Tycoon City: New York
Encyclopedia
Tycoon City: New York is a 2006 city-building game
where players are tasked with developing New York City
, specifically the island of Manhattan
. The game also allows players to build many of the city's most celebrated landmark
s, including the Empire State Building
, the Chrysler Building
, the Statue of Liberty
, Rockefeller Center
and the United Nations Headquarters
.
Regardless of which mode the game is played in, the game starts with an empty district which must be developed. Players choose from different types of buildings, including residential, commercial, and recreational. To add to the realism, several brand names (including Staples
and Loews Theatres) can be built. The player must attract customers to raise funds by upgrading their buildings. This can include flower
s, extra seating, signs, air conditioners, or water towers. Landmarks can be constructed by earning landmark bond
s. Unfortunately, the player has no control over the positioning of streets, as in some other city-building games. The focus on individual businesses and their needs reflects that of Deep Red Games'
earlier business empire game, Monopoly Tycoon
.
Although the World Trade Center
is not available in the game, there is a park called Memorial Park where the Twin Towers should be. To represent the Center there are two trees placed were the towers should be (The trees are actually in the wrong position). The player cannot buy the park at any time, and therefore, is not allowed to upgrade it.
Districts in the game include:
City-building game
City-building games are a genre of strategy computer game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management...
where players are tasked with developing New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, specifically the island of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. The game also allows players to build many of the city's most celebrated landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
s, including the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
, the Chrysler Building
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
, the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
, Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
and the United Nations Headquarters
United Nations headquarters
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River...
.
Gameplay
Two game modes are available:- Build New York: The "campaign" form of the game. Players build New York district by district, starting with Greenwich VillageGreenwich VillageGreenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
. The player must complete certain tasks and compete with business rivals in order to unlock other districts for development. - Sandbox: The free building form of the game. Players have control over the entire island. The amount of competition, their rate of building, and starting amount of cash can be controlled.
Regardless of which mode the game is played in, the game starts with an empty district which must be developed. Players choose from different types of buildings, including residential, commercial, and recreational. To add to the realism, several brand names (including Staples
Staples, Inc.
Staples Inc. is a large office supply chain store, with over 2,000 stores worldwide in 26 countries. Based in Framingham, Massachusetts, United States, the company has retail stores, serving customers under its original name in Austria, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Norway,...
and Loews Theatres) can be built. The player must attract customers to raise funds by upgrading their buildings. This can include flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s, extra seating, signs, air conditioners, or water towers. Landmarks can be constructed by earning landmark bond
Bond (finance)
In finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
s. Unfortunately, the player has no control over the positioning of streets, as in some other city-building games. The focus on individual businesses and their needs reflects that of 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...
earlier business empire game, 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...
.
Although the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
is not available in the game, there is a park called Memorial Park where the Twin Towers should be. To represent the Center there are two trees placed were the towers should be (The trees are actually in the wrong position). The player cannot buy the park at any time, and therefore, is not allowed to upgrade it.
Districts in the game include:
- Central ParkCentral ParkCentral Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
- ChelseaChelsea, ManhattanChelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
- ChinatownChinatown, ManhattanManhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
- East VillageEast Village, ManhattanThe East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
- Financial DistrictFinancial District, ManhattanThe Financial District of New York City is a neighborhood on the southernmost section of the borough of Manhattan which comprises the offices and headquarters of many of the city's major financial institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York...
- Garment DistrictGarment District, ManhattanThe Garment District, also known as the Garment Center, the Fashion District, or the Fashion Center, is a neighborhood located in the Manhattan borough of New York City. The dense concentration of fashion-related uses give the neighborhood, which is generally considered to span between Fifth Avenue...
- Greenwich VillageGreenwich VillageGreenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
- HarlemHarlemHarlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
- Liberty IslandLiberty IslandLiberty Island is a small uninhabited island in New York Harbor in the United States, best known as the location of the Statue of Liberty. Though so called since the turn of the century, the name did not become official until 1956. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D...
- Little ItalyLittle ItalyLittle Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.-Canada:*Little Italy, Edmonton, in Alberta*Little Italy, Montreal, in Quebec...
- Lower East SideLower East SideThe Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
- MidtownMidtown ManhattanMidtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
- SohoSoHoSoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
- TriBeCaTriBeCaTribeca is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York in the United States. Its name is an acronym based on the words "Triangle below Canal Street", and is properly bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Vesey Street...
- Upper East SideUpper East SideThe Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
- Upper West SideUpper West SideThe Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...