Prison Architect

Prison Architect

Developer(s) Introversion Software
Producer(s) Mark Morris
Designer(s) Chris Delay
Engine Unknown
Platform(s) Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Tablet
Release date(s)
  • Late 2015
Genre(s) Construction and management simulation
Mode(s) Single-player
Distribution Download

Prison Architect is a private prison construction and management simulation game by the British game developer Introversion Software.[1] It was made available as a crowdfunded paid alpha pre-order on September 25, 2012 with updates scheduled every three to four weeks.[2] With over 337,700 copies sold, Prison Architect made over $10.7 million in pre-order sales for the alpha version.[3] Prison Architect was an entrant in the 2012 Independent Games Festival.[4]

The game is available on Steam listed as Steam Early Access and a DRM free version although it is still in alpha. Updates are released monthly.

Gameplay

The game is a top-down 2D construction and management simulation where the player takes control of building and running a prison. The player is responsible for managing various aspects of their prison including building cells and facilities, planning and connecting utilities, hiring and assigning staff, including a warden, guards, workers, and more. The player needs to recruit staff to unlock more aspects of the game. The player is also responsible for the finance, and keeping their inmates content. The player's role is of both architect and governor with sandbox micromanagement themes such as choosing where to put lights, drains and how they connect together. The player is also able to add workshops to the prison as well as reform programs that reduce the specific prisoner's repeat-offender rate. The player tells the prisoners what to do indirectly by setting their schedule.[5] The game takes inspiration from Theme Hospital, Dungeon Keeper, and Dwarf Fortress.[6]

Development

The game was first made available on September 25, 2012 as an Alpha version.[2] The game was then crowdfunded with pre-orders, making over US$ 270,000 in two weeks with close to 8,000 sales.[7] Developer's co-founder Mark Morris explains that independent crowd-funding has allowed them to have no time limit on the Alpha version, as well as no fees associated with crowd-funding platforms.[7] As of December 2013, the developers have raised over $9M.[8] Since February the game has received 31 major updates, with the latest on March 27, 2015.[9]

On January 30, 2015, Introversion announced that the alpha version of the game had sold 1,066,233 copies. Introversion Software also announced that a mobile version of the game is in development and the PC version of the game will launch proper in 2015.[10]

On the 12th February 2015, Introversion announced that a tablet edition of the game is in development, and this was previewed in a video uploaded to their YouTube channel.[11]

.PRISON

Prison Architect uses its own file format for prisons, which is .PRISON. This file can fix the current save issue in game if it's copied and pasted, but it's also what developers of prisons in the game use to add the prisons to the Steam Workshop.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Geere, Duncan (November 30, 2011). "Prison Architect lets you build the jailhouse of your dreams". Wired News.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rossignol, Jim (September 26, 2012). "Introversion Unveil Prison Architect’s Alpha Launch". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  3. ↑ Steinbach, Jonas (9 January 2014). "Prison Architect rakes in nearly $11 million". Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "IGF 2012 Main Competition Entrant: Prison Architect". The 14th Annual Independent Games Festival. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  5. ↑ Francis, Tom (July 31, 2012). "Prison Architect preview". PC Gamer.
  6. ↑ "Official Prison Architect Page". Introversion Software. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rose, Mike (October 10, 2012). "Who Needs Kickstarter? Prison Architect devs want total control". Gamasutra. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  8. ↑ Cook, Dave (December 5, 2013). "$9 million and counting: why Prison Architect underlines a changing tide". VG24/7. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  9. ↑ "PRISON ARCHITECT ALPHA BUILDS". Introversion Software. December 18, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  10. ↑ Wesley Yin-Poole (2015-01-30). "Prison Architect will launch in 2015". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2015-01-30.
  11. ↑ https://twitter.com/IVSoftware/status/565905868366307329

External links