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**Important!**
DiamondBlizzard has informed me over Skype that consoles cost $40 million in development costs, NOT $50 million as originally stated, however he can no longer edit the original post.
Video Gadgeteer
Q4 Fall, 1989
HQs: Medicine Hat, Alberta (CA/US)
$2,050,000 (was $43,550,000)
---
Eccojari and the Game Pocket released!
The Game Pocket (pictured above) is now available for $250, or $300 in a bundle with Eccojari. Eccojari is also being sold separately for $50.
Notable Game Pocket Features
- Infra-red multiplayer
- Black-and-green monochrome screen
- Cartridge slot
- Requires three AA batteries
- Devkit costs $1,000,000
Video Gadgeteer presents...
Eccojari
Topic: Mons
Genre: RPG (Mons Series)
Price: $50
Platforms: Game Pocket
Audience: Rated E for Everyone
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Japanese
Markets: North America, Japan
- Crisp black-and-green graphics
- Over 250 different Eccojari to train and battle with!
- Choose between three Eccojari as your starting partner.
- Explore the nation of Brico, from Obsidian Town to Carnelian City!
- Mono Sound
- Post-game bonus areas! Explore the underground cave networks to find even more Eccojari!
- Battle against your friends using the Game Pocket's infrared link!
Plot: What exactly happened to our world all those years ago? Some people say it was occultists rediscovering magic, or mad science unleashing something that couldn't be controlled. Others say an alien life form somehow ended up on this planet and multiplied. We don't know the truth. It's lost to time. All we know is that the ways of the old world are over. The Eccojari are here, and they can do things we thought impossible.
So what exactly are the Eccojari? Derived from the English word "echo" and an Old Norse word for warrior, Eccojari are lifeforms, or something superficially similar to them, capable of releasing a form of energy which causes anomalous effects on their environment. From producing fire without a fuel source to rewinding the flow of time, there is seemingly nothing which is beyond the capabilities of a sufficiently-powerful Eccojari. They live in all manner of different environments, natural or artificial, and come in over 250 different documented varieties, most of which are capable of changing their shape in a manner similar to metamorphosis. It is believed that whatever allows them to spontaneously metamorphose is also what allowed them to assume their distinct forms, which are notable for mimicking the physical and metaphorical properties of living beings, inanimate objects and even metaphysical concepts.
The Eccojari have had a profound effect on the world ever since they arrived. For example, the ecosystem has been permanently altered. Numerous species of fauna have gone extinct, with their niches miraculously filled by Eccojari with similar traits. Economy and societal structure have changed as well. Some groups view the Eccojari as a business model, marketing them with merchandise and media. Others believe they are the athletes of the future, coaching whole teams of them to spar using their powers in a gripping new contact sport. As Eccojari are intelligent but simple creatures, with few cares other than a filling meal and the thrill of a good scrap, still others are introverts who see them as the perfect pets and an alternative to human social contact. I would wager that their most important status is as the ultimate mystery, one which, when solved, might help us unlock the secrets of the universe.
Scientists have been studying the Eccojari and their abilities for centuries, but there's still a lot we don't know about how their bodies and minds function, particularly concerning their relations with humans. To help spur along the discovery, you will be embarking on a very important journey. With a young but eager Eccojari as your companion, your job is to travel from city to city and town to town. Compete with your peers, recruit new Eccojari, and test your mettle against expert coaches, commanding teams of skilled combatants who won't go down without a fight. Emerge victorious, and you may find yourself in the prestigious ranks of the Amber Institute's Hall of Fame, destined to go down in history.
Not bad for a college field study.
(-$400,000 for publishing Eccojari)
(-$40,000,000 for developing Game Pocket console)
---
Gadgeteer Kitten 1.5 marketed!
The Game Pocket sequel to the PC mascot platformer by Video Gadgeteer is now being advertised in newspapers and magazines in North America and Japan. The Japanese ads are decidedly "cuter" than the North American ones.
(-$1,500,000 for mini marketing)
---
"Are you effing kidding me, Oliver?!" Jerod yelled in the meeting room. "You spent all that money on the Game Pocket and now we're barely able to pay the employees! I appreciate the massive pay cut you took, but you said Gadgeteer Kitten, Aquatopia and Fractalspace would gut us our money back!"
"That was before Draconic Games sent the cease-and-desist. We were making 3 million a month off of those cabinets, now they're a liability. There was no way we could have seen this coming, its not like I have a magic artifact in my pocket that can tell me some company in Atlanta released a game like ours!" Oliver Zehn defended. "This is a nightmare, but we're just going to have to deal with it."
