The MGC Times

April 2009 Newsletter

President's Corner

We missed our first quarterly newsletter this year because we were busy wrapping up production on The Adventures of Rick Rocket and making some big changes to our web site. But we’re back, and we’ve decided to turn this newsletter into a monthly production! Each month, we will highlight a few of the new games that were added to our site, provide you with up-to-date news regarding our latest projects, and bring you a special deal exclusive to our newsletter readers!

Before I sign off, I want to talk about some changes we have made to our web site. In the past few months, we have received requests from parents looking for good games for their teenage boys. They appreciate the family-friendly nature of our site, but felt that we lacked games that their teen would enjoy, such as 3D action games, fantasy role-playing games, and sports games. We have spent the past couple of months searching the indie game community and various online gaming portals for these kinds of games, and we have found some good games that are mostly family-friendly except for an occasional swear word or some very mild content. The problem is that up until now we have been 100% family-friendly and would have normally rejected these games. But while parents probably would not let their smaller children play these games, they may find them appropriate for their teen. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of choices when it comes to finding clean computer games for teens, but the games we have found are relatively clean compared to a lot of the computer games that teens are playing nowadays.

Because of this, we have decided that we may occasionally carry such a game, provided it is mostly family-friendly with only very mild content. To help you distinguish these games from the rest of the games on our web site, we have implemented a rating system and added ratings to every game on our web site. The rating system uses color-coded ratings that are very easy to understand, as you see here:

Any game on our site that has a yellow teen rating will be accompanied with a review that tells you why the game has a yellow teen rating and describes precisely what the issues are. Also, we will thoroughly play every game with a yellow teen rating so we ensure that we don’t miss anything. That way, parents can make an informed decision.

We know this is a huge change in our policy, one that some parents will appreciate and others may not. Our desire is to serve our customers' needs, so we welcome your feedback. Feel free to write us and let us know how you feel about this change.

- Troy Hepfner

Monthly Contest

Somewhere in this newsletter, there is a word that purposely typed wrong. When you find that word, send us an e-mail at info@mygamecompany.com – tell us the word and the sentence in which you found it, and if you find the correct word, we’ll enter your name in a drawing for a free game! The submission deadline is April 18, 2009, and a winner will be randomly chosen on Sunday, April 19, 2009. The winner can choose any game on our web site and will receive a free copy!

Game Reviews

This past week, we added a new category of games to our web site for Adventure/Role-playing games. So in this issue, we will review two of those games, a fun new puzzle game, and a Windows game that I think our Fashion Cents fans will enjoy!

Eschalon: Book 1 (Mac, Windows, and Linux) - $19.95 USD

You wake up in a desolate town, with no memory of who you are or what is going on. Relying upon notes from an unknown benefactor, you discover that your amnesia and circumstances may not be an accident. But for what purpose? Your quest for answers will take you across massive outdoor environments and deep into sprawling dungeons as you seek to uncover the mystery of who you are.

Our review: This is our first game with the new yellow/teen rating. It is a classic-style role-playing game with a turn-based combat system. It has a rich story, an intricate attention to detail, and offers many hours of play. We gave it a Teen rating, because the game does have some mild language - this occurs when you talk with other characters in the game, who will occasionally swear using the word "damn". It is pretty rare, but it happens several times during the course of the game. Also, combat involves some pixelated and unrealistic blood splatters when you finally slay the monsters. We found this extremely mellow compared to movies like The Lord of the Rings and the Narnia films, but some parents may find it objectionable. One other thing we want to point out that we really liked is that if you try to commit a crime, like stealing something from someone or killing someone, the game characters will punish you. This is a good detail that is lacking in many computer games today.

Wandering Willows (Mac and Windows) - $19.95 USD

Welcome to Wandering Willows, a whimsical world full of wondrous wildlife and engaging quests. Befriend and train over 40 enchanting pets, who can help you complete your quests for the lands amusing inhabitants.

Our review: This is a very cute adventure game, and in the one week this has been on our site, it has had the most hits of any other game! Children will love the colorful cartoon graphics, while parents will appreciate the subtle humor when you talk to the townsfolk. There are over 40 different pets to collect and train, and over 150 quests to complete. At the start of the game, you can customize your character, and then outfit him or her as you go with over 150 different clothing items that you can make in the game. Like most adventure games, you can explore the world, meet interesting people, and go on quests. But this game also adds some interesting social activities, like making gifts to give to other characters in the game, feeding and caring for your pets, taking jobs to earn money to help you in the game, and more! There are so many choices in this game, which provides a lot of replay value. If you like adventure games, try it out!

Mystic Mine (Mac, Windows, and Linux) - $19.95

Guide your gold car through a mine, switching rails with a single button. You can only go down, but thanks to an optical illusion in the levels, you can always reach every point. Play this game alone or invite some friends and play against each other. Everyone can enjoy this family friendly game, regardless of age or experience. It also provides options to make it accessible to people with limited mobility.

Our review: This is a good game to play by yourself, but it really shines when you play it against your friends or family! The game supports up to six people on one keyboard, and the more the merrier! Before you start, each person picks a keyboard key that they’ll use to switch rails in the game. If you have trouble getting six people around your keyboard, the games are short so you can take turns pl@ying. Some games have you collecting as many coins as you can in two minutes, while others have you playing keep away from the player who has the dynamite stick and is trying to get rid of it before the timer expires. What makes this game so fun is that, depending on where your mining carts are, you can sometimes switch rails to mess up your opponent who is approaching from a different direction. If your family is always fighting over who gets to play on the computer next, try this game and let them play it together!

Satisfashion (Windows) - $19.95 USD

Become a top fashion designer! As a young girl, Grace always had a sense of fashion, dressing dolls and designing her own clothes. She grew up surrounded by friends asking her for fashion tips. Once word of her talent spread, a famous designer came to offer Grace a position at the top of the fashion world. As a top-model designer you will study the latest trends, select makeup, coordinate colors, skirts, tops, shoes, everything! Then send the models out on the runway and see how your outfits do!

Our review: This is a pretty good dress-up game, but it is quite different from Fashion Cents. Each level consists of a fashion show with a particular theme. You are given several models and a selection of clothes, and you must dress the models and apply their makeup in accordance with the theme of the show. You then send them out on the runway, where their outfits are evaluated by the judges and bid on by various clients. Between shows, you have the opportunity to design your own clothing items from a variety of styles, colors, and patterns. Your custom items are then available for you to use in your next fashion show.

My Game Company