Grow Your Own Adventure With RPG Tycoon

Step One: Inherit a kingdom.

Step Two: Improve the kingdom through the employment of heroes.

Step Three: ???

Step Four: Profit.

Okay, that’s not quite howworks, but it’s close. Inspired by other tycoon-style games, such as the similarly named Roller Coaster Tycoon , this playful adventure from British developer Skatanic Studioscasts the player in the role of a sovereign. The kingdom in question is fairly young, and was previously led by an incompetent dolt who left the populace in despair, so the player must improve not only the physical appearance and layout of the nation’s capital city, but also the morale of its people.

The game has three difficulty settings, three options for the length of the adventure, and the opportunity to give the kingdom a custom name. The player runs the kingdom, but the people do the actual legwork. Heroes are recruited to complete quests, which bring both fame and fortune to the realm; the player determines the strategy the heroes will employ to accomplish their goals. Buildings are purchased, constructed, and upgraded to improve the appearance of the kingdom, and also to provide assorted benefits to the different heroes. As the clock ticks, events will come to pass and more quests will be unlocked.

Like all good monarchs, the player must be concerned with the happiness and well-being of their subjects. Upgrading buildings and succeeding in quests will boost morale; the questing heroes spread the word of the player’s power, bringing hope to the people and sometimes returning with useful findings. As the heroes grow stronger, they provide aid to the settlements throughout the kingdom, and drive out any evil presences found therein – this, naturally, also increases the happiness of the people. Making efficient use of the nation’s assorted resources will also draw outside adventurers to explore its landscapes, making the kingdom more and more famous and, with any luck, ultimately lead it to outshine all of its neighbors as the fairest in the land.

RPG Tycoon is currently available in Steam Early Access, after a Greenlight campaign which took just nine days to succeed. Available for PC and Mac, the Early Access version is priced at $6.99 USD; the developers hope to have the final version ready to launch near the end of 2015. Those who would rule are invited to sign up for an updates mailing list on the Skatanic Studios website; be sure to also keep an eye on their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.