The Game Pocket (pictured above) is now available for $250, or $300 in a bundle with Eccojari. Eccojari is also being sold separately for $50.
Notable Game Pocket Features
- Infra-red multiplayer
- Black-and-green monochrome screen
- Cartridge slot
- Requires three AA batteries
- Devkit costs $1,000,000
Video Gadgeteer presents...
Eccojari
Topic: Mons
Genre: RPG (Mons Series)
Price: $50
Platforms: Game Pocket
Audience: Rated E for Everyone
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Japanese
Markets: North America, Japan
- Crisp black-and-green graphics
- Over 250 different Eccojari to train and battle with!
- Choose between three Eccojari as your starting partner.
- Explore the nation of Brico, from Obsidian Town to Carnelian City!
- Mono Sound
- Post-game bonus areas! Explore the underground cave networks to find even more Eccojari!
- Battle against your friends using the Game Pocket's infrared link!
Plot: What exactly happened to our world all those years ago? Some people say it was occultists rediscovering magic, or mad science unleashing something that couldn't be controlled. Others say an alien life form somehow ended up on this planet and multiplied. We don't know the truth. It's lost to time. All we know is that the ways of the old world are over. The Eccojari are here, and they can do things we thought impossible.
So what exactly are the Eccojari? Derived from the English word "echo" and an Old Norse word for warrior, Eccojari are lifeforms, or something superficially similar to them, capable of releasing a form of energy which causes anomalous effects on their environment. From producing fire without a fuel source to rewinding the flow of time, there is seemingly nothing which is beyond the capabilities of a sufficiently-powerful Eccojari. They live in all manner of different environments, natural or artificial, and come in over 250 different documented varieties, most of which are capable of changing their shape in a manner similar to metamorphosis. It is believed that whatever allows them to spontaneously metamorphose is also what allowed them to assume their distinct forms, which are notable for mimicking the physical and metaphorical properties of living beings, inanimate objects and even metaphysical concepts.
The Eccojari have had a profound effect on the world ever since they arrived. For example, the ecosystem has been permanently altered. Numerous species of fauna have gone extinct, with their niches miraculously filled by Eccojari with similar traits. Economy and societal structure have changed as well. Some groups view the Eccojari as a business model, marketing them with merchandise and media. Others believe they are the athletes of the future, coaching whole teams of them to spar using their powers in a gripping new contact sport. As Eccojari are intelligent but simple creatures, with few cares other than a filling meal and the thrill of a good scrap, still others are introverts who see them as the perfect pets and an alternative to human social contact. I would wager that their most important status is as the ultimate mystery, one which, when solved, might help us unlock the secrets of the universe.
Scientists have been studying the Eccojari and their abilities for centuries, but there's still a lot we don't know about how their bodies and minds function, particularly concerning their relations with humans. To help spur along the discovery, you will be embarking on a very important journey. With a young but eager Eccojari as your companion, your job is to travel from city to city and town to town. Compete with your peers, recruit new Eccojari, and test your mettle against expert coaches, commanding teams of skilled combatants who won't go down without a fight. Emerge victorious, and you may find yourself in the prestigious ranks of the Amber Institute's Hall of Fame, destined to go down in history.
Not bad for a college field study.
(-$400,000 for publishing Eccojari)
(-$40,000,000 for developing Game Pocket console)
---
Gadgeteer Kitten 1.5 marketed!
The Game Pocket sequel to the PC mascot platformer by Video Gadgeteer is now being advertised in newspapers and magazines in North America and Japan. The Japanese ads are decidedly "cuter" than the North American ones.
(-$1,500,000 for mini marketing)
---
"Are you effing kidding me, Oliver?!" Jerod yelled in the meeting room. "You spent all that money on the Game Pocket and now we're barely able to pay the employees! I appreciate the massive pay cut you took, but you said Gadgeteer Kitten, Aquatopia and Fractalspace would gut us our money back!"
"That was before Draconic Games sent the cease-and-desist. We were making 3 million a month off of those cabinets, now they're a liability. There was no way we could have seen this coming, its not like I have a magic artifact in my pocket that can tell me some company in Atlanta released a game like ours!" Oliver Zehn defended. "This is a nightmare, but we're just going to have to deal with it."
Oliver Zehn
Age: 24
Position: Lead Developer
**Location**
Medicine Hat
Alberta
Canada
_Although interested in video games and programming, Oliver Zehn's family was never wealthy and thus he only had experience with the consoles of friends and school computers.
