Game Dev Story

After hearing about this game back in the fall, I was finally able to play it in the New Year through my Archos 101 Internet Tablet with Android OS. It’s a heck of a long time to wait (well, not as bad as my Mass Effect 2 delay), but it was worth it. It’s a great little game that capitalizes on fun and could also be used for some basic business principles.

Game Dev Story is in the realm of a ‘tycoon’-style game, where you start with little and build up your game development company with skilled employees. These employees help you make better games, which sell better and net big profits. You have the choice what kind of game to make for which platform, ranging from a Cowboy Action game to a Bikini Motion game and anything in-between. Both luck and skill still feature, as you can get ‘hazards’ (power outages) or uninspired employees lowering the overall quality of your game. You have 20 years to develop your studio, keep it profitable, train your employees, and make hall of fame games.

What makes this a real treat is the level of reference it makes to the video game industry. The game somewhat parallels video game console history, as certain consoles (NES, Gameboy, Playstation, etc) get released over time. You can attend the “Gamedex” (E3?) conference to attract more fans, and you even have to buy a license fee in order to develop for a new console.

What keeps you playing is the surprisingly-layered experience. You’re not just choosing a game and making it. You’re:

• hiring, training, and ‘leveling-up’ employees so that they make better games
• balancing your budget so that you can have enough money to develop your own games and pay your employees
• using various types of advertising so that you can increase your fan base and hype for the current game in development
• eventually able to develop your own consoles (with enough money and skilled-enough employees)

While the experience will eventually become repetitive, it does keep you playing for quite a while. I played for at least 10 hours, and that’s from a $4 game! Talk about value!

Al