Game Dev Story

[Pete]

I finally took FA's suggestion and got this for the iPhone, although I'll admit it was cheaper back when he initially suggested it.

 

Year 1

 

As gaming is stereotypically supposedly for spotty teenagers, and just for fun, I've set up a company called "EA Spots" and have taken out an ad for staff in a gaming magazine. This must be quite some magazine as that just cost 120k, which apparently in the current economic climate gets you 5 applicants. Everyone else must like working in fast food joints or just being generally unemployed.

 

Immediately from the 5 possible newbies I hire the most expensive, leaving me with a meagre 80k of my initial 500k budget. The first title had better be something very special or I'm going to be in a lot of doo doo.

 

My first game uses all of my remaining funds - a PC game about pirates. I use my 2 remaining direction points to give it a boost in simplicity and polish, hoping this will produce a game even morons can enjoy.

 

After asigning staff to graphics, story and music, my "special" team have injected a total of 21 bugs into the game throughout it's development. Not bad by real world standards, however lets see if that can be reduced with some debugging.

 

"Piggy Pirates" ships after extensive debugging, however critics aren't impressed. Let's hope a spot of rdio advertising wins over the large number of illiterate gamers.

 

Piggy Pirates didn't chart at all and only shifted 25,000 units. I'm taking on a contract to get my cash levels up a bit before I try another in-house title.

 

The contract work is designing mascots for local governments around the country. Nothing amazing, but nets me 100k for 11 weeks work which I can then use to fund another title. Newb Ownerton wants to try increasing the fun for this particular job, and for some reason I agree to spending an extra 50k on this particular job that's only paying me 100k to begin with. Call me stupid, but... no, just call me stupid. Still, the job was finished 6 weeks ahead of schedule and I can take a stab at another game after I level up my staff of total idiots.

 

Year 2

 

In an effort to make up for my previous title and the losses that ensued, I switch to a historical adventure game revolving around ninjas (not that I can pick all 3, but in my head it's about ninjas), working title: Nubile Ninjas. I stick with my in-house team for most of the jobs, with some of them putting in very little effort, then spend a whopping 90k for Moe Zart to do the sound. Ninjas, like farts, may be silent but deadly, however they should make sweet music in Nubile Ninjas.

 

Just a little more time to try and fix some bugs before I push this one out the door - I leave some bugs in this time around and challenge my fans to find them and fix them for me - as is the way of the gaming world nowadays.

 

The critis once again give me average scroes, however some last minute advertising should see my sales increase. Or possibly go bust. Magazine ads and some good old online marketing gives me an 122% boost to my fan base from last year - good times! Now I have a poxy 131 fans - bad times Still, units are shifting quicker this time around.

 

I'm finally ranking in the top 30 games as Nubile Ninjas hits the #27 spot. Not too bad.

 

Leaving no time between pushing Nubile Ninjas out the door and getting going with my third game, I spend wads of cash on increasing the budget for the next title, a PC shooter starring Ninjas. This is the next logical step from Nubile Niinjas and will be called Nubile Ninjas 2. Hey, my gamers are morons and can't handle all that strategy so I'm throwing them a bone with a no brainer shooter right?

 

Naturally, I remove some of the simplicity and innovation points from the game and ramp up the cuteness and realism levels. What could possibly go wrong with this eh?

 

Fortunately, the government decided to fund me this year and pay my staff wages. That's good, as I couldn't afford to

 

I allow one of my crew to try and increase the game's sound quality. He blows 50k of my money and fails, ontrioducing 15 bugs into the game in the progress. If I hadn't just spent research points levelling him up, he'd be out on his arse right now. Grrrr! I roll out the Dead Bull energy drink in an effort to make the guys and gals more productive.

 

Nubile Ninjas sold 58000 units all told, a bit more than my previous effort. Sadly, Nubile Ninjas 2 is suffering from my employees being lazy. Picking the same staff to do the same jobs several games in a row apparently results in poor work. My ninjas look more haggard than nubile B Toven hammers out a cracking score for this title though that will hopefully make up for the crappy graphics

 

Pushing it out the door with 8 bugs in an effort to get some decent sales before the end of the year, I receive more mediocre reviews. Still, the game's fun levels are through the roof so hopefully that will help! Another spate of online advertising pushes my fan base growth to 288% compared to the previous year - hope that helps!

 

Despite the bugs and crappy graphics, I receive my first fan letter from a teenager who's failed an exam due to playing my game. Naturally I'm ecstatic, even more so when I hit the number 13 spot in the charts after the first week!

 

With Nubile Ninjas 2 receiving high praise and high sales from the fans, it's time to make a historical action game and really throw some cash at it.

 

Tune in again whenever I can tear myself away from my phone to write some more

[FullAuto]

I had to eat a

[Pete]

 

Erm, I'm ashamed to say I've become somewhat absorbed by this game. To begin with, it was part of my life, but now I'm part of it's life - I'm really director of EA Spots. REALLY. Okay, enough of the insanity, but it is rather addictive.

 

I also love the fact that it takes the mick out of itself - my highest selling game so far - a game company simulator () - simply called Game Game 2 (it's the sequel don'tyaknow) shifted a cool 26,225,217 units. Costing me

[Bomb Bloke]

If the game doesn't end, then surely sales figures will simply continue to rise along with your popularity; it'll be interesting to see if you can shift more units of a given game then the world has people to buy it.

 

- Consider it a goal.