Beach Life
Encyclopedia
Beach Life is a business strategy video game for Windows
developed by Deep Red Games
. The game was published by Eidos Interactive
and released on September 6, 2002. In the game, players assume the role of a manager for an island holiday resort. As vacationers enjoy their stay at the resort, players must build, employ, and finance the right lodging, entertainment, and shopping establishments to please the clients and their individual needs.
. In the game, the player manages an Ibiza
-style holiday resort, complete with themed clubs, bars, and surf shops. Through learning what their guests want from their stay, different kinds of attractions and food and drink establishments can be built to satisfy their needs and make more money. Staff can be hired to help facilitate this, such as cleaners, mechanics, and security guards.
Gameplay options themselves come in two forms: the Scenario mode and the Sandbox mode. In Scenario mode, the player works their way through island after island, completing a number of set objectives in each. Their progress on a resort can be hampered by hazards such as shark attacks and thunderstorms, all while they build attractions and cater to the needs of the guests. Once they have beaten a level in Scenario mode, they can unlock it in Sandbox mode. Sandbox mode is essentially a "free-play" mode, where there are no objectives, unlimited time and more building options.
music comes on at night to fit the nightclub
atmosphere. The music can be changed in-game via a music player located in the bottom right of the screen. Additionally, users can add music from their own collection to the game by copying music files into the game's soundtrack folder.
, a studio which had developed the critically well-received Monopoly Tycoon
soon before the release of Beach Life. After attending a press presentation on the game, PC Gamer
s editor-in-chief Rob Smith was impressed with Beach Life isometric graphics and compared them to Commandos 2: Men of Courage
. The game was initially slated for a Spring 2002 release but was not released until September 2002.
However, the game is not without a wide fanbase, who appreciate the kooky sense of humor that the game has and its youthful, energetic spin on business management compared to most other games of the same genre.
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
developed by Deep Red Games
Deep Red Games
DR Studios is a video game developer based in Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom. Deep Red primarily develops strategy games, such as Tycoon City: New York. The company was formed in 1998 by Kevin Buckner and Clive Robert, and since then they have released nine games...
. The game was published by Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
and released on September 6, 2002. In the game, players assume the role of a manager for an island holiday resort. As vacationers enjoy their stay at the resort, players must build, employ, and finance the right lodging, entertainment, and shopping establishments to please the clients and their individual needs.
Gameplay
Beach Life is a business simulation game in the same vein as Theme Park and Rollercoaster TycoonRollerCoaster Tycoon
RollerCoaster Tycoon may refer to:*RollerCoaster Tycoon - a series of video games in which a player must manage an amusement park**RollerCoaster Tycoon - the first game, which came out in 1999...
. In the game, the player manages an Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
-style holiday resort, complete with themed clubs, bars, and surf shops. Through learning what their guests want from their stay, different kinds of attractions and food and drink establishments can be built to satisfy their needs and make more money. Staff can be hired to help facilitate this, such as cleaners, mechanics, and security guards.
Gameplay options themselves come in two forms: the Scenario mode and the Sandbox mode. In Scenario mode, the player works their way through island after island, completing a number of set objectives in each. Their progress on a resort can be hampered by hazards such as shark attacks and thunderstorms, all while they build attractions and cater to the needs of the guests. Once they have beaten a level in Scenario mode, they can unlock it in Sandbox mode. Sandbox mode is essentially a "free-play" mode, where there are no objectives, unlimited time and more building options.
Audio
The game's soundtrack consists of twelve licensed tracks from genres ranging from chillout to dance music, and changes tone throughout the day. For example, calming music tends to play during the daytime, while more lively dance and tranceTrance
Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...
music comes on at night to fit the nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
atmosphere. The music can be changed in-game via a music player located in the bottom right of the screen. Additionally, users can add music from their own collection to the game by copying music files into the game's soundtrack folder.
Development
Beach Life was developed by Deep Red GamesDeep Red Games
DR Studios is a video game developer based in Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom. Deep Red primarily develops strategy games, such as Tycoon City: New York. The company was formed in 1998 by Kevin Buckner and Clive Robert, and since then they have released nine games...
, a studio which had developed the critically well-received Monopoly Tycoon
Monopoly Tycoon
Monopoly Tycoon is a construction and management simulation PC game published in 2001. The player operates a business that owns stores and apartments in a city derived from the Monopoly board game. Instead of using dice, the game relies more on the speed and innovativeness of the players. In the...
soon before the release of Beach Life. After attending a press presentation on the game, PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
s editor-in-chief Rob Smith was impressed with Beach Life isometric graphics and compared them to Commandos 2: Men of Courage
Commandos 2: Men of Courage
Commandos 2: Men of Courage is the sequel to Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines and Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty. The games were developed by Pyro Studios, and published by Eidos Interactive...
. The game was initially slated for a Spring 2002 release but was not released until September 2002.
Reception
Critically, the game was not extremely well received, with reviewers rarely giving over 70%. This was mainly due to a perceived unoriginality in the core gameplay mechanics, which do strikingly resemble most other business management sims. The original idea of resort management is often dismissed as being gimmicky.However, the game is not without a wide fanbase, who appreciate the kooky sense of humor that the game has and its youthful, energetic spin on business management compared to most other games of the same genre.