Code provided with many thanks to Future Friends Games
Festival Season
Back when I was younger I was a big fan of music festivals. Enjoying a wide array of music out in the open air was quite the experience as a youngster. But as one gets older the appeal of sleeping in a tent for 2-3 days just doesn’t quite cut it. That and festivals are not exactly cheap these days.
But I no longer need to dwell on this because Festival Tycoon provides a means to manage my own music festival from the comfort of my own chair. Strangely I can’t think of many video games that have attempted this genre so immediately it scores some points for originality. I was able to take some time to play this title before its release to Early Access.
Start From Scratch
Like most business ventures, Festival Tycoon has you start from the bottom. You begin with a small field and a little bit of money with your goal being to somehow turn this small venue into an exciting music festival that customers would be willing to pay top dollar to enjoy.
The game is presented in a nice voxel art style. Festival-goers and staff are simple little sprites with nice detail attached like bags and headwear. There are some pretty good lighting effects with the games day and night cycle. There is an absolutely lovely sunrise when a new day begins and all the music kicks off. It wouldn’t be a festival without good music and Festival Tycoon has quite a diverse soundtrack from rock bands to electronics and even chilled out indies. Considering all this music was created specifically for the game this is darn impressive. I would have probably loved to just sit and watch the music in the game but the Festival won’t manage itself.
Build Phase
The gameplay is split into two phases: the build phase and the management phase.
When you begin the game you are walked through how to build your festival with an extensive tutorial. You need to build a festival entrance, a tent area for folk to sleep, places to buy food, drinks to keep spirits up, hire staff and of course a stage for the music to play. Then you have to book the bands. Some of which are very expensive and, unless you pay them top dollar, they will request certain demands of you during the festival. You also need to attract sponsors to help pay for this expensive endeavour. Depending on their needs you need to put up billboards and advertising on stages.
Overdo with the product placement and this actually puts off the festival-goers. So it all becomes quite the balancing act of attempting to make money but maintain a good reputation. Once you begin the festival you can’t go back in and correct your build so you need to commit. But if you have made any major mistakes like blocking entrances the game will flag this up so it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get things 100% correct. The build phase of the game is more relaxed as you can take your time placing buildings and structures in the right place, as well as take time to look at bands, sponsors and early bird ticket sales. One might call it the calm before the oncoming storm.
Management Phase
Once the festival begins you need to take a more active approach in management. It won’t take long before a tag pops on the left of the screen indicating a band needs welcoming or something needs fixing. During this phase, you can post staff to specific locations like clearing litter which allows you to focus on other areas. But for big festivals, you’ll probably need to move them about more frequently.
You can actively help in cleaning up litter with a little broom icon but you have to dispose of the litter somewhere in the festival until it’s collected by the staff, usually behind a set of trees for me. Things break and you can choose to have mechanics repair it or just pay a set fee to quickly fix it. If you find a moment to stop and enjoy the music you can monitor the social media feed of the festival and just observe festival-goers happiness levels.
Build a Reputation
Once it’s all over and the festival ends you can reap the rewards in terms of money and reputation. Simple things like keeping the festival clean and providing lots of alternative activities and food and drink centres are keys to success.
But some things are out of your hands like band’s bad behaviours. Which can harm their own reputation as well as yours. Early in the game, you start with a cheap field venue but as you gain more money and reputation you can attempt larger festivals set across a few days adding more to the juggling act.
You might be thinking all this sounds like a lot of stress. Running a business, getting an improved reputation and dealing with difficult people. Sandbox Mode may be the more Zen experience you’re looking for. Here you can relax and just build your festival at your own pace with lots of money while sipping a good coffee (or a nice drink of your choice).
I actually found playing around with this mode helped me to better get to grips with the main mode and acts as an excellent alternative mode of play for those that just want to sit and enjoy the game.
Headline Act
Festival Tycoon looks to be something quite original and different. Clearly a work in progress currently. If you do decide to support it in Early Access the developer provides a quick key to report bugs and feedback. From the Steam page, it does appear they are incredibly receptive to the feedback which is nice to see.
If you’re a fan of your management games like Two Point Hospital but want more of a musical spin on the formula then Festival Tycoon may just be the jam you’re looking for. It certainly gave me nice feelings of nostalgia and I look forward to seeing what becomes of this title.
Festival Tycoon is available now on Early Access on Steam. If you want to get in on the ground level and support the developer as they build on this game be sure to check it out.
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