Game Dev Tycoon

In Game Dev Tycoon, you start in your basement, making games, finding successes and failures as you fumble through gaming history. All of the gaming platforms and generations of consoles are represented, slowly being released in chronological order, with little bits of history thrown in that are taken from reality. These gaming platforms and companies behind them aren't called by their real names of course, but it's obvious to any knucklehead what's what. Additionally, if you know your gaming history, you'll know which platforms are fruitful (and you should make games for) and which will flop (and you shouldn't touch with a ten foot pole).

In general, I wouldn't call myself a fan of simulation games. I was dubious, but I actually had a lot of fun with it. There were several nights where I had trouble pulling myself away to go to bed. Just one more contract, just research one more thing, just develop one more game.

I decided to pick it up after reading an interesting article about Greenheart Games, the developer behind it. Apparently, they made an addition to the game that only affected the pirated copies. If someone had a pirated version, the game would start out normally, but as the in-game years progress, piracy will become an enormous problem for your company, and there's no way to turn a profit because of it. And the most ironic thing of all is these real-life pirating sleezeballs would take to the forums, asking for help on how to solve these piracy problems and wailing that it's impossible to make a profitable game. Can you feel the irony? It's so thick.

As in-game years go by, technology gets better, and more options become available to spruce up your games. Games get more complex as a result, and you'll need more people to complete them. Unlike the actual game industry, I was able to hire a mere two people and keep them employed for 30 years. I'm okay with the massive hirings and firings not being simulated. Let's keep it light. lol

I wish there was a little more guidance regarding the effect of having more staff though. As I was able to make Medium games successfully with two people and myself, I never bothered to hire any more people. The three's workload was balanced, and no one was overworked, so why hire more? Apparently, you can't make Large and AAA titles without hiring more people first, a fact that was never mentioned or I at least don't recall it being mentioned. I played through the entire game, assuming I had to somehow unlock the ability to make Large games. Should Large have been unlocked, I obviously would have had to hire another person AFTER I had the ability. #mylogic

No matter. I made millions of dollars, was in business for 35 years, had the number one booth for a decade at whatever the hell E3 was called in-game, and I won a Lifetime Achievement Award. I'm cool with that.