After winning a raffle draw for $50k, he realized he couldn't afford college even with the prize and instead bought himself a computer to begin creating a game to test the waters. Oliver gathered a few like-minded friends with their own home computers to finish the game and form his new upstart gaming studio. 10 years later, with some money from investors and a game ready for release, the future of the company is looking bright._
---
Sonic the Hedgehog: SimYouLater
SimCity: SimYouLater
The Sims/Grand Theft Auto: SimYouLater
Trainz: SimYouLater
Spore/Star Citizen: SimYouLater
The combos of The Sims/Grand Theft Auto and Spore/Star Citizen are a new rule I've suggested. I get claim to the particular combo, but not its components. So someone can make a game based on The Sims OR Grand Theft Auto but NOT both simultaneously. They also have to avoid overlap with features of my "combo" game series. Making a combo means you have to be more careful, as you are essentially taking two ideas and cherry-picking the best features, which may only work in theory; if the features don't mesh in your description (and you HAVE to describe every game in a combo-based franchise in detail) then the game will be considered a flop.
Note that the first game in a franchise is critical. You fail with it, the franchise becomes a dud and you have to rely on your remaining franchises. You run out of franchises, and you're stuck making one-off titles or creating AND describing a franchise in detail based on a totally unique game concept not seen in reality (which is essentially equivalent to writing an actual new game plot). Video Gadgeteer
Q3 Summer, 1989
HQs: Medicine Hat, Alberta (CA/US)
$43,550,000
---
(A letter arrives at Draconic Studios...)
Mr. Chaser,
Your terms, while generous, don't appear to allow Video Gadgeteer to sustain profit on development of Fractalspace IP games. We would be more than willing to sell you the IP outright and leave our hands clean of the fallout from this mix-up. How does $1,000,000 sound? Keep in mind the cabinets have given us nearly double that amount in 3 months.
~ Oliver Zehn, Lead Developer
Video Gadgeteer
Q3 Summer, 1989
HQs: Medicine Hat, Alberta (CA/US)
$43,550,000
---
(A letter arrives at Draconic Studios...)
Mr. Chaser,
Your terms, while generous, don't appear to allow Video Gadgeteer to sustain profit on development of Fractalspace IP games. We would be more than willing to sell you the IP outright and leave our hands clean of the fallout from this mix-up. How does $1,000,000 sound? Keep in mind the cabinets have given us nearly double that amount in 3 months.
~ Oliver Zehn, Lead Developer
Video Gadgeteer
Video Gadgeteer
Q3 Summer, 1989
HQs: Medicine Hat, Alberta (CA/US)
$43,550,000
(A letter arrives at Draconic Studios...)
Mr. Chaser,
I regret to inform you that I will not be able to meet in person. However, we recognize that, due to an unfortunate coincidence, you copyrighted your game first even though we were genuinely ignorant of its existence. We would be willing to try and settle this out of court by selling you the rights to Fractalspace; price is negotiable.
~ Oliver Zehn, Lead Developer
Video Gadgeteer
Q3 Summer, 1989
HQs: Medicine Hat, Alberta (CA/US)
$43,550,000
(A letter arrives at Draconic Studios...)
Mr. Chaser,
I regret to inform you that I will not be able to meet in person. However, we recognize that, due to an unfortunate coincidence, you copyrighted your game first even though we were genuinely ignorant of its existence. We would be willing to try and settle this out of court by selling you the rights to Fractalspace; price is negotiable.
~ Oliver Zehn, Lead Developer
Video Gadgeteer
Video Gadgeteer
Q3 Summer, 1989
HQs: Medicine Hat, Alberta (CA/US)
$43,550,000 (was $42,350,000)
Eccojari and the Game Pocket marketed!
In a combined magazine/newspaper ad campaign throughout North America, the UK and Japan, the Game Pocket console and Eccojari have been shown to soon be available in a Game/Console bundle, or separately. The phrase "Never do crosswords on the bus again!" is printed below images of the bundle, console and game screenshots..
(-$2,250,000 for marketing)
Gadgeteer Kitten 1.5 anounced!
Video Gadgeteer has announced a sequel to Gadgeteer Kitten for the Game Pocket. Not much is known yet, but hype is already building. Supposedly the game will be smaller than its predecessor to accommodate the portable system it will be on.
Pixel Power Magazine
Q3 1989
Monsters & Magicks - 8.75
(A letter arrives at the People's Entertainment Studio, having been professionally translated into Russian before being sent.)
