Game Dev Tycoon (2012)

I recently redownloaded this game, and am completely enthralled again. So much so that I bought it a second time to have it on Switch.

There are some fair criticisms of the game, it can get a bit repetitive and the game development sometimes feels like an idea should work, and then gets lambasted by reviews.

But, at is core this game is SOOOO fun and SOOOO relaxing. The soundtrack and little noises it makes as you develop games is perfection, with the occasional CA-ching as a game makes money (chef's kiss).

It's a perfect comfort game, for when you don't want to stress or over think. But end game stuff requires planning from early in the game to pull off, which, when combined with a ton of variety in genres and topics, keeps me coming back

Played this game normally and it's very easy

Pirate mode On, Decrease Sales but once you manage to get 5Mil then boom it becomes easier it this point with the same results as playing normally.

I like this game but once you play it once, it's not as Enjoyable playing it again even with mods.

I want a Game that makes things Complicated, Choices, More hands on Development which this game barely provide.

I played this game based on a fundraiser I did for charity (listeners to my podcast donated a certain amount and I would play a game they requested). Wow! I am glad they picked this game!

Game Dev Tycoon feels like a paired down version of some of the classic simulation games, like Roller Coaster Tycoon or Zoo Tycoon. Instead of getting bogged down in specific missions, or meticulously picking flowers, paving stones, fences, ect. to make your park beautiful, you instead are picking Topics (Horror, Vampire, Fantasy, Dance, School, ect.), Genre (RPG, Action, Strategy, Casual, ect.), Platform, and Game Engine, later age focus also pops up; you then use sliders to focus on specific aspects of the game, so for an RPG in phase 2 I focused hard on Quest/Story.

Picking the right combos helps develops better games, while picking duds creates bad games.

The deeper part of the game is balancing research, you need to constantly research new technology to improve your game development, which you then put into new game engines. You also will get to hire more people, all of which, including your main character, have stats for design, tech, speed, and research; which influences how many points they add to your game for those style things.

I found the act of discovering new topics, combos, researching tech, and managing employees a LOT of fun. I kept finding my time disappear as I said just one more game, or oh lets see how this new game engine, or new specialty does.

What makes this game incredibly replayable, is it has a set end time, 35 years of play, which takes about 6 hours. At the end you are given a score, based on a bunch of factors such as money at the end of the game, number of fans, number of good games developed, ect.

After my first play through I thought I could do better, since I understood the long-term strategy of employee development and tech research. However, starting topics are random, and I immediately lost 4 times in a row LOL. I just finished my second full play through (6th attempt), I was struggling with some new topics, but leaned heavy into developing RPGs, particularly successfully later in the game once I got quest/story and dialogue specialists.

At the end of the game my final score tabulated, 5 million less points then the first one! I had to resist diving right back in for another attempt!

I can see how this game isn't for everyone. It is more about managing a whole company, rather then developing individual games. I took a lot of joy in naming my games based on a theme, so my second play through was TSR, so everything was D&D themed. But the individual games themselves are less important then the long term trends and successes you are building towards. Nothing was more enjoyable though, then to have a few duds come out, and then finally release a 9.75 or perfect 10 game (I even got a 10.5 one time), and seeing your income sky rocket!

There are a lot of strategies to reach higher scores at the end. Which style games do you lean into? Do you eventually develop an MMO or a console of your own? How do you build hype? Do you stick to a few genres and topics you know, or develop more broadly to better flex with trends? There are a LOT of paths you can take that I think make the strategy and planning of the game really fun.

Overall, if you like simulation games, but don't like getting bogged down in decorating, I think Game Dev Tycoon is worth giving a try.

When I started this game I was having an incredible time. I was enjoying myself immensely!! I couldn't wait to get back to the game and create my next big hit! Naming the games was fun. Picking the platform you put your game on was fun. It was all incredibly enjoyable.

Then after you've created Game #95 (because you just can't be bothered to name your games anymore) and for some reason you still can't quite figure out why you aren't creating hits in genre X even though you have all the info (yes, I had a notepad and was even writing all this down because I was having so much fun initially), you are still struggling.

I thought about playing this game with a guide to play it to completion and I decided against that because I'm this type of game trying to figure out what works and what doesn't on your own is a big part of the fun.

The game went from a 10/10 for me to a study in not getting frustrated. It's close to brilliant, but just doesn't quite reach it. With that being said, this is the first simulation game that had my attention. And now I'm ready to give my sim games a try. This game will always get credited for that at least.

Great game. I couldn't stop until I completed it. Very fun simulation, good mechanics, increasing challenge, variety and a good gaming industry history lesson to boot.

Only two issues: although it takes a while to complete and is really addictive, it doesn't offer much replayability value. The other problem is that although you can save the intel gathered in previous playthoughs on what works and what doesn't (a nice feature), the game isn't very clear in showing it to you in a way that will let you manipulate it easily as you become more experienced. This means you will most likely have to consult a guide to avoid the game getting kind of cryptic at some point. Even then, some things are kind of hit and miss.

If you're into simulators, don't miss out on this one.