Build-a-lot
Encyclopedia
Build-a-lot is a 2007
2007 in video gaming
-Events:*March 14: Microsoft announces Games for Windows - Live, a version of Xbox Live for the Windows platform. The service launched on May 8.*March 27: Microsoft announces the new "Xbox 360 Elite" stock-keeping unit . The revision comes with a bigger hard drive and the ability to output HDMI...

 casual
Casual game
A casual game is a video game targeted at or used by a mass audience of casual gamers. Casual games can have any type of gameplay, and fit in any genre. They are typically distinguished by their simple rules and lack of commitment required in contrast to more complex hardcore games...

 video game for Microsoft Windows
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...

. The object of the game is to construct, upgrade and sell houses for profit
Profit (economics)
In economics, the term profit has two related but distinct meanings. Normal profit represents the total opportunity costs of a venture to an entrepreneur or investor, whilst economic profit In economics, the term profit has two related but distinct meanings. Normal profit represents the total...

s. They can flip
Flipping
Flipping is a term used primarily in the United States to describe purchasing a revenue-generating asset and quickly reselling it for profit...

 houses for quick cash
Cash
In common language cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, cash refers to current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately...

 or collect rent
Renting
Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership from landowners...

 to make funds go up. Players help mayors from eight different areas and through 35 different levels to complete the game. Build-a-lot was created by HipSoft
HipSoft
HipSoft is a Redmond, Washington-based developer of casual video games founded in 2002 by three of the original founders of Monolith Productions: Brian Goble, Garrett Price, and Bryan Bouwman. HipSoft has made over a dozen games, many of which have become popular in the casual gaming industry...

. It has also been ported to Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

 by Red Marble Games
Red Marble Games
Red Marble Games was started in 2002 by Mark Batten with the intent of porting the best indie games from Windows to the Macintosh. The Macintosh platform is infamous for its dearth of commercial video games , and the indie realm is no different...

. In 2009 it was ported to mobile phones, iOS systems and BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...

's by Glu Mobile. It was ported to the Nintendo eShop and DSI shop on August 18, 2011.

Game modes

There are two game modes in Build-a-lot: career mode and casual mode. In career mode, the object is to complete levels in which the player is assigned a set of tasks. In casual mode, the object is to meet a cash balance goal in the shortest time possible.

Career mode

In career mode, the player's object is to complete a set of tasks in an individual game scenario
Scenario
A scenario is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the Commedia dell'arte it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play that was literally pinned to the back of the scenery...

, or "level". After doing so, they can advance to the next scenario. Once a level is completed, that level is available for play to that player on a continuing basis. Career mode has a total of thirty-five different levels, which are grouped together in eight different "neighborhoods" of between three and five levels. Each "neighborhood" has a different map character, number of lots, and different mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

. The neighborhoods advance in terms of game complexity. New structures become available at higher levels, and goals become more difficult.

Meadow Dale is the tutorial neighborhood, in which the player is given the most basic tasks and is provided on-screen instructions for the game. Levels 1, 2 and 3 are played in this neighborhood. The "new" Mayor of Meadow Dale is Jennifer Russell.

Pleasant Valley is the first regular game neighborhood. Levels 4, 5 and 6 are played in this neighborhood. The Mayor of Pleasant Valley is Beatrice Hudson, who in the game is revealed to be a native of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

.

River Glen contains levels 7, 8, 9 and 10. The Mayor of River Glen is Patrick O'Brien.

Evergreen Park hosts levels 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 and its Mayor is Theodore Buckley III.

Lakeside is the setting for levels 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 and its mayor is the bald Frank Crawford.

Granite Springs is the setting for levels 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 and its mayor is the blonde Annie Stanton. It's a western-style mountain community.

Summit Ridge is the penultimate neighborhood, where levels 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 are played. Summit Ridge is modeled as a skiing community, à la Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole, originally called Jackson's Hole, is a valley located in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the western border with Idaho. The name "hole" derives from language used by early trappers or mountain men, who primarily entered the valley from the north and east and had to descend along...

 or Aspen, Colorado
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...

. The Mayor of Summit Ridge is Hans "The Wolf" Stallmire.

Palm Grove is the final neighborhood, where levels 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35 are played. The Mayor of Palm Grove is Vince Danner, who claims to have been a "Hollywood Superstar". Palm Grove is an island community (à la Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

), as Danner refers to the "Mainland".

Casual mode

In casual mode, the player's goal in each level is solely monetary—reaching a predetermined level of cash. The player may achieve that goal using any strategy, and is not required to build any particular house or building. However, in each casual mode game, the player is given only a starting cache of cash, workers, and materials. Other than the Rambler blueprint, the player must purchase the blueprint for any house or building the player would like to build.

Only six neighborhoods are available for play in casual mode, as opposed to the eight neighborhoods in career mode. The six neighborhoods available in casual mode are the last six neighborhoods in career mode.

River Glen - The goal of River Glen in casual mode is $1,000,000. The player begins with $100,000 in cash, four workers, and 500 materials.

Evergreen Park - The goal of Evergreen Park in casual mode is $2,500,000. The player again begins with $100,000 in cash, four workers, and 500 materials.

Lakeside - The goal of Lakeside in casual mode is $5,000,000. The player begins with $150,000 in cash, six workers and 750 materials.

Granite Springs - The goal of Granite Springs in casual mode is $10,000,000. The player again (as in Lakeside) begins with $150,000 in cash, six workers and 750 materials.

Summit Ridge - The goal of Summit Ridge in casual mode is $25,000,000. The player begins with $250,000 in cash, eight workers, and 1,000 materials. There are eighteen total lots in the Summit Ridge neighborhood in casual mode. At the start of a casual mode game, one lot is occupied by an unowned Colonial, two lots are occupied by unowned Tudors, two lots are occupied by unowned Estates, one lot is occupied by an unowned Castle, and twelve lots are empty lots owned by the player. One of the premium lots is occupied by the unowned Castle, and the other is occupied one of the unowned Estates.

Palm Grove - The goal of Palm Grove in casual mode in $50,000,000. As in Summit Ridge, the player begins with $250,000 in cash, eight workers, and 1,000 materials.

House types

In Build-a-lot, there are six types of houses that can be built:
  • The Rambler is the lowest class house, a small-one story ranch-style house
    Ranch-style house
    Ranch-style houses is a domestic architectural style originating in the United States. First built in the 1920s, the ranch style was extremely popular amongst the booming post-war middle class of the 1940s to 1970s...

    . The Rambler "costs" 75 materials to build, and requires only one worker to build. A rambler generates the lowest amount of rental income and sells at the lowest price in the game. In the casual mode of the game, the Rambler blueprint is provided to the player at the beginning of play.

  • The Colonial is the second class of house. It is in the style of a Colonial house. The Colonial "costs" 150 materials to build and requires two workers to build. In the Casual mode of the game, a player must purchase the Colonial blueprint, costing $30,000.

  • The Tudor is the third class of house and is in the style of a modern Tudor style
    Tudor style architecture
    The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...

    . A Tudor "costs" 300 materials and requires three workers to build. In the Casual mode of the game, a player must purchase the Tudor blueprint for $60,000.

  • The Estate is the fourth class of house, a neoclassic
    Neoclassical architecture
    Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

     or Greek revival estate home. An Estate "costs" 600 materials and requires five workers to build. The Estate home is often a critical building block of casual game strategy at higher levels. In the casual mode of the game, a player must purchase the Estate blueprint for $120,000.

  • The Mansion is the fifth class of house. It is in the style of an American
    United States
    The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

     mansion
    Mansion
    A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...

    . A Mansion "costs" 1200 materials and requires seven workers to build. In the casual mode of the game, a player must purchase the Mansion blueprint, costing $240,000.

  • The Castle is the largest house in the game and is in the Disney style castle in Disneyland. A Castle "costs" 2500 materials and requires nine workers to build. In the casual mode of the game, a player must purchase the Castle blueprint ($500,000).

Building types

In addition to houses, players can build commercial buildings that assist them in various aspects of the game. These buildings come in two basic types:
  1. Functional Buildings
  2. Cultural Buildings

Functional buildings

Functional buildings assist the player in some aspect of completing a level or achieving a monetary goal, for example increasing revenue by generating interest (the Bank), or speeding up construction or repairs (the Workshop). There are three functional buildings: the Sawmill, the Workshop, and the Bank.

In casual mode, each of the blueprints for the functional buildings costs $75,000.

The Sawmill The Sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

 has three functions in Build-a-Lot:
  1. It reduces the prices of materials by 50%
  2. It speeds up the delivery of materials
  3. Allows players to purchase building "permits" that allow players to upgrade houses to 4-star houses. A Sawmill "costs" 900 materials and five workers to build.


There is no benefit provided for having multiple sawmills.

The Workshop The Workshop
Workshop
A workshop is a room or building which provides both the area and tools that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods...

 has three functions:
  1. Reduces the price of "training" workers by 50%
  2. Speeds up the construction, upgrading, and repair of houses and buildings
  3. Allows players to perform "inspections" that serve to prevent houses from needing repairs. A Workshop "costs" 900 materials and three workers to build.


In the casual mode of the game, the Workshop is important, as it allows players to speed up the construction and upgrading of houses, reducing the time necessary to generate cash.

There is no benefit for having multiple workshops.

The Bank has two functions:
  1. Generates interest
    Interest
    Interest is a fee paid by a borrower of assets to the owner as a form of compensation for the use of the assets. It is most commonly the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or money earned by deposited funds....

     on the amount of money in the player's account, at the rate of 10% per interest period
  2. If "donated", it does not generate interest, but prevents a player from being responsible for paying property tax
    Property tax
    A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...

    es.


