Developers per game in the Game Dev Tycoon review

With simulations that now range in any area of ​​human knowledge, it is almost strange that a fascinating world like that of videogame development has long remained rather neglected by this genre, and that the good old Kairosoft Game Dev Story has remained. the major point of reference in the field. Game Dev Tycoon was born precisely as a response to the mobile title on PC, and the inspiration is evident throughout the structure of the Greenheart Games game, starting from the concept up to the different solutions and mechanics of the gameplay. It is a question of running a development studio, starting from the classic home garage up to the creation of a real empire of videogame entertainment, obviously if we are able to better manage every aspect of the work. Everything flows according to a progressive flow that takes us from the creation of the first indie titles with a minimum budget and limited structure to the gigantic triple A titles capable of grinding millions of copies, with a gradual advancement that always opens up new possibilities with wider choices.



Developers per game in the Game Dev Tycoon review


The creation of a video game is a complex procedure which here, obviously, is schematized through a series of linked choices, the combination of which determines the variables on which the success or failure of the project will be based. You must choose a title, the genre of belonging, the setting, the technology to be used (graphic engine and the like) and the platform on which to publish the game and based on the combination of these elements and the ability of the developers involved, the the outcome of our project, that is the quantity of sales, which also depends to a large extent on the evaluation by the specialized press. In short, the glittering world of videogame development in a nutshell, one could say, even if the complexity of the field in question must necessarily be filtered and greatly simplified in an easily digestible game structure, so as to be too schematic and cold.



Developers per game in the Game Dev Tycoon review

Game development in the palm of your hand with the mobile version of Game Dev Tycoon

From the garage to the limelight

The beauty of Game Dev Tycoon is precisely its scalar approach to development, the constant progression that continually opens up new creative possibilities, substantially represented by further choices to be implemented in the various areas to be managed: from the increase of genres and environments that can be exploited thanks to more budgets. higher and higher skills of more experienced developers (and in greater numbers) to the increase in visibility that games can achieve through new marketing strategies, taking advantage of institutional fairs or organizing specific events to promote their titles. It is clear that a number of variables of this kind are difficult to represent and keep under control, for this reason in the game we essentially find ourselves simply implementing a series of choices and trying to find the right combinations between them. The problem, which had already been pointed out in the PC version, is that the functioning of this whole mechanism remains rather hidden: the process by which some choices determine global success while others condemn us to failure is never completely clear and the whole path development in Game Dev Tycoon remains closed in an incomprehensible hermeticism.


Developers per game in the Game Dev Tycoon review


As well as Game Dev Story, a sort of extremely concise parody of the world of videogame development comes out, only in this case there is also that implicitly humorous and caricatured note that is typical of Japanese productions, remarked in the Kairosoft game by their classic style. in pixel art, in addition to references to the purely Japanese environment. Game Dev Tycoon enriches the structure of the Kairosoft game with several additional actions such as the need to carry out market surveys, the detection of trends and investments in research and development that open several new creative and organizational possibilities for the team. These are elements that, by not going to explain the deep mechanics of the simulation - which remains largely inscrutable - increase the involvement keeping us busy on several fronts. The mobile version, however, also adds some features more in step with the times such as the ability to stream games and manage piracy, as well as having a user interface convincingly adapted to the touch screen.


Developers per game in the Game Dev Tycoon review

Comment

Tested version iPad 1.0.9 Digital Delivery App Store, Google Play Price 5,49 € Resources4Gaming.com

7.5


Readers (6)

8.2


Your vote

Game Dev Tycoon is probably only now, almost five years after its release on PC, its best form. It is a game that adapts perfectly to mobile platforms both for interface and for rhythm and style, managing in this form to become that machine that grinds hours of play that the setting and the genre of belonging impose. There remain the structural problems on the scarce depth of the numerous variables examined by the simulation and on the mechanisms by which these compose the results of our works, which often seem a bit random. On the other hand, it is also an inevitable consequence of a simplification that is necessary, in order to make the game fun and usable without too much suffering.

PRO

  • Nice and interesting concept
  • The progression system manages to capture us
  • Deep but intuitive enough to please everyone
AGAINST
  • Very similar to Game Dev Story
  • Some simulation mechanisms are not entirely clear
  • Even too schematic for lovers of complex simulations
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