General Info & Hints

General Info & Hints On Game Dev
Here, I will go through some of the basics that you should understand when playing through the game. I hope this page answers any questions you may have. Also I will apologize in advance for any grammatical mistakes and spelling errors, also feel free to comment if you disagree with something or are unsure.

I'm using pictures from my current playthrough of my game. I have racked up over $2 quadrillion by releasing highly successful MMOs and Consoles.

Basics - Researching
I've been looking at some of the wiki pages on this site and have seen that many people are confused on how researching works and how you unlock certain features. So I'm going to briefly explain to you 'How researching works'. Research is one of the most important things you need to do in this game to make, well better games. They provide features and bonuses towards game development.

First of all, you need to know how you gain access to different research features. Many people believe that it's to do with how long you play the game for, this is NOT  correct. You unlock different research options once you level up a certain skill to the required level. For instance, in order to gain access to Stereo Sound you need to level up your Sound skill to level 4. Some research does require you to reach a certain criteria. For example, unlocking large games requires you to have 4+ staff (excluding yourself).

You may find yourself at the point where it says you can now research something, but you cant find it in the research page/tree. This is because some features are too big to research normally and they require a R&D Lab to research them. I will explain that feature later on.

Create a New Engine
Creating your own engine is crucial in making better games, they should include the latest graphics and features that give your game a boost. The one thing that really annoys me about creating your own engine is that some people make them too early after the previous, or that they don't include the features available. I've seen a few Youtube videos now where the person makes them not that much better than the last. They tend to create one only for gaining access to one feature which is wrong. I recommend making a game engine when you have a few features researched and not implemented yet, also don't make a game engine using the same graphics as the last. Always improve on that, since it will drive technical innovation and really improve your chances on making successful sequels.

Another thing you should note down is that game engines can be quite costly (as you can see on the picture above). Especially early game where you dont have much money in the bank. The key to making the most out of your engine at the time is to make sure you do tonnes of research. Theres no point in making one to only add one or two features since it wont make your games any better, its just a waste of money for when you need to make another.

Game Development - Ideas & Hints
When you start off as a new company, you need to immediately start making money since the 8k monthly costs quickly catch up on you and cause trouble. I recommend making games that you know will do well (good combos) and likely to bring in a profit. Just do what would make sense as a game, for example, Military/Action will be a good combination. Here is a table for the list of combos i recommend doing before experimenting with new topics and genres:Look Here \/ I strongly recommend trying these combination before playing with new topics, even if you have researched a bunch before going through them all.

Choosing a good combination is just one stage to making a good game, you need to also adjust the sliders to suit the topic and genre used. For instance, when making an RPG game you should be maxed out on Story/Quests & Dialogues (i advise maxing out level design and graphics too).

Here are a few hints on how to adjust the sliders to suit the genre your using: (Note: These are not the perfect way to do them). Check the Development Percent Chart for more accurate sliders. Note: Most games should have high Gameplay aswell.

Another way to get good sales and bonuses from your games is by marketing them at the right time. If you want to achieve good management it is important to not overload Staff (max 100% of workload). Good Management bonus which will increase amount of experiences from the game. Also they will generate alot of hype for your game which will help with sales.