Mr. Kryuchkov,
Video Gadgeteer would be willing to provide you with $2,500,000 to distribute to the people of the USSR if you were to create a game for our new portable console, the Game Pocket. To sweeten the deal, we will license you to distribute the Game Pocket (under a different name) in the USSR and grant you 75% of the profits.
~ Oliver Zehn, Lead Developer
Video Gadgeteer
Q3 Summer, 1989
HQs: Medicine Hat, Alberta (CA/US)
$43,550,000 (was $42,350,000)
Eccojari and the Game Pocket marketed!
In a combined magazine/newspaper ad campaign throughout North America, the UK and Japan, the Game Pocket console and Eccojari have been shown to soon be available in a Game/Console bundle, or separately. The phrase "Never do crosswords on the bus again!" is printed below images of the bundle, console and game screenshots..
(-$2,250,000 for marketing)
Gadgeteer Kitten 1.5 anounced!
Video Gadgeteer has announced a sequel to Gadgeteer Kitten for the Game Pocket. Not much is known yet, but hype is already building. Supposedly the game will be smaller than its predecessor to accommodate the portable system it will be on.
Pixel Power Magazine
Q3 1989
Monsters & Magicks - 8.75
(A letter arrives at the People's Entertainment Studio, having been professionally translated into Russian before being sent.)
Mr. Kryuchkov,
Video Gadgeteer would be willing to provide you with $2,500,000 to distribute to the people of the USSR if you were to create a game for our new portable console, the Game Pocket. To sweeten the deal, we will license you to distribute the Game Pocket (under a different name) in the USSR and grant you 75% of the profits.
~ Oliver Zehn, Lead Developer
Video Gadgeteer
Video Gadgeteer
Q2 Spring, 1989
HQs: Medicine Hat, Alberta (CA/US)
$42,350,000 (was $42,750,000)
Aquatopia Released!
Video Gadgeteer presents......
Aquatopia
Topic: Sci-Fi
Genre: Simulation/Strategy (City Builder)
Price: $30
Platforms: PC
Audience: Rated E for Everyone
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Japanese
Markets: North America, Japan
-16-bit Graphics
-Over 60 different buildings to use to expand your colony!
-Random events! No two games will be exactly alike!
-Stereo Sound
-Map generator! Using the same map seed will generate the same map, so you can write them down!
-Custom map editor!
-Tutorials for learning the ropes of the game!
Plot: It is the year 20XX, and life on land has reached its limits. Any further expansion of cities or farmland into the delicate remaining natural ecosystems would cause the biosphere to implode. Desperate for an alternative for supporting the ever-expanding populations, the world's nations have built arcology structures in major cities and are creating undersea colonies.
One nation, however, had such a surplus of land that the latter option was ignored far too long. In Canada, the prairie agricultural areas gave so much surplus that they could afford to expand Calgary and Edmonton into the largest cities in the world by land area, but it didn't last. Now faced with the fact that the remaining farms no longer give a food surplus, the Canadian Government is forced to rapidly ramp up the funding to the Ministry of Oceanic Resources and Subaquatic Prospecting (MORSP) to attempt to compete with the American and Russian programs that have already claimed most of the good parts of the sea floor in the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
You have been recently promoted to the position of a colony manager. Your job is to upgrade an existing colony to be able to compete with other nations, or to start a new colony to take advantage of one of the few remaining resource-rich areas.
Good luck!
(-$400,000 for publishing)
Eccojari anounced!
Video Gadgeteer has announced a new type of RPG-like game for the upcoming GamePocket! Details are scarce, but it looks* interesting!
*Screenshots taken from an IRL game (obviously) and will not be fully representative of the plot or gameplay mechanics of Eccojari.
Pixel Power Magazine
Q2 1989
Throwing Daggers - 7.75
Fairy Stopper - 7.25
Q2 Spring, 1989
HQs: Medicine Hat, Alberta (CA/US)
$42,350,000 (was $42,750,000)
Aquatopia Released!
Video Gadgeteer presents......
Aquatopia
Topic: Sci-Fi
Genre: Simulation/Strategy (City Builder)
Price: $30
Platforms: PC
Audience: Rated E for Everyone
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Japanese
Markets: North America, Japan
-16-bit Graphics
-Over 60 different buildings to use to expand your colony!
-Random events! No two games will be exactly alike!
-Stereo Sound
-Map generator! Using the same map seed will generate the same map, so you can write them down!
-Custom map editor!
-Tutorials for learning the ropes of the game!
