Game Dev Story

Press Start:

In my youth, I lost many an hour submerged in Bullfrog’s Theme Park. By high school, I had graduated to the Roller Coaster Tycoon series. In college, I even further immersed myself in the sim management genre with Lionhead Studios The Movies. Weeks, days, and hours were lost to these all consuming business simulators. So, imagine my surprise when I found another addicting sim, this time on the iDevice.

Game Dev Story, developed by KairoSoft, puts you in the seat of running your very own video game development studio. You get to make the day-to-day decisions regarding:

.: Development :.

  • Platform (PC, Microx 480, PlayStatus, Game-Box, etc.)
  • Genre (shooter, trivia, action rpg, etc.)
  • Type (dating, ninja, fantasy, etc.)
  • Direction (Do you want to develop the game at a normal pace, in a hurry, or on a budget?)
“You’re bored? Get to work!”

.: Staffing :.

  • Hiring (Keeping in mind that salaries will eventually have to be paid.)
  • Increasing Skill-sets
  • Promoting
  • Firing (Disney always used the term “separated”.)

.: Advertising/ Marketing :.

  • Increase your fan base and overall product awareness.

Your direction of the studio will either lead to its success or supreme failure.

Ideology/ Worldview:

Capitalism.

Menu

Interaction/ Gameplay:

Via touch screen, there is a drop down menu to input your commands.

In the End:

The first night I dove into Game Dev Story, I ended up playing for about two hours straight. The mixture of management decisions, marketing (advertising/ going to trade shows), and having to decide which console to develop for had me hooked. This game is perfect for those on the go and priced out (for a limited time) at $1.99. I can’t recommend this game enough!

Songs in the Key of Solomon

When my wife and I were first married, my in-laws let us borrow their copy of Night Light: A Devotional for Couples to do together. Quite quickly we concluded that the devotional was meant for older couples. This made us start searching for a devotional that was fun and even sexual! After some searching, we ended up purchasing Songs in the Key of Solomon: In the Word…and in the Mood by John and Anita Renfroe.

This is the cover of the book when we purchased it. Revisions since have removed the woman and the man from the cover. Poor lonely piano...

Songs in the Key of Solomon is playful, thoughtful, and most of all tries to connect couples at a deeper level. As the title suggests, Songs in the Key of Solomon: In the Word…and in the Mood weaves it’s way through the Biblical book of Song of Solomon (most of the time). At the beginning of each mini-chapter, the daily entry suggests a particular position, place, or action from which to read the entry from. For example, today it suggested that we sit outside our son’s room as we read about how children are a blessing from the Lord. Each chapter also closes with questions for discussion. This morning, one of the questions asked, “what did you enjoy about our lives prior to having children?” Overall, we have enjoyed slowly meandering through this devotional and highly recommend it to others. In fact, we usually give this as a wedding gift. So if your one of our friends who isn’t married, this book is on its way…after ya tie the knot!

2011 Pokémon Video Game Championship

Kotaku reported earlier today that the 2011 Pokémon Video Game Championship is but a month away.

For those in the United States, prepare your Pokémon to battle on:

  • May 14th, Seattle, WA- Washington State Convention Center, Hall 4B
  • May 21st, San Jose, CA – San Jose Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 2
  • May 28th, Dallas, TX- Arlington Convention Center, Grand Hall
  • June 4th, Atlanta, GA- Gwinnett Center, Hall A and B
  • June 11th, Washington, D.C.- Dulles Expo Center, South Hall
  • June 18th, Newark, NJ- Meadowlands Exposition Center

For those over the pond:

  • June 4th, Birmingham, United Kingdom- National Exhibition Centre, Hall 8
  • June 11th, Rome, Italy- Fiera Roma, Hall 12, Ingresso Nord
  • June 18th, Madrid, Spain- IFEMA, Hall 1, Feria de Madrid
  • June 25th, Paris, France- Espace Grande Arche, Parvis de La Défense
  • July 2nd , Cologne, Germany- EXPO XXI Köln GmbH, Gladbacher Wall 5

Those that prove that they’ve got what it takes will continue on to the  2011 Pokémon World Championships (August 12-14th) hosted at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront in San Diego, California.

I may or may not be getting Pokémon Black for Easter. 🙂 Wonder if I have enough time to catch and train a group worthy of defeating the very best…

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