It's time for one of my favorite games by my favorite developer, Kairosoft. The name of the game is "Game Dev Story". At the time I got this game.. Almost a year ago... it was a 5 star game, today, it still is a 5 star game. I always thought it was a curious subject for a game developer to make a game about developing games, nevertheless it was grand!
The best way to describe Game Dev Story is to focus on it's simplicity. This game uses minimal controls, meaning it can be played with one hand. It uses simple (and cute) pixel graphics for everything. The sounds are a delightfully throwback into the 8bit era. So with all the simplicity how does it manage to shine and not become just another game where the developer cut corners to make a quick buck? Game play! The developer placed all their marbles into the game play... The same can be said for a movie director putting everything into plot... a rare sight these days. But Kairosoft did an amazing job making this game enjoyable to play, and not only the first time, but highly repayable. As I talk about other games later on, the developer expects you to play through some games more than once to discover new things.
The best way to describe Game Dev Story is to focus on it's simplicity. This game uses minimal controls, meaning it can be played with one hand. It uses simple (and cute) pixel graphics for everything. The sounds are a delightfully throwback into the 8bit era. So with all the simplicity how does it manage to shine and not become just another game where the developer cut corners to make a quick buck? Game play! The developer placed all their marbles into the game play... The same can be said for a movie director putting everything into plot... a rare sight these days. But Kairosoft did an amazing job making this game enjoyable to play, and not only the first time, but highly repayable. As I talk about other games later on, the developer expects you to play through some games more than once to discover new things.
The game plays out quite as it sounds. You are in charge of a game studio. You hire employees who happily work away at game genres you design, unlocking new ones as you progress. You can skill up your employees, even build your own console. The game has an end goal but can be played as an open ended game. There are several aspect to each game you create and your staff is specialized in each, they can be trained, given promotions, hired and fired. Its micro management in an fun arcade style.
In an interesting side, there have been others trying to imitate the success of Kairosoft by making games very similar in look and even title, trying to fool people into buying their games. However they often reach the uncanny valley when it comes to looks, the game play is horrendous and the angry low rating should be a dead giveaway.
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