Plot: It is the year 20XX, and life on land has reached its limits. Any further expansion of cities or farmland into the delicate remaining natural ecosystems would cause the biosphere to implode. Desperate for an alternative for supporting the ever-expanding populations, the world's nations have built arcology structures in major cities and are creating undersea colonies.
One nation, however, had such a surplus of land that the latter option was ignored far too long. In Canada, the prairie agricultural areas gave so much surplus that they could afford to expand Calgary and Edmonton into the largest cities in the world by land area, but it didn't last. Now faced with the fact that the remaining farms no longer give a food surplus, the Canadian Government is forced to rapidly ramp up the funding to the Ministry of Oceanic Resources and Subaquatic Prospecting (MORSP) to attempt to compete with the American and Russian programs that have already claimed most of the good parts of the sea floor in the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans.
You have been recently promoted to the position of a colony manager. Your job is to upgrade an existing colony to be able to compete with other nations, or to start a new colony to take advantage of one of the few remaining resource-rich areas.
Good luck!
(-$400,000 for publishing)
Eccojari anounced!
Video Gadgeteer has announced a new type of RPG-like game for the upcoming GamePocket! Details are scarce, but it looks* interesting!
*Screenshots taken from an IRL game (obviously) and will not be fully representative of the plot or gameplay mechanics of Eccojari.
Pixel Power Magazine
Q2 1989
Throwing Daggers - 7.75
Fairy Stopper - 7.25
DiamondBlizzard, take MMOs off the tech tree and make up a special system for it based on arcade cabinets except with a high chance of failing if another MMO has over 50% market share and is growing, and give MMOs high running costs (2 mil per quarter year should do it).
Video Gadgeteer
Q1 Winter, 1989
HQs: Medicine Hat, Alberta (CA/US)
$42,750,000 (was $44,000,000)
---
Gadgeteer Kitten released!
Video Gadgeteer presents......
Gadgeteer Kitten
Topic: Cartoon, Sci-Fi
Genre: Action (2D Puzzle-Platformer)
Price: $30
Platforms: PC
Audience: Rated E for Everyone
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Japanese
Markets: North America, Japan
- Amazing 16-bit Graphics
- Over 30 different weapons and tools to navigate stages! Earn them as you play and keep them permanently!
- Navigate your way from the high-tech city of Mechanopolis through the forest, grasslands, mountain, desert and ocean to the Stone Sorcerer's evil floating castle lair!
- Stereo Sound
- Multiple routes to your destination! Over 5 hours of area to explore!
- Custom control options!
- Tutorials for learning the ropes of the game!
- A "normal" and "good" ending! Collect the 10 Platinum Cogs to get the secret ending!
Plot: The evil Stone Sorcerer has always been envious of the amazing non-magical devices that originate from the city of Mechanopolis. All the more irritating is that Mechanopolis was founded by the former animal residents of the forest, whom he used to rule over with an iron fist until they overthrew him with the first of those very technological instruments.
Now, the Stone Sorcerer has kidnapped the 10 Master Machinists who keep the city running, and stolen the 10 Platinum Cogs that keep the city's Perpetual Motion Power Generator running! Without any alternative, the inhabitants of Mechanopolis have turned to using coal to power the machines, knowing all the while that the surrounding forest is being choked by the fumes...
Galvan K. Windup, or "G.K.", a cat who was the apprentice of one of the Master Machinists, is the city's last hope. Taking his teacher's prototype Extend-O-Punch machine and heading into the forest to find the Stone Sorcerer's golem minion, G.K. must defeat the granite giant and free his teacher if Mechanopolis is to have any hope of surviving.
But it won't stop there, because to truly fix THIS problem, he'll need to locate the other 9 Master Machinists and the Platinum Cogs that the Stone Sorcerer has hidden across the continent. Only then will Mechanopolis and the surrounding landscape be in harmony once again!
---
Aquatopia marketed!
Three months ago, Video Gadgeteer announced a side project which has tested so well with focus groups that the project has been greatly expanded. Aquatopia will be a infrastructure management simulation for the PC in which you are in charge of constructing an undersea colony for Canada's underfunded Ministry of Oceanic Resources & Subaquatic Prospecting. It will have a map editor and a random map generator, and randomly generated events both good and bad will affect your colony or even give you a choice between different bonuses and/or penalties! It will also have a two-player mode that requires a pair of PCs networked together, allowing two competing colonies to attempt to outgrow each other and gain as much resources as possible!
City simulation fans are hyped over the descriptions and screenshots in the latest Pixel Power magazine issue! Video Gadgeteer's Lead Developer says that the game will not be the last, with hope to improve on the formula in future sequels! The game has been given a Mini marketing campaign in North America and Japan.
