game dev story takes you through the life of a game development company. you create your company, manage staff, develop games, make various decisions and guide your company to glory, failure, or somewhere in between.
does it spit hot fire?in 2 words: like dylan. as a gamer who generally gets bored of sim management games within about 10 minutes; the first time i played it, i did not put it down until about 2 hours later. when i did go on to other tasks in the real world, my mind was still going, thinking about new ways to improve my games and get the most out of my company's abilities.
the strength of this game is how addictive the gameplay is and how embarrassingly fulfilling it is to succeed. there are various components to manage and consider that have major effects on the quality of your games. having the freedom to choose genre and then deciding what area of the game (fun, creativity, graphics or sound) to focus on is surprisingly engaging. not only that but you have to consider advertising, popularity, various game systems (funny takes on actual consoles from the past), the skills and energy of your staff, hiring and firing, training, leveling up, game conventions, awards, game reviewers...i could go on. there's a lot going on and the subtle balance that this game achieves is that you never feel overwhelmed and are rewarded for taking risks.
on a personal note, one component that seemed to amuse me endlessly, was the simple fact that you could name the games you are creating. so when you find yourself banking on an animal simulation game called animal hug to sell millions of copies on the gds equivalent of the playstation 2, it just makes the whole experience seem more fun and silly.
did you just get served?
not at all. there's not too much trash you can talk about this game. yes, the graphics and sound are pretty lo-fi. i was initially concerned about that affecting my experience at first. once i got going, it never became an issue and even added to the charm of the game. in fact the sounds seem to deliberately set off some sort of pavlovian response in me. it can be gratifying like the winning sound on a slot machine. so gamblers might want to beware. the game does limit you to a 20 year period, which works out to about....oh i don't know...5-6 hours of game play? time flew by and i wasn't really keeping track. you can keep playing beyond this mark, but your high scores will no longer be recorded. also, by then your company is pretty stacked, you will be filthy rich and the sense of challenge is pretty much gone. if anything, this will give you a chance to start up a new game and your new company and see if you can outdo the last one. one minor gripe i would make would be that it only allows for one save file, thus deleting your records if you want to start a new company.
and the winner is...
you, if you buy this game. adequately, but not super value priced at $3.99, game dev story is a very polished game that has that something special in it that keeps you coming back for more. it's very gratifying and pretty addicting in many regards and offers up a lot of variety and options. the graphics and sound might be considered sub par by some, but did not detract anything from my experience. overall this game is a shining example of how to execute sim management games correctly. it's well worth your time and 4 bucks. i'm already looking forward to the sequel that i am imagining they are planning...right....now.
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