Game Dev Tycoon ReviewMy first stab at something like this, so bear with me.

So a few weeks ago, I picked up an indie game called Game Dev Tycoon, (Found here: www.greenheartgames.com/) . It's a not-so simple game with a simple premise. Make games and hope they succeed.

How to know when they will or will not succeed is the problem. You can pour thousands and thousands of dollars into a game, and come out with an average score of 1 from reviewers. And, sales are directly correlated with reviews. Bad reviews, bad sales. And that makes it hurt badly. That being said, when you some how get a 10 out of 10, your sales SKYROCKET.
The first stage of the game is fun, easy, and enjoyable. But once you get that one big ...

Game Dev Tycoon ReviewMy first stab at something like this, so bear with me.

So a few weeks ago, I picked up an indie game called Game Dev Tycoon, (Found here: www.greenheartgames.com/) . It's a not-so simple game with a simple premise. Make games and hope they succeed.

How to know when they will or will not succeed is the problem. You can pour thousands and thousands of dollars into a game, and come out with an average score of 1 from reviewers. And, sales are directly correlated with reviews. Bad reviews, bad sales. And that makes it hurt badly. That being said, when you some how get a 10 out of 10, your sales SKYROCKET.
The first stage of the game is fun, easy, and enjoyable. But once you get that one big hit (that I have a sinking feeling is programmed to happen after a certain time just to advance the game) you're sent into the second stage of the game. And so far, that's the farthest I've gotten. And here's why:
You get caught in a terrible spending loop.

In the second stage you're able to hire workers to pump out more content. These workers are the key to success, as there comes a time when you need to organize your developers into sections, (Dev 1 works on Graphics, Dev 2 sound, etc.). The more you give them to do, the worse job they do at it. They become "overworked." You're technology and design points drop to barely nothing, (which by the way is how your game is rated, more points, better rating, more sales). So, imagine this. You have a string of bad games for whatever reason, even though you just spent half a million on a brand new game engine. Soon, you're nearing the red zone. You're only option is to let go of your workers to lower your costs. But then, you can't make big name titles, since your one worker can't handle a full game, tech and design points drop, reviewers rip into you and you can't make huge amounts of profit. You're crap out of luck. It's almost impossible to come back from that.

Now I know this sounds like a lot of negatives, but actually, I've described the key to this game. As much as this game is a Development tycoon, it's a business simulator. You need to be careful with your money. You can't overspend, you can't waste it. You have to be very careful.

Being a student of business, I'm excited to go back and play it from this new perspective I have. I think it will add a new level of strategy to the game.

Aside from the gameplay, this game has a lot of pluses. I'll list 'em off easily as I can:
-Great music
-Fun graphics and design
-Quirky and humorous game dialogues and text
-Adds a level of immersion that I don't think most sim/tycoon games give the player. I've never been more happy when my Sci-Fi Adventure game "Pokemon" for the Gameling got a 9.75 rating. And never have I been more disappointed when the sequel "Pokemon II: Reloaded" flopped miserably.

Downsides, I can really only think of one. After your first play-through, the game asks you to turn off the tutorial messages. In my experience, it doesn't recognize my response. Which is incredibly annoying. But, it's bearable.

For the eight or so dollar price tag, this game is definitely worth a look at. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface with it, and look forward to pouring more and more hours into it hoping that my gaming company can become the next Bungie or Valve. I don't believe in ratings (After playing this game for an hour, you'll understand why), but this game deserves the buy.

Also, I'm so sorry Richard. I had to fire you. Please forgive me.