Here is some concept art seen in Pixel Power Magazine:
(Real life credit goes to James Carson)
-$500,000 (x2 Mini Marketing campaigns, Normal Sales)
---
Fractalspace released!
Video Gadgeteer has also inherited the rights to the vaporware arcade cabinet Fractalspace after purchasing the failed start-up "nPC Games" last year. Video Gadgeteer says they have been looking into potential interest in Japan and have decided to complete the project. A somewhat typical Shoot-Em-Up or "Shmup", the game sets itself apart for having a detailed story (based on the Victorian novel Flatland) that is integrated with the gameplay, complete with RPG-style text window conversations. The game will involve you having to dodge patterns of bullets which split into smaller bullets at regular intervals, but the game allows the player to insert quarters for extra lives (which should give them points with arcade owners too, the press wryly remarks). Beta screenshots have already made it into publication in last quarter's Pixel Power issue, though the graphics looked simplistic and were reportedly close to final (supposedly a "stylistic choice").
Though opinions are mixed, the game is certainly already being talked about by arcade owners looking to end the slow decrease in customer turnout that has been noticed in the past few years.
Video Gadgeteer presents......
Fractalspace
Topic: Abstract Shapes
Genre: Action (Shmup)
Price: $3000
Platforms: Arcade
Audience: Rated E for Everyone
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Japanese
Markets: North America, Japan
- Runs at an amazing 100 Frames Per Second!
- Over 15 different types of projectile power-ups!
- Stereo Sound
- Put in a quarter while playing, get an extra life!
Plot: In the 2nd Dimension, there is a strict hierarchy amongst the shapes. Circles are at the bottom for "having one side", followed by lines for having two. Triangles are lower than quadrilaterals which are lower than pentagons, which are lower than hexagons, and so forth. But no matter how many sides a shape has, they all must bow to the fractals, who have "infinite sides".
Now, a team of two triangles and a quadrilateral have had enough, and are waging a three-shape war against the entire social structure. Destroy the arrogant and greedy fractals, and save the 2nd Dimension from this dystopian society!
-$750,000 (base cost) Note that arcades are released in 1 quarter, so I'll do this instead of announcing a game.
---
Oliver Zehn, "Artie" Leonardo, May Ramona and Jerod Hayvins were in the office late, discussing how to introducing the games to the public.
"The arcade owners were practically begging to order the machines in advance! I know how that sounds too good to be true, but what worries me is the moral implications. We're essentially asking kids to throw away their allowances to be able to win this game, and you know they won't say no." Oliver said, hesitant about the idea. "Are you sure we can't put in a mode where they get infinite lives but don't get a recorded score?"
"We're too far into production for that. The circuit board blueprints are already sent out to the manufacturers, and the designs won't have enough memory." said Jerod.
"Okay, what have we got for Aquatopia?" Oliver asked.
"My team are almost done the sprite tileset." Artie explained. "May says the programming team can have it coded by the end of the week, but..."
"But?" Oliver asked.
"There's never been a game like this to date. We have no basis for an 'Infrastructure Management Simulation', so we'll have to create a framework from scratch." May explained. "Shmups and Platformers have been done before, but we're stabbing in the dark with this one."
"And our 'mascot platformer'?"
"There's been no hiccups. The games are shipping to stores tonight." Jerod recapped.
"Good. Ladies and Gentlemen, I brought you here tonight for more than just a routine meeting." Oliver said. "Now, you've all expressed concerns, doubt and hesitation to trust me when over 80% of our original investment capital was recorded by accounting as being used to fund 'Project Timepiece', which I refused to elaborate upon for almost a year now. Now I'm finally going to put those fears to rest..." he said, taking a small object from his pocket.
"What is that thing?" Jerod asked, unsure what he was looking at.
"This, my friends, is the future. A prototype of the world's first portable games console. The secret development team working in the basement has taken to calling it the Game Pocket. Just one catch... We're out of funds for the project."
"You BANKRUPTED US?!" Jerod said, exasperated.
"No, of course not. We've got enough to release Gadgeteer Kitten and finish the two other games we've got lined up, the sales of which will give us the funds to finish this little beauty. And then? We hit the big time. I've already had a reporter in to look at it, the word will be out by the end of the week. The Game Pocket is going to change this industry, I can feel it!"
Q1 Winter, 1989
HQs: Medicine Hat, Alberta (CA/US)
$42,750,000 (was $44,000,000)
---
Gadgeteer Kitten released!
