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'High Maintenance' meets 'Civilization' in 'Weedcraft Inc'
When I was a kid smoking weed in high school, I was convinced that marijuana would never be legal. The idea that it's legal now, I'm in my late 40s, it's shocking to me." Scott Alexander speaks in rapid-fire paragraphs brimming with information about modern marijuana laws, politics and culture. He's the lead writer on Weedcraft Inc, the first original video game developed and published by popular indie label Devolver Digital. Weedcraft Inc is a tycoon or world-building game, similar to Civilization or Tropico, but players start out as low-grade weed dealers and build their empires from there. It's in beta now, and the full game is due to drop some time in April.
Linux Tycoon game lets you 'create' your own distro, neck beard not required
If you've always wanted to create and manage your own Linux distribution, but lack the talent and skill necessary to do so, today is your lucky day. A new video game, titled Linux Tycoon, now affords Windows, Mac and -- obviously -- Linux users the opportunity to select software packages, squash bugs and manage a highly skilled virtual development staff, all while trying to keep the size and scope of your *nix distro in check. The game, which is currently in beta, can be yours for a paltry $4 and is available for download from the source link below. What are you waiting for? Grep going!
FIC launches 10.1-inch Windows 7 Tycoon tablet, prices it at $660
Way back at Computex, a little orange tablet brazenly called the Tycoon seared our retinas and won our hearts. Now it's going on to charm early adopting tableteers everywhere. Well, everywhere in Taiwan, anyway, with maker FIC indicating it will sell its first tablet on Saturday, priced at NT$19,800. That equates to roughly $660 American, for which you'll get a 10.1-inch model with Windows 7 installed on a 120GB HDD, powered by an Atom N455 processor with 2GB of memory. The OS is said to have been adjusted to make it more finger friendly, though we don't have any details on exactly how, nor do we know when this little guy might be making an appearance outside of Taiwan. We just hope they kept the tangerine sheen.
Windows 7 tablet roundup from Computex, nay Tabletex
Tabletex. Yep, that's what we're calling this year's Computex since you truly cannot go a few steps on the show floor without stumbling upon a new tablet of some kind. If you've been reading our coverage for the past few days, you know that Intel and Microsoft didn't show up in Taipei empty handed -- both of their booths are incredibly well stocked with new slates. Most of them, which range from early prototypes to quite functional, have 10-inch displays, run Windows 7 Premium and pack Intel Atom Z or N series processors -- in essence they're very much netbooks sans the keyboard panel. There are way too many of them to count, but don't you worry, we've rounded up some details and shots of the most appealing ones on display here at the show. Follow on after the break for a look at some of the newest Wintel tablets. And check the gallery below for a variety of hands-on shots. %Gallery-94267%
Make your own MMO with MMORPG Tycoon
The TIGSource Procedural Generation Competition is nearing it's finish, and one of the more polished entries takes a fascinating look at MMOs. Titled MMORPG Tycoon, it gives you an MMORPG and demands that you fix it to please the player base. And that's easier said than done.You have the ability to control most aspects of the game world, from where towns are placed, to how high which stats are per class, to where players respawn, to which levels can use which zones. You can also name your MMORPG anything you like as well, meaning that if you want to have your game be called "World of Warhammer EVE Rasa", you can do so!
Fish Tycoon devs create new game: Plant Tycoon
Last Day of Work is proud to announce a new Tycoon game. Plant Tycoon "will let players breed and crossbreed plants while they search for six magic plants." We'll let the FBI figure out what the "magic plants" are.The game, which will be available on both PC and Mac this September, continues a series of unrelated games that have been endowed with the Tycoon title. We're assuming that Plant Tycoon will stray far from other similarly-titled games, such as Hospital Tycoon, Mall Tycoon, and the still-compelling Hell Tycoon.[Via press release]
Brain Age for $14: a smart move
If you're not one of the approximately 12 million people training their brains in minutes a day, then you aren't truly participating in the DS cultural phenomenon. We won't put a value judgment on that decision-- some people just aren't interested in brain training, or non-traditional gaming, or math. But if you have yet to get into Brain Age for financial reasons, we may be able to help you. Circuit City is offering the game this week for $13.99, which, as anyone who has played it will tell you, is less than $19.99. Also available: Zoo Tycoon and, uh, some unknown media for other devices.Now is a great time to pick up Brain Age and see what all the fuss is about (it's about short, brain-teasing minigames!) It would make Satoru Iwata happy, and isn't that what it's really all about-- the smile on one absurdly rich man's face?
Hospital Tycoon hoping to keep you in stitches this spring
Yet another Tycoon game will be on shelves this spring once Hospital Tycoon has shipped. In this game you have to manage a bustling hospital, coordinate the staff, try to get the funds for new equipment, and "watch out for the spread of infectious conditions like "Monkey Nuts" or "Stress Zombosis", or you'll soon have an epidemic plunging the hospital into absolute chaos."Trust us, we definitely don't want to come down with something called "Monkey Nuts." Check out the trailer for the game after the jump. It looks a tad like Scrubs meets The Sims, with a slight dose of Disorderlies thrown in. We just want to know when Tycoon Tycoon is coming out, so you can be a tycoon in charge of making new tycoons, and then corralling the tycoons, and making sure they tycoon.
Fairy Godmother Tycoon: get your magic wand ready
Ever since Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon came out in 1990, there's been an onslaught of "Tycoon" games. You've got everything from RollerCoaster Tycoon, to Airport Tycoon, to Prison Tycoon, amongst others. There's even a "Tycoon Collection" that contains Circus Tycoon, Carnival Cruise Lines Tycoon, and Mall of America Tycoon. It's a total invasion of the tycoons.Adding to that pile is one more tycoon game that at least sounds creative: Electronic Arts' upcoming Fairy Godmother Tycoon. All the past tycooners (we just trademarked that phrase, fyi) simulate a type of business, from running a lemonade stand to operating an amusement park, but this one takes you into fairy tale land, where you have to manage being a Fairy Godmother. Which is essentially a kind of business as well, you think dealing out magic and wishes comes cheap?Apparently it doesn't come easy either, because in this game "you must make careful decisions -- purchasing supplies when they're cheap, pricing your potions correctly, hiring goons to help you with your marketing, casting spells on peasants and upgrading elements around your shop." Check out the interview on VH1 GameBreak with game producer Todd Kerpelman, and find out more about it.
Theme Park DS interview
One of those wonderful joys that humans can't quite classify is building a really, really sweet roller coaster. Many games have provided for this need in the past, but now EA's promising Theme Park DS might allow us that satisfaction anywhere we so choose.This in-depth interview reveals plans for country-themed parks, Wi-Fi visitation of other people's creations, a new negoiations feature, and more. Also included are some new screens and even a short little trailer.Is anyone else oddly excited by this game? We plan to build an incomplete roller coaster, and make our friends repeatedly and wildly careen to their deaths at every opportunity. As any true gamer should.
