Worthy of Purchase
Game Dev Story, a game company simulation, is a fantastic universal application for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Created by Kairosoft and currently available for $3.99, Game Dev exceeds the expectation set by its price point.
The point in Game Dev is simple: create video games (and eventually a console) and make money. After naming your development company (LuiGino & Co.) you start with a budget of a few hundred thousand dollars. You then hire your first employee and it’s time to make games.
When making games you first get to select the title's genre and direction. Next you allocate attribute points to categories such as realism, cuteness, niche and accessibility. Once that’s decided you select an employe to write the game’s proposal and, after that, the staff begins its work. Depending on the talent of your staff, the game’s direction, and your distribution of attribute points, your game’s creativity, graphics, sound, and gameplay will vary. Barring any mishaps, your game will be ready to ship, after you’ve given it a title, of course. Once released it is reviewed by four editors and then it is time to watch its sales.
If things always ran as smoothly as the above Game Dev would not be much of a game; thankfully, the game delves deeper. As your company becomes more successful you earn better offices and can hire better employees. You can buy your employees boosts such as “Dead Bull” and other fine items so that they work to their fullest. You level up staff members through earned points (up to Level 5) and can spend money to send them to different types of training to further boost their skills. You can even purchase an item to switch their job speciality, a necessity if you want to create a Hardware Engineer. Engineers are necessary to create your own console. That’s right, if you have the capital, the staff, and the chutzpa to put it all on the line you can create your own console (and handhelds) and select its components right down to whether you want it to read cartridges or blu-rays.
Game Dev throws in a few curveballs too. Right before release you may find out that another company just released a similar game. There goes your multi-platnum best seller. Your company may suffer a black-out, and, on the flip-side, your team may find a wave of inspiration.
To reveal more about Game Dev would ruin the suprise. Half of the fun is figuring out what may happen next. Needless to stay, this game is recommended. It is quick to pick-up, easy to play, and tough to put down. Go out, make that Kid Icarcus sequel and stop complaining.
Platform: iPad. Price: $3.99. Beat: Yes Play Time: 10 hours+