Video Gadgeteer presents......
Gadgeteer Kitten
Topic: Cartoon, Sci-Fi
Genre: Action (2D Puzzle-Platformer)
Price: $30
Platforms: PC
Audience: Rated E for Everyone
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Japanese
Markets: North America, Japan
- Amazing 16-bit Graphics
- Over 30 different weapons and tools to navigate stages! Earn them as you play and keep them permanently!
- Navigate your way from the high-tech city of Mechanopolis through the forest, grasslands, mountain, desert and ocean to the Stone Sorcerer's evil floating castle lair!
- Stereo Sound
- Multiple routes to your destination! Over 5 hours of area to explore!
- Custom control options!
- Tutorials for learning the ropes of the game!
- A "normal" and "good" ending! Collect the 10 Platinum Cogs to get the secret ending!
Plot: The evil Stone Sorcerer has always been envious of the amazing non-magical devices that originate from the city of Mechanopolis. All the more irritating is that Mechanopolis was founded by the former animal residents of the forest, whom he used to rule over with an iron fist until they overthrew him with the first of those very technological instruments.
Now, the Stone Sorcerer has kidnapped the 10 Master Machinists who keep the city running, and stolen the 10 Platinum Cogs that keep the city's Perpetual Motion Power Generator running! Without any alternative, the inhabitants of Mechanopolis have turned to using coal to power the machines, knowing all the while that the surrounding forest is being choked by the fumes...
Galvan K. Windup, or "G.K.", a cat who was the apprentice of one of the Master Machinists, is the city's last hope. Taking his teacher's prototype Extend-O-Punch machine and heading into the forest to find the Stone Sorcerer's golem minion, G.K. must defeat the granite giant and free his teacher if Mechanopolis is to have any hope of surviving.
But it won't stop there, because to truly fix THIS problem, he'll need to locate the other 9 Master Machinists and the Platinum Cogs that the Stone Sorcerer has hidden across the continent. Only then will Mechanopolis and the surrounding landscape be in harmony once again!
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Aquatopia marketed!
Three months ago, Video Gadgeteer announced a side project which has tested so well with focus groups that the project has been greatly expanded. Aquatopia will be a infrastructure management simulation for the PC in which you are in charge of constructing an undersea colony for Canada's underfunded Ministry of Oceanic Resources & Subaquatic Prospecting. It will have a map editor and a random map generator, and randomly generated events both good and bad will affect your colony or even give you a choice between different bonuses and/or penalties! It will also have a two-player mode that requires a pair of PCs networked together, allowing two competing colonies to attempt to outgrow each other and gain as much resources as possible!
City simulation fans are hyped over the descriptions and screenshots in the latest Pixel Power magazine issue! Video Gadgeteer's Lead Developer says that the game will not be the last, with hope to improve on the formula in future sequels! The game has been given a Mini marketing campaign in North America and Japan.
Here is some concept art seen in Pixel Power Magazine:
(Real life credit goes to James Carson)
-$500,000 (x2 Mini Marketing campaigns, Normal Sales)
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Fractalspace released!
Video Gadgeteer has also inherited the rights to the vaporware arcade cabinet Fractalspace after purchasing the failed start-up "nPC Games" last year. Video Gadgeteer says they have been looking into potential interest in Japan and have decided to complete the project. A somewhat typical Shoot-Em-Up or "Shmup", the game sets itself apart for having a detailed story (based on the Victorian novel Flatland) that is integrated with the gameplay, complete with RPG-style text window conversations. The game will involve you having to dodge patterns of bullets which split into smaller bullets at regular intervals, but the game allows the player to insert quarters for extra lives (which should give them points with arcade owners too, the press wryly remarks). Beta screenshots have already made it into publication in last quarter's Pixel Power issue, though the graphics looked simplistic and were reportedly close to final (supposedly a "stylistic choice").
Though opinions are mixed, the game is certainly already being talked about by arcade owners looking to end the slow decrease in customer turnout that has been noticed in the past few years.
Video Gadgeteer presents......
Fractalspace
Topic: Abstract Shapes
Genre: Action (Shmup)
Price: $3000
Platforms: Arcade
Audience: Rated E for Everyone
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Japanese
Markets: North America, Japan
- Runs at an amazing 100 Frames Per Second!
- Over 15 different types of projectile power-ups!
- Stereo Sound
- Put in a quarter while playing, get an extra life!
