Industry Giant and its successor are among the great classics of business simulations. Now a team from Munich wants to create a new economic miracle with Industrie Gigant 4.0
When a game called Industry Giant 4.0 is announced, there are exactly two possible reactions: Either a big “Wow!” or a big “Huh?”. If you fall into the second category, we’ll take you back 26 years into the past
The industry giant is pretty much as old as GameStar: In 1997, JoWood’s internal studio JoWood Ebensee conquered the hearts of economic simulation fans with the strategy game Because its model-building isometric look makes you want to supply cities with factories, trucks and railroad lines, expand further and further and build an empire at first glance. Behind the angular but easy-to-read graphics lies a thoroughly complex economic simulation. We can optimize prices, run advertising campaigns, use ever more modern vehicles – right up to monorails and superconductor trains. In
2002, the same studio goes one better. And it really does: Industry Giant 2 throws ships and airplanes into the race for money and market share. There are many, many more branches of industry and new seasonal effects – warm woolen clothes sell in winter, cool cotton is the order of the day in summer. And we can see exactly where which raw materials, intermediate products and finished goods are currently moving around (or stuck in traffic jams) because they are all displayed directly in the game world.
This well thought-out wealth of detail makes Industry Giant 2 one of the most popular economic simulations to date – for over two decades!
One… Two…. Four?
With The Industry Giant 4.0 publisher Toplitz Productions and Munich-based developer studio Don VS Dodo want to build on the success of the classics. And because you are naturally good at maths as a business simulation gamer, you will have noticed straight away that something is missing between parts 2 and 4: Industry Giant 3!
Well, it wasn’t quite as successful. Not at all, in fact. The third part was supposed to be released in 2017 under the title Industrie Gigant: Der große Aufbruch, but instead it was canceled. Despite a successful crowdfunding campaign, the sequel was first postponed to 2018 and then canceled.
To close this sad chapter, the successor that has now been announced is called Industrie Gigant 4.0. Wait, are they recycling some leftovers from the canceled three-part game and releasing it under a new name?
We asked the co-founder of the development team Don VS Dodo exactly that: “No,” answers Matthias Lutz, “Industry Giant 4.0 is a completely new development with a new team. Neither parts of the concept nor the technology have been taken over. The Industry Giant: The great departure was completely stopped and ended. “
Three questions for the development team
GameStar: Don VS Dodo has developed very few games that have been published, and none of them have been economic simulations on this scale. How do you approach such an ambitious project?
Matthias Lutz: The young team has gained a lot of experience since the start of the project, especially during prototype development. We have also been able to recruit additional talents and experts who complement the strong core team perfectly.
With eight people at the moment, you are also a comparatively small team. Will you be adding to the core team, and if so, to what extent and with what focus? The team has already been expanded and has almost doubled in size. The additional positions concern all areas, in particular game design, 3D art and programming. We also work with external suppliers who support us in the creation of assets How do you involve the community in the further development process? We are planning playtests as well as internal and external beta tests with the industry giant fans and are already looking forward to the feedback.
First impression: I want to play!
We were able to get our first exclusive impressions of Industrie Gigant 4.0 even before the official announcement And they immediately whet our appetite for more, because even the short trailer gives us a nasty “I want to play” vibe, as the small ships, trucks, trains and excavators suddenly awaken the hands-on capitalist in us. There will also be airplanes, but they will be “used differently” than in the predecessor – the studio didn’t want to reveal any more about this yet.
The team promises that a fully-fledged economic simulation is once again running beneath the fancy surface, with production chains from the mine to the department store, sophisticated transportation systems and external influences. Because seasons, global random events and import restrictions should bring a lot of dynamism to the game, and we have to keep pace with technological development.
Conclusion of the editorial team
My two hearts are pumping in my chest right now. One belongs to Nostalgia Martin, who is very happy about a new industry giant. I don’t even want to know exactly how many hours I spent in the two predecessors, just like in the classics A-Train, Railroad Tycoon, Transport Tycoon and Capitalism. The other heart beats more soberly: a team with little experience venturing into such a big name that still has cult status?
Let’s hope it doesn’t go wrong again, because even a cult series can’t take two flops in a row. But because Nostalgia Martin is always an optimist and it’s almost Christmas, I’m positive. Especially as the very first screenshots and the short teaser video once again entice me with a chic model locomotive look
What is your personal opinion? What do you expect from Industry Giant 4.0 (which, by the way, we always want to write “Industry Giant” because the gap annoys us)? Are you looking forward to the release or are you still skeptical? Can the young development team manage such a big project? Feel free to write us your thoughts on the game in the comments:
