Well, the talk of the next gen consoles is just that: talking. While the PS4 is looking good and people are figuring out ways to say the Xbox One sucks at the moment (Xbone) and while the Wii U is just chilling there, I have discovered a neat little game that two people made actually and I think people should at least give it a chance. I am talking of course Game Dev Tycoon for the PC.
Game Dev Tycoon is made by Green Heart Games and boy does this game look cool. Let me explain, two guys made this game and all they are asking is for support and just to play a game. GDT is a game where you are placed back in time to the golden age of video games. I think a good little story will help you understand this game a bit, don't you think?
You start out in a garage with only a dream to make video games and it's true, Rome isn't built in a day. From the beginning, your very limited to what you can actually do within the game. The game itself takes off the minute you create your mini company and start making games, hoping to get a good rating on each game to sell well to not only gain some money, but to also gain fans that want to help you out. Over time, much like video game history, new consoles are introduced, allowing you to see if your games fare better in the long run.
This screen is how you make the game possible. There are three stages in the cycle before your game is ready to be released. Depending on the topic and genre you pick, you will then have to see what's the best for the game and the time you want to make it in. An example is that you make an RPG, so you want to focus more on the story itself rather then the engine. It's a balance that you must find and master to get those perfect scores. Remember, some topics are better mixed with the system as well. After you release the game, you get research points during the development cycle to help you research more topics (Wild West, Surgery, Fantasy, Etc) 2D and 3D, as well as being able to make your very own engine to put in the system.
In most cases, failure is something you happen to stumble upon when you first start playing. I decided that my studio would be called Rant EM Studios. After a string of games rating on average of 6's, I managed to snag my first 9 scores and sold well to get me into a nice office and start hiring people. Alas, I didn't know it was that expensive and my company was sold towards Ninvento, the makers of Dinky Kong. . . . . .I'm not kidding, the game and even the systems themselves have parody names (ala TES and the Super TES)
The game itself is only 8 whole dollars and can be bought at their website and guys, it's a good game if you want to pass the time (10 hours already have I put into this game overall). It's for PC, Mac and Linux and the purchase of the game can nab you a future Steam key in the process once the game is made available in the future.
The following chart shows you some interesting details on the game itself. Sadly, piracy is an issue for these guys, who put a lot of time in making the game (remember, two guys made the game) so they decided to release a cracked version of the game themselves and send it around the internet. The cool part? Once you get far enough in the game, whatever blockbuster game got that perfect score and sell well, well, pirates decide to pirate the game and you will lose vast amounts of money until you lose the game. Pretty neat idea actually but those stats don't lie sadly. For only 8 dollars guys, the game is well worth the playtime and to make these guys happy that it's getting support.