Plot: In the 2nd Dimension, there is a strict hierarchy amongst the shapes. Circles are at the bottom for "having one side", followed by lines for having two. Triangles are lower than quadrilaterals which are lower than pentagons, which are lower than hexagons, and so forth. But no matter how many sides a shape has, they all must bow to the fractals, who have "infinite sides".
Now, a team of two triangles and a quadrilateral have had enough, and are waging a three-shape war against the entire social structure. Destroy the arrogant and greedy fractals, and save the 2nd Dimension from this dystopian society!
-$750,000 (base cost) Note that arcades are released in 1 quarter, so I'll do this instead of announcing a game.
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Oliver Zehn, "Artie" Leonardo, May Ramona and Jerod Hayvins were in the office late, discussing how to introducing the games to the public.
"The arcade owners were practically begging to order the machines in advance! I know how that sounds too good to be true, but what worries me is the moral implications. We're essentially asking kids to throw away their allowances to be able to win this game, and you know they won't say no." Oliver said, hesitant about the idea. "Are you sure we can't put in a mode where they get infinite lives but don't get a recorded score?"
"We're too far into production for that. The circuit board blueprints are already sent out to the manufacturers, and the designs won't have enough memory." said Jerod.
"Okay, what have we got for Aquatopia?" Oliver asked.
"My team are almost done the sprite tileset." Artie explained. "May says the programming team can have it coded by the end of the week, but..."
"But?" Oliver asked.
"There's never been a game like this to date. We have no basis for an 'Infrastructure Management Simulation', so we'll have to create a framework from scratch." May explained. "Shmups and Platformers have been done before, but we're stabbing in the dark with this one."
"And our 'mascot platformer'?"
"There's been no hiccups. The games are shipping to stores tonight." Jerod recapped.
"Good. Ladies and Gentlemen, I brought you here tonight for more than just a routine meeting." Oliver said. "Now, you've all expressed concerns, doubt and hesitation to trust me when over 80% of our original investment capital was recorded by accounting as being used to fund 'Project Timepiece', which I refused to elaborate upon for almost a year now. Now I'm finally going to put those fears to rest..." he said, taking a small object from his pocket.
"What is that thing?" Jerod asked, unsure what he was looking at.
"This, my friends, is the future. A prototype of the world's first portable games console. The secret development team working in the basement has taken to calling it the Game Pocket. Just one catch... We're out of funds for the project."
"You BANKRUPTED US?!" Jerod said, exasperated.
"No, of course not. We've got enough to release Gadgeteer Kitten and finish the two other games we've got lined up, the sales of which will give us the funds to finish this little beauty. And then? We hit the big time. I've already had a reporter in to look at it, the word will be out by the end of the week. The Game Pocket is going to change this industry, I can feel it!"
"Games that run like clockwork."
Video Gadgeteer
Oliver Zehn
Age: 24
Position: Lead Developer
Location
Medicine Hat
Alberta
Canada
Although interested in video games and programming, Oliver Zehn's family was never wealthy and thus he only had experience with the consoles of friends and school computers.
After winning a raffle draw for $50k, he realized he couldn't afford college even with the prize and instead bought himself a computer to begin creating a game to test the waters. Oliver gathered a few like-minded friends with their own home computers to finish the game and form his new upstart gaming studio. 10 years later, with some money from investors and a game ready for release, the future of the company is looking bright.
I was part of the original GDT RP on another (now dead) forum, and was the co-GM. As I have the experience and am a trusted friend of DiamondBlizzard, I will be one of the two co-GMs for this RP. The other position is up for grabs. If I am wrong about any of this, DiamondBlizzard, please correct me!
Sonic the Hedgehog: SimYouLater
SimCity: SimYouLater
The Sims/Grand Theft Auto: SimYouLater
Trainz: SimYouLater
Spore/Star Citizen: SimYouLater
The combos of The Sims/Grand Theft Auto and Spore/Star Citizen are a new rule I've suggested. I get claim to the particular combo, but not its components. So someone can make a game based on The Sims OR Grand Theft Auto but NOT both simultaneously. They also have to avoid overlap with features of my "combo" game series. Making a combo means you have to be more careful, as you are essentially taking two ideas and cherry-picking the best features, which may only work in theory; if the features don't mesh in your description (and you HAVE to describe every game in a combo-based franchise in detail) then the game will be considered a flop.
Note that the first game in a franchise is critical. You fail with it, the franchise becomes a dud and you have to rely on your remaining franchises. You run out of franchises, and you're stuck making one-off titles or creating AND describing a franchise in detail based on a totally unique game concept not seen in reality (which is essentially equivalent to writing an actual new game plot).
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