how to make a tycoon game

[ThiagoCormac]

(if you find this post half off-topic I delete without problems) game dev tycoon is one of my favorite games, mainly for its thematic, I already played this game a lot and it inspired me to learn a little programming. You know, I started to learn a bit of Unity, and I'm thinking of doing a tycoon game inspired by the style of Game dev tycoon, but with a different theme and some new concepts, and well, I have some doubts:
What engine or programming language do you recommend?
Are people still interested in tycoon games?
What do I need to sell a game on Steam?
what kind of graphics would look good on the game like that?

any response is welcome, thank you

[semaj9001]

One thing I've realized when learning programming is that you should not look at a complex and successful game and think "I'm going to make that" when you're starting off. GDT took a full year to develop its first release and its two main developers each had over a decade of experience in programming beforehand. You may quickly realize that you are in over your head and become discouraged. Another thing you should realize about your first project is that it WILL be bad and aiming for the quality of a gem is only going to leave you disappointed. You should start with small projects: a clicker game, a simple top-down shooter, and endless runner, etc. Stuff that may not be creatively satisfying but will help build technical skill for when you do attempt a large project.

With that in mind, I'll answer your questions as best as I can.

1. I think the two best engines for someone learning about programming and game development are Unity and Gamemaker: Studio [www.yoyogames.com]. Gamemaker is the engine behind games including Undertale, Heat Signature, and Hyper Light Drifter, and in my opinion it is much easier to learn than Unity. The limitation is that it can only make 2D games and, if you want to pursue a more professional career in game development, you will have to learn a 3D engine eventually. It is more than capable of handling a game like GDT though. Gamemaker also used its own language, which is easy to use but if you switch to another engine your knowledge won't be fully transferrable.

2. People are absolutely still interested in tycoon games! The success of games like Software Inc and Parkitect, as well as GDT itself, shows that there is a substantial market for indie management sims.

3. While I wouldn't worry about distribution until a project is nearly finished, Valve has published an overview and documentation on how to publish your game on Steam.

4. Visuals are up to you to decide. There is no correct answer to what the best graphics style is for which type of game. Try out different styles for yourself, sketch up some concept art and see what stands out to you. Post it to an online forum like Reddit if you want feedback. Art is very subjective, and no visual style is going to please everyone. Just go with what feels right.

Good luck with your game, I hope in a few years we'll see it on Steam!

[ThiagoCormac]

Many thanks for the reply! To be honest, when I made this post I did not expect anyone to really respond to me in such a serious and polite way. I do not intend to create games professionally, it's just a hobby, so I'll follow your tip and I'm going to download Game Maker, I'll try to learn a lot about the tool and maybe I'll do something new in the future, your tips were very useful, I'm not going to forget them! thank you

[lammy from um jammer lammy]

The limitation is that it can only make 2D games

Wasn't Imscared made with Gamemaker?

I don't know if that's "True" 3d, but replicating it seems quite possible.

[semaj9001]

Originally posted by silver:

Wasn't Imscared made with Gamemaker?

I don't know if that's "True" 3d, but replicating it seems quite possible.

It is technically possible to emulate a 3D experience in Gamemaker, but it's a very complicated and tedious process that a novice probably won't be able to grasp. It's also very performance intensive so don't expect to go far beyond Doom level graphics. It would be much easier to switch to Unity if you want to go 3D.