Having multiple banks increases the amount of money generated for the player. However, the amount of interest earned does not increase on a linear
Linear
In mathematics, a linear map or function f is a function which satisfies the following two properties:* Additivity : f = f + f...

 basis, i.e., each Bank will not generate 10% interest on the player's money. Instead, the game acts to distribute the player's money evenly in each Bank, allowing a greater total rate of interest in the Banks, so there is an overall compound interest
Compound interest
Compound interest arises when interest is added to the principal, so that from that moment on, the interest that has been added also itself earns interest. This addition of interest to the principal is called compounding...

 effect. As an example, if the player has a total cash balance of $1,000,000 and two Banks, $500,000 will be deposited in each Bank. The first Bank would generate 6% ($60,000) in interest, raising the total cash amount to $1,060,000. The second Bank would generate 6% interest ($63,600) on half that amount ($530,000) to raise the total amount in the player's account to $1,102,500. If the player has three Banks rather than two, each bank generates 4% interest on the player's money. Accordingly, while the difference between one Bank and two Banks is substantial in that two Banks will produce more than 20% more interest than one Bank on its own, the addition of a third Bank does not appreciably add to the interest generated and takes up funds that could otherwise be used for house construction.

CostMart is a building unlocked if the player completes all levels of the career mode of the game at a "high efficiency" or "star" level. It may be used in re-playing levels of the career mode, where it provides "profit-sharing"--a trickle of cash—and a trickle of free materials. It seems not to be available during the casual mode of the game.

Cultural buildings

Cultural buildings are relevant to the career mode of the game, and are frequently the goals of particular levels.

The various cultural buildings are often tied to the personal interests of the Mayors, and also tie in to the special gift given to the builder once a city is complete. For each city, the cultural buildings (and tie-in special gifts) are:
  • Meadow Dale — none
  • Pleasant Valley — Post Office (tie-in gift, rare stamps)
  • River Glen — library (tie-in gift, rare book)
  • Evergreen Park — (tie-in gift, golden money clip)
  • Lakeside — (tie-in gift, precision woodcraft tool kit)
  • Granite Springs — fire station, Western museum (tie-in gift, set of silver spurs)
  • Summit Ridge — ice rink (tie-in gift, skiing gold medal)
  • Palm Grove — surf shop, cinema, marina (tie-in gift, Best Actor award)

Reception & awards

Build-a-lot was the #1 Action/Arcade game of 2007 on Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games is a provider of Internet media delivery software and game services based in Seattle, Washington. The company was founded in 2002 by Paul Thelen , and currently employs more than 400 people...

. Build-a-lot was Casual-Game-of-the-Week at killerbetties.com, who highlighted the simple but smooth and pleasing animation, sound effects and surprisingly fun micromanagement. It was rated 4.5 out of 5 stars by Yahoo! Games
Yahoo! Games
Yahoo! Games is the section of the Yahoo! website in which Yahoo! users can play games either with other users or by themselves. The games on the website are typically Java applets or quick Flash games, but there are others which require a download. Many of the games that require a download...

 users.

It was named Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games
Big Fish Games is a provider of Internet media delivery software and game services based in Seattle, Washington. The company was founded in 2002 by Paul Thelen , and currently employs more than 400 people...

 "Action/Arcade Game of the Year", and RealArcade named it "Strategy Game of the Year". It was nominated for the Interactive Achievement Awards for 2008 Downloadable Game of the Year.

Sequels

A sequel to Build-a-lot was released in April 2008. It is called Build-a-lot: Town of the Year. According to reviews, it allows players to build park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...

s and stores. It requires more micro-managing as players will not only build stores, but manage their inventories and appearance. It removes several elements of Build-a-lot gameplay and replaces them with new elements. For example, premier properties are gone and a "curb appeal" feature is added.

A second sequel, Build-a-lot 3: Passport to Europe was released in 2008. In it, players travel to several European nations and build a variety of improvements, including landmarks and European-style houses. It retains most of the elements of the previous two games, but adds some new options, such as restoring run-down buildings. It reinstates the premier lots from the first version, but these are much less often relevant to play. Like the previous two games, it is available via several casual game distributors, as well as HipSoft's own website.

Another sequel, Build-a-lot 4: Power Source, was made available for download in August, 2009. It includes a "power" resource, requiring players to build neighborhoods that don't exceed their power availability.

Build-a-lot: Monopoly edition,was released on the 2nd September 2009 and is based on Build-a-lot but does include facilities such as hotels and train stations. Also, instead of having fictitious neighborhoods or cities like the original Build-a-lot and Build-a-lot 2, the game uses the properties on the standard Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...

game board. Also, instead of dollars being used, all values are measured in Monos.

Build-a-lot: The Elizabethan Era was released in 2010. Set in Elizabethan England, the player manages farms and livestock in addition to real estate and deals with problems like vermin infestation. A Premium Edition was made available that included additional levels and property, as well as a strategy guide and behind-the-scenes material.

Build-a-lot: On vacation came out on the 7th September 2011

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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