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Although the rollercoasters were the main draw, they were by no means the only thing a potential tycoon could design. The gamer had to carefully plan where the various rides would be, how to provide access to each ride, and even the placement of bathrooms (for the eventual sick rider, of course). The idea was to build the most thrilling theme park possible. The premise was not just about building great rollercoasters, but the gamer also had the ability to create other thrill rides as well. At the time it came out, there were no other games quite like it. One of the early Tycoon games was RollerCoaster Tycoon. Because of the sheer volume of changes a tycoon game can encompass, problems like these have greater impact than your average FPS or racing game.
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Imagine how upset you might be if you’re building your railroad empire and a bug causes your trains to disappear randomly or worse, crashes the game. While bugs in other games might be annoying, they can be a deal-breaker for a tycoon game. The last (but not least) important aspect of tycoon games is that it not have bugs or glitches. There also needs to be enough to occupy the gamer’s time and attention as their empire grows, or they’ll get bored and play something else. Everything is goal-oriented, and those goals need to come with real rewards. A tycoon game can drag on if there isn’t good content to keep the gamer interested. The second thing potential Tycoons want is content. If your Tycoon game limits a gamer’s ability to control the environment, you’ve failed to provide them what they want. That’s what the gamer is looking for, after all. The most important aspect of a Tycoon game is the ability to control things. While this question is somewhat subjective, there are some qualities that the best tycoon games all have. While the games may differ in their content, all tycoon games share similar identifiable traits they all require someone who enjoys managing and controlling an environment (sometimes to the Nth degree). There have even been tycoon games where you manage a prison. The tycoon genre has included just about everything you can think of, from roller coasters to zoos to railroads.
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They’re simulations that challenge you to successfully build something up from nothing, using limited resources and your own ability to manage. Tycoon games are for those gamers that want to build an empire, but with a more specific aim than conquering the world or defeating an enemy.
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