The MGC Times

January 2010 Newsletter

President's Corner

Happy new year! Can you believe it is 2010 already?

Well, it's that time again where I pause to take a quick look back at our accomplishments for the past year and then share with you my vision for what lies ahead in the new year for My Game Company.

In 2009, we released two brand new games: "The Adventures of Rick Rocket" and "Fashion Cents Gents". We created "Fashion Cents: Outlet Edition" for Mac and submitted it to Reflexive, where it climbed to #22 on their top sellers list and remained there for a little while. We continued to scour the Internet for more family-friendly games made by other companies, and we expanded our catalog to now include over 515 games! All of these factors resulted in a sales volume that was more than double that of the previous year! Despite the recession, 2009 turned out to be our best year ever!

Looking ahead to 2010, we have some exciting things planned. First, we're going to work hard to finish the long awaited sequel to Dirk Dashing. I've been busy drawing and painting scenery for the game, and I'm experimenting with some new enhancements to the game engine. Over the next months, our newsletters will take you behind-the-scenes with screen grabs, sneak previews of game art, and more. Second, given the continued popularity of Fashion Cents Deluxe and our new sequel Fashion Cents Gents, we're planning to expand the games with lots of new content. We're going to release new add-ons for each game on a regular schedule (hopefully every other month), and we're going to put together a kit for Fashion Cents Gents that will let fans create their own clothing items (like we did for Fashion Cents Deluxe). Victoria is also thinking about some other neat ideas for our dress-up games... but we'll talk about that some other time. Third, we will be working with other independent developers to bring more great games to you. Keep checking our preview page for upcoming releases.

- Troy Hepfner

Top Games of 2009

We compiled a list of our 25 best-selling games of 2009, and it is posted on Troy's blog. You can check it out here:

http://www.mygamecompany.com/forums/showthread.php?t=397

Game Reviews

Deep Voyage (Mac, Windows, and Linux) - $9.95 USD

Help a beautiful mermaid win the Royal Garden Design Competition in the Underwater Kingdom. Complete exciting levels, solve puzzles and make your sea garden perfect! Click-to-clear your way through more than 200 levels in unique and gorgeous underwater locations, with cool power-ups and bonuses!

Troy’s review: This is a very relaxing match-3 with beautiful backgrounds and lots of polish. I like the small fish that dart away from your mouse pointer. The game starts out fairly simple, but it gets much more challenging as you go. You'll really have to think and use your power-ups wisely to get through later levels.

Anka (Windows) - $14.99 USD

Anka is a happy, playful boy living in a small village, but he's about to be thrust into a big adventure which will change his life forever. Can you help Anka face the largest test of his life? In this charming point and click adventure, you will tackle a variety of puzzles ranging from logic brainteasers to games of skill, all neatly integrated into the story. As you progress, you will unlock countless mini-games that you can replay with more levels and game modes. Anka features a cast of 16 characters, fully voiced and animated with hand-drawn artwork.

Troy’s review: Anka is a cross between a point and click adventure game (like the old Sierra games) and a puzzle game like The Amazing Brain Train (which features multiple mini-puzzle games). It is a delightful and charming game that your whole family can enjoy. The developer recommends ages 7 and up - at one point in the game, you'll learn about a murder, but it is just talk. As Anka, the player must investigate the murder. There will be a few drops of blood on the floor, but you never see the murder or hear any gory bits about the crime. Therefore, we gave the game a Family-friendly rating instead of a Teen rating and posted the recommended age. One of the neat things we like about this game is that after you successfully complete a mini-game, you unlock it so that you can replay it anytime you want. When you replay a mini-game, you'll discover that it has additional levels and depth. Some mini-games, like the jigsaw puzzle game, allow you to import your own pictures and customize it - a very nice touch. So there is a lot of additional gameplay besides the main adventure, which means you will definitely get your money's worth!

Valerie Porter and the Scarlet Scandal (Mac and Windows) - $10.99 USD

Murder, scandal and your first big break! You're a young, aspiring reporter in the 1920's looking for a scoop. When you stumble upon a scandalous celebrity murder and the framing of an innocent man, it is up to you to search for hidden clues, locate missing objects and uncover enough evidence to solve the murder. Can you crack the story and finally be recognized as a top investigative reporter? 

Victoria’s review: This hidden object game is a refreshing addition to the genre. The story is very well written, with believable characters and a great 1920's ambience. The gameplay blends almost seamlessly into the overall story - this includes not only the seek-and-find activities but also the 12 different mini-games that make sense in the context of the story and add to the fun. A new twist that this game adds is the ability to chain multiple items together for a combo bonus. The game is pretty clean, but we rated it Teen because there are references to drinking alcohol and some mildly suggestive themes (like the cabaret dancer and the promiscuity of certain suspects). However, the references are made verbally during the course of your investigation, and other than the cabaret dancer (who is clothed, though in a typically scanty outfit), nothing explicit or objectionable is depicted.