Developer: Mardonpol Inc.
Publisher: 2tainment GmbH
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Tech Corp. – Preview
Some people can’t help but wonder what it would be like if they had invented the Apple franchise, or if they had Bill Gates his life. Brands like Sony, Samsung, and other giant manufacturers also have enough resources at their disposal, and being at the head of such a company will undoubtedly grant you many funds as well. The reality is though that virtually none of us will ever achieve such a large feat. But Tech Corp. is here to at least simulate what it’s like.
Tech Corp. is a game that’s currently in Early Access on Steam. But that doesn’t stop us from taking a close look at the game where you, as the title might have already made clear, play with a Tech Corporation. The goal of this simulation and management game is to build your own brands and products and craft your own visual legacy by doing so. In terms of storytelling, it’s what you do that creates the narrative. There is no other information given besides tutorials and an occasional motivation. Now, because the game is still in an alpha stage of development, some bugs occur such as menus not working properly when doing these tutorials, but overall the game works pretty well.
Graphically Tech Corp. is looking pretty slick. It communicates pretty well when it comes to visuals. As an example, you can get a basic desk for your programmers to sit at, which doesn’t really look comfortable at all. But the manager’s desk, on the other hand, has somewhat of a grandeur that you will recognize from arrogant managers in movies who are doing well for themselves. One of the weirder graphical aspects is that, and maybe this is especially because everything looks and moves rather smooth, you will barely have any room to build your empire! There’s a reasonable amount of stuff given for you to play around with such as a couch, a pool table, a fridge, and other stuff to make your employees happy when they go on a break. But often, when you put a couple of desks in, the room is filled already.
Focussing on the sound, it’s not much yet at this stage of the game yet and practically neglected. There are some royalty-free sounding loops going on in the background, but it’s at least pretty ambient and smooth, so it doesn’t bother too much if you leave it on. It’s comparable to, let’s say, a small loop from one of recognizable first The Sims songs. Other than that, sound effects are also almost non-existent, which is something to work on for its full release.
The issue with any simulation game where you have to manage and create a company is that they are awfully hard to balance out. Either you can get flooded with the game pestering you about unfair assignments because you don’t know what the speed is you can work at yet, or you can get terribly bored at times as an example. Unfortunately, and mainly in the early game, Tech Corp. seems to be afflicted with the latter for now. Early on, you will hire some programmers that you assign different tasks to, which is all about building modules for a complete software package. If you get three programmers and give them each a separate task such as encryption modules, database modules, and video content, they will all work in their own slow tempo to complete such tasks. You can, however, also hire a manager who will automate the process and let any number of personnel work on the same task and go on pre-arranged breaks.
The problem with this is, as an example, that your employees work less hard (slower module creation) when they are more tired. So ideally, there’s a perfect percentage to let them go on a break and maximize production, which nullifies the entire concept once you found the right number. The same goes for the fact that you will get more employees who also sometimes require different desks such as a researcher, marketer, or an engineer. The previously mentioned limited space made us fire people just to get somebody with a different designation to work because of the lack of room for desks, and vice versa when they fulfilled their tasks. Eventually, you also get to create hardware products that you can largely customize by naming, coloring, and deciding what goes inside i.e. your new portable television, only making such flaws in design grow in numbers and stand out more.
The concept itself is really fun though, and when worked hard at it could definitely work out for the best. It’s nice to see your own product, take a picture of it to see it appear on the packaging, deciding where your ad money will go to, etc. Hopefully, the creators will take any critiques from players at heart and work hard at balancing everything out so there is always something to do, room to expand, and better tutorials where needed.
Conclusion
Tech Corp. is, as it is in this state, a slick-looking management simulation game that is not afraid to experiment with different parts that you would come across when building your own company up from nothing to design your own products. It does, however, require a lot of work before it’s really enjoyable. With the main focus on gameplay balance and communicative tutorials, the game has opportunities.
Tech Corp. - Preview,
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