A couple months ago a little game hit the app store that went by the name “Game Dev Story”. It took the well known formula of the classic management game and slapped on a video game parody coating. This game did very well on the iPhone and has been in the top grossing iPhone games for quite a while. Well i have an android and haven’t had the opportunity to play the game yet, but that changed this last week when it was finally released in the Android market. Beware, the game is seriously addicting and here are some tips I’ve gathered and noticed my own while playing.
1) Keep your specializations
When developing games, keep the specializations you chose (Game World, Polish, Approachability, etc) for multiple games in a row. This will create a situation where your reputation starts to form and you will get significant increase in fans. I tend to switch directions after I get this notice, to replicate it in another area.
2) Get multiple game types and styles to lvl 2 and lvl 5.
Every time you get a genre to level 2 and level 5, you gain an additional 2 points to assign in the game specialization. This will help your over all scores, and fans. Thus making you more money, which is the primary goal.
3) Do not skimp on your staff hiring.
Everything relies on your staff. Always spend the extra money to hire the best, it will make you a ton more money in the long run as their skills will create better games, which will sell better.
4) Advertise
Building your fan base inside the game is very important in keeping your sales high. Spending the money on advertising seems expensive at times, but it will definitely be worth it in the long run.
5) Time your releases around the end of the year.
Try and make sure one of your games per year come out in late November or early December. This will help even a poorly made game gain significant sales due to the timing of the release.
6) Create your own hardware.
Eventually the game will unlock the ability for you to develop your own console. This will cost you $90 million if you choose all the top end options. This is a good idea, as it will save you money in dev costs and produce revenue for you. The problem most people have is finding a Hardware Engineer. The way you gain one is to train one of you employees to level 5 in all the roles. This requires a lot of discs, change job manuals and time. So start prepping an individual early for this role. Also, purchase job change manuals early as this will also save you money when it comes time to train yourself an engineer.
7) Take contracts when needed.
At times it’s good to gain some extra fast income from doing contracts. This can be done very quickly with a highly trained staff sometimes finishing a 10 week contract in 2 weeks. If you put a couple of these together quickly, you can make up that extra cost hiring that marching band cost you last month. As a side tip: Never accept someones offer to improve a contracts graphics,sound, etc. Many times it will cause you a loss of money, delayed time and lost discs. Don’t even consider it.
8 ) When assigning jobs watch fatigue levels.
When you are giving someone a job at the various stages of development, make sure to give it first to someone who has the highest stat, but you also need to make sure that the person is not tired, and has not been used multiple times in a row. It is sometimes not a bad idea to hire an outsider to do the job for you to give your main employee a rest.
9) Sequels rule the gaming world.
Eventually you will start creating sequels. It is good to have about 3 or so different franchises that you run through consistently, trying to never repeat a type/genre. Any game that reaches the hall of fame will be eligible to have a sequel created. These will also be your biggest sellers, and as a bonus you get a base start of stats, which will help your score.
10) Use obvious combinations
This one seems like a no brainer, but make sure you always pick types and genres that match. No one wants to play Puzzle/Marathon, but I’m sure there are a ton that like Shooter/Robot.
11) New Game++
After you complete your 20 years of service to the slave driver known as GDS, you get to go at it again if you want. Start a new game and you will gain a bonus of all your previously gained levels in each genre/style, as well as access to secret Monkey and Robot employees.
I’ll add to this post as I think of more, or come across any additional information.
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