PC (Steam) - Casual, Indie, Simulation, Strategy
It's been a while since I posted a review of a game using the written word. So here it goes.
This is a very impromptu post because I only invested in Game Dev Tycoon (GDT) tonight. I got it on a whim after seeing it advertised on Steam's front page (http://store.steampowered.com/app/239820/) and for just over a fiver I thought "Sod it. It looks good fun, why not?!" and that gut feeling that it would be a good punt served me well!
Don't let the 68/100 Metascore put you off, it's intriguing, in-depth, extremely fun and so easy to pick up and play, it definitely fits the bill of being a "casual" game.
Previously I put PopCap games like Bejeweled and Plants vs Zombies in the category of "Casual". You know the type: games that you could play sat on the toilet as well as laying in bed or sat at the computer...although don't mix those up, my wife doesn't appreciate it when I go to the toilet while laying in bed playing PvZ...
I digress though. This review will follow in GDT's footsteps - being easy, quick and simple.
The premise of the game is that you are a lone games developer in the 80's in your garage just as the gaming market is about to get massive. You have to work out (to start with) 4 things about your game - Title, Topic, Genre and Platform. The title is free text, so call it what you want; the topic is things like Government, Airplane, Zombies etc; the genre is things like Action, RPG, Simulation etc and platform is what the game will be developed for. Now you then need to strike the right balance of how the game will be developed such as it's graphics, sound, engine, dialogue, world design etc and how much emphasis will go towards each area. Some games are more suited to different areas and it can take a little while to work out what areas each type of game needs more love in. The easiest way though, think about what you like in games of certain genres and go with that.
After a while, if you get enough moolah, then you can move out of your dingy garage and move into a fully fledged cool office and even hire extra staff to help make your games the awesome things you want them to be.
You can research new game topics, create your own engines and conduct staff training for yourself as well as any staff you might employ - this might cost a bit sometimes, but it'll be worth it in the end. You also have interesting moral choices to make from time to time, such as what action to take on fans of your games creating unofficial content - you can leave them alone, or sue them for example. I personally left them alone, because a lot of great spin-off games from fans in the past - look at Counter-Strike as possibly the most successful one!
The game itself is ridiculously easy to learn to play, which bodes well for me, being a father of 4 with a small window of "me time" to commit to new games!! I've yet to delve incredibly deep into the game, but felt real excitement when my Movies/Simulation game for the PC "Movie Director" took off with 10/10 reviews earning me close to 2 million smackaroos while working in the garage! It meant I could expand!!!
Anyway, I'm going to leave this review there, because time spent writing this could be time spent playing the game itself for gawdsake! Go check it out and visit their website (linked at the top of the post) for more information!
Trust me on this though, it's a game that gets more interesting the further you delve into it!
Until next time...
Toolbox24
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