Software Star
Encyclopedia
Software Star is a 1985 game released by Kevin Toms
for the Amstrad CPC
, Commodore 64
and ZX Spectrum
.
Having a large portfolio of games has its advantages by increasing the player's monthly sales. However, money must be spent on promoting aging titles. Each game has its own quality rating, where the quality increases with the amount of time spent on development. Managing the productivity of the player's staff is also key to the game, giving him a snapshot of the last six months. He could decide to either discipline offer incentives or take no action. There are four sales regions where the player's products are sold. These regions are ordered from one to four, depending on how much importance he gives to them by consulting the sales from the previous month. Public relations also needs tweaking by choosing Honesty or Hype
. Each decision has an effect on his company image. Finally, the player will have to evaluate his potential market depending on the time of year and decide how many advertising pages to buy. Markets are larger around Christmas
and New Year
. It is then time to sit back and look at the sales figures as the player's game enters the Top 20. He is then given a sales break even figure and each game climbs the chart if it sells well to the Number One spot.
At the end of the month the player views your monthly statement to check his progress and Stardom rating ranging from Nobody to Software Star. At the end of the year, the directors will check the player's progress. They will either fire him, raise the bar, or give him another chance.
Kevin Toms
Kevin Toms, born in 1957 in Paignton, England, is a computer game designer who founded Addictive Games and is famous for creating the original Football Manager, a simulation game released in the early 1980s that included a portrait of his bearded face on publicity material and cassette covers.Toms...
for the Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
.
Gameplay
Essentially a text-based management game. The player's task is to manage a software house, create new games, manage his publicity and make a profit of £10000. Meanwhile, he must achieve the status of "Software Star" for ten successive months.Having a large portfolio of games has its advantages by increasing the player's monthly sales. However, money must be spent on promoting aging titles. Each game has its own quality rating, where the quality increases with the amount of time spent on development. Managing the productivity of the player's staff is also key to the game, giving him a snapshot of the last six months. He could decide to either discipline offer incentives or take no action. There are four sales regions where the player's products are sold. These regions are ordered from one to four, depending on how much importance he gives to them by consulting the sales from the previous month. Public relations also needs tweaking by choosing Honesty or Hype
Hype
Hype may refer to:*A media circus*Hype , 1981 album by Robert Calvert*Hype , American comedy television series*Hype!, documentary about the popularity of grunge rock in the early to mid 1990...
. Each decision has an effect on his company image. Finally, the player will have to evaluate his potential market depending on the time of year and decide how many advertising pages to buy. Markets are larger around Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
and New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
. It is then time to sit back and look at the sales figures as the player's game enters the Top 20. He is then given a sales break even figure and each game climbs the chart if it sells well to the Number One spot.
At the end of the month the player views your monthly statement to check his progress and Stardom rating ranging from Nobody to Software Star. At the end of the year, the directors will check the player's progress. They will either fire him, raise the bar, or give him another chance.
Trivia
- The player can name the games that he is developing.
- This game has some similarities to the video game MillionaireMillionaire (video game)Millionaire is a management game originally written for the ZX Spectrum by John Hunt and ported to the Acorn Electron and BBC Micro.- Gameplay :...
. - A very similar game, Software House was released by Cult Games a few years later.
External links
- Software Star at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...