Zack

I think that not liking something just because you don't like it is a good reason just by itself -taste is always subjective.

A couple of my friends play it, I never really considered it

I'm probably too busy to really play a lot of games (or rather, should be too busy). Plus I actually only play a couple video games really, including the actual best game of all time from Blizzard (starcraft brood war)

All right, all right, but not today, as I've got people coming, and not tomorrow morning, 'cos of work.
I won't be playing it until tomorrow afternoon at the very least.

I get a little extra design too but I balance out by late game, not sure if it's my play style or it's normal. The game tech and design points are a function of both your people working on the game, the tasks they are assigned (on Medium-sized games or larger), and how you weight the various game components during the design process. So if you do a lot of Dialogue and Story-heavy RPGs, you will tend to generate more design points. If you do more Action and Simulation games that rely on cranking up the Engine bar, you will generate more tech points. I think some of the areas give mixed points like Graphics and Sound (basing this off the specialist options in the late game, not 100%).

Publishers are good for the first medium games you make--you won't stack too much more paper than a small game, but you will get a lot more fans to hit that 100k mark. Same with large games and the 250k mark. However, if the publishers want to you make really stupid games that are going to fail, I just make a small game and wait for a better opportunity to come along.

The loans are a vicious circle, I can usually survive one or two but eventually the charged interest is so great you need games that are rated 9+ to pay it off and I can't hit that reliably.

My strategy is to build my bank up in the garage and get a few new topics researched just before I move to the new office (while monthly expenses are cheap). I usually hire 2 people, a tech guy and a design guy, might put down $300k at most on the candidate search. I think you get better candidates if you put more money down, but I've gotten screwed once or twice when I put down $800k and I didn't get anyone better than my first hires. Total number of points is important--everybody gains points at about the same rate through training and you need either 700 tech/design to train as a specialist, so starting off with good people will save you a ton of RPs that can be better used elsewhere. High speed and research are good, but aren't my overriding factor.

I skipped it and found out the hard way.

So, strategy-wise, I usually wait to go to the new office until I've had two blockbuster games and have banked $4-5m. It can be tempting to switch early and hire people, but there are significant maintenance costs associated with the new office and it's going to be hard to hold it if you only have $1-2m. Although I read somewhere you shouldn't make a new game engine with less than 2-3 improvements, I sometimes push that to 4-5 because making game engines takes a lot of time and it doesn't make money. I ignore text games completely and start with 2D graphics to build that skill up as quickly as possible. I also hire "extremes"--people with pure tech or pure design skill-- and not a lot of generalists because it's easier to get specialists down the road with those guys.

The game topic and genre are probably the most important determinants in how successful a game is on the market, and after you release a game you can generate a game report that gives you some design feedback. Follow those hints to designing future games (i.e. it will tell you quests are important and sound is not important for an RPG or something like that). Don't release very similar games right after each other--space out your Fantasy/RPGs with something else. Try to get a custom engine together as soon as possible instead of researching a bunch of additional topics, that will let you make better games and start raking in the dough.

He does this all the time when college sports come up. It's totally bizarre.

I'd take offense to that, I hoped you were a good christian :O :O
(Just joking, don't hate me)

Are you a good christian, men?

So many emoticons! I think I can understand a variety of posting styles, but his is still a mystery to me.

well I hope you did well! Though you sound like me, only talking about academics

I never really had to do them

so how'd your first semester at gatech go? Enjoy it?

Done. Let me know when you want me to lock it again.

Nope. Just haven't gotten around to it. Plan to do it today though.

Thanks!

Yes. Absolutely.

I will gladly pay back Mise for you if you come back to OT.