, and rebuilding. Still, I’m hopeful this update brings a smoother, more intuitive experience for new and returning players alike.
Looking ahead, I’m aiming to showcase Retroronto at XP Summit in June, and Get On My Level, an upcoming e-sports event in July. Toronto Games Week is also on the horizon, a key opportunity to connect with the local scene and share the project in new spaces. On top of that, I’ve recently been approached by educators interested in using Retroronto in classrooms, which has sparked the idea of developing an educational version of the game. I’d love to highlight the city’s landmarks with real-world facts on history, architecture, and culture, making Retroronto a simulator, educator, and virtual tour guide all in one!
There are still more environments and minigames I’m hoping to add in the near future. I won't make promises I can't keep, but I’ve never been more aware of the scope of what I want to build, and how much I’m trying to do solo. Still, I’m excited to see what I can deliver by June as I continue laying the groundwork for possible future funding and growth.
Until then, thanks for reading, and see you next month!
Cheers,
- Sean Browning
Disclaimer:
The names, classifieds, obituaries, and events featured in this publication are entirely fictional and not associated with any real people or entities. While the content is loosely inspired by the development of Retroronto, it is largely embellished for the sake of engagement and fun. The goal is to present the city and its progress as closely to a newspaper as possible. Please don’t take it all too seriously!