Why do all my games suck?

[x Princess Leliana x]

I've unlocked every single +++. I only ever make games with great combo scores, for platforms and audiences that match, during the sliders I assign all the right people to the right things, I have all the +++ and --- so adjust everything to match that, yet every game I make averages a 5.5 and I lose a ♥♥♥♥ ton of money, until one of them randomly becomes a 9.75 (♥♥♥♥ you all games for never giving a 10) and I get raised back up to where I was. I'm doing EVERYTHING RIGHT. Why do all my games suck?

[Greenheart Games]

How far have you progressed in the game? What year are you playing in?

[x Princess Leliana x]

Originally posted by Greenheart Games:

How far have you progressed in the game? What year are you playing in?

Past the end of the game, year 37 I believe, but this has been a problem since around year 15. I had a brief period for a few years where all my games were 8+, despite not actually changing anything to do with making them.

[RemingtonRyder]

Bear in mind, each time you make a new game, you're competing against your own best games. They become the new standard by which all following games are judged.

Hire new staff or train the staff you have to be better at what they do.

Research new features (but bear in mind, the more features you add the higher the cost and the greater the future expectations will be).

Make sure that your staff don't burn out, give them all a vacation if you've just finished a large game (for example).

Make sure your engine has the appropriate graphics features for the size of game you're making.

If you're making a AAA or MMO game you need specialists.

[Csupasz Pisztoly]

You have to owerperform your last game every time to get good reviews. For this, you have to invest heavily in staff's education and dedicate one member for one type of job.

[x Princess Leliana x]

Originally posted by Csupasz Pisztoly:

You have to owerperform your last game every time to get good reviews. For this, you have to invest heavily in staff's education and dedicate one member for one type of job.

I was doing all of that.

[Csupasz Pisztoly]

Originally posted by x Leliana x:

I was doing all of that.

Honestly, that too happend with me in the later stages of the game. Than i got bored with it...

[Mr. Rain]

I never really had that problem before...

I can understand after year 35 or so. The game isn't really designed to keep going after that.

Before that though, I can still get a lot of good scores. Make sure you're selecting what works well with the genre you're making and you keep improving your engine and adding features appropriately.

What should help is whenever you make a sequel from an older game that you haven't really touched recently. So long as you don't mess up the sliders and you use a newer engine, that should be an easy 8s and 9s.