My Game Company - Newsletter

The MGC Times

February 2010 Newsletter

President's Corner

Well, I've been waiting for six and a half years to make this announcement, and at long last I can finally share this with you: in June, I will be transitioning to part-time at my current job and will begin working full-time for the game company!

This is very thrilling for me because this has been my dream for many years, but at the same time it is also a little scary. The steady source of income that we've always been able to rely on will be reduced, which means we will be more dependent on the success of the game company to help put food on the table. One thing I have learned in the gaming business is that the income is never steady. Some months are better for business than others, so we're going to have to learn how to manage through the slow months. It is definitely a big step of faith. We're trusting that if this is indeed what God wants me to do, then He will help us grow the business so it can support us.

And obviously, we're not going to be able to do this without you. So I'll make a deal with you: we will continue to build our web site into a place where you and your family can go to find good games. We'll keep developing more of our own games. We'll add other new games to our site regularly, and to provide ratings and reviews so that you can make informed decisions about what games to buy for yourself and your family. And we'll continue to expand our business to provide you with what you need (as we did last year by adding online games for the kids and a forum where you can discuss the games).

In return, we only ask two things: if you appreciate what we do, then 1) tell your family and friends about our games and our web site, and 2) make our web site your first stop when you go online to shop for new games. We really appreciate your business, and we need every sale we can get!

We also appreciate anything you can do to spread the word about us - forward our e-mail newsletter, mention us on Facebook or My Space, retweet our Twitter posts to your followers, write about us on your blog, etc! And if you do happen to mention us online or help a friend purchase one of our games, then let us know - we would like to show our gratitude by giving you a special coupon or discount.

- Troy Hepfner

Special Deals

Don't forget about the Cooking Academy Chef's Special for Mac and Windows gamers that expires tomorrow, Feb 8! You can get all three Cooking Academy games for only $12.49!

Mac users click here for details!

Windows users click here for details!

January's Top 10 Sellers

Here are the most popular games from last month. It's been a long time since anything displaced Fashion Cents Deluxe from the #1 spot!

Games We Recommend

Awesome Soccer (Mac, Windows, and Linux) - $14.95 USD

A Modern Day Soccer Masterpiece! Featuring the unique "Awesome Aftertouch" control system, you can effortlessly apply swerve to the ball in both directions to score amazing goals that even a certain LA Galaxy player would be proud of! Awesome Soccer boasts stunning graphics and gameplay, and is packed with features, teams and tournaments. It includes comprehensive Team and Formation Editors for complete control and customization.

Troy’s review: Finding good sports games on Mac and Linux can be difficult, so when fellow indie developer Red27 Studios asked for help to beta test the new Linux version of their game Awesome Soccer, I was immediately interested. Overall, I really liked this game. On the surface it seems pretty simple, but there is a lot of depth to this game. It takes a few minutes to get used to the controls. You play the character nearest the ball, but as the ball moves the focus can shift abruptly to another teammate, which (for me at least) caused me to become momentarily disoriented. Once I got used to that, however, and I started to get into some of the strategy of the game, it became quite fun. There's also a bit of humor - the victory dances when someone scores made me chuckle. It's little touches like this that really make a game stand out to me. It is definitely family-friendly, so if you're looking for a good sports game on your computer, check this one out!

Elementals: The Magic Key (Mac and Windows) - $6.99 USD

Plunge into a captivating world of magic and mystery inhabited by elementals. Embark on a thrilling adventure to help Albert, a young magician, restore the Key of Eiron and save his sister kidnapped by Sibelius, a wicked sorcerer. Your aide, Felly, will assist and faithfully follow you, no matter what obstacles you face. Solve brain-teasing puzzles, hunt for cleverly hidden items and try your hand at challenging board battles in this amazing game full of surprises!

Victoria’s review: In most hidden object games, you have to hunt for a list of objects in order to advance to the next screen, but most objects have nothing to do with anything. But this one fit the story pretty good. For example, in one place you have to make a potion before you can move on. So first you have to find the cauldron. Then you have to find the potion ingredients. Then you have to find the 12 sticks in order to light a fire beneath the cauldron. There are also some good puzzles that blend into the story well. Also, the game is made by Playrix Entertainment, who has made some other really good games like the Atlantis series of match-3 games and the Fishdom series of match-3 and hidden object games, so if you liked those games, you'll probably like this.

Build It! Miami Beach Resort (Mac and Windows) - $6.99 USD

Build your own beach resort! Starting in the 1920's, every year is a new level: Wonderful art-deco hotels, the invention of the cinema, the first fast-food diner and - decades later - giant hotels right on the beach. Design everything as you like it. On a huge scrollable map you complete challenging tasks and develop the same city over the course of 60 years! Will you manage to grow revenue, your number of guests and the attractiveness of your city?

Troy’s review: If you enjoyed the Build-a-lot series or Reflexive's Build In Time, then you'll probably like this game too! At first glance it looks like a knock-off of those games, but it introduces enough new twists to provide a fresh gaming experience. You control Claire Parker, a young girl in the 1920's who inherits a large plot of land on Miami Beach, and a huge sum of cash with which to develop it. Each level corresponds to a year, and you have certain goals you must achieve each year in order to advance. I love the way each level builds on the previous one, and choices you make early on will impact what you can and cannot do later. The game gives you a lot of freedom to develop the land any way you like, so there is a lot of replay value here. The game itself is very family-friendly; but we rated it Teen because of some of the buildings you can construct later in the game, such as bars and night clubs. But this is pretty tame, since you don't actually see anyone drinking. If you like this kind of strategy/sim game, give it a try!