I was doing pretty well for a while. Had a few hits, nothing major. Got up to 100,000 fans and had 1.4 million in the bank. Figured it was time to develop a new engine and make my publishing debut. Dumping hundreds of thousands into research and development of a new engine, I nearly bankrupted the company. The engine was revolutionary -- dialogue trees, easter eggs, day-night cycles, AI companions, 3D Graphics V3, -- it was everything I needed it to be. With the engine complete, I was down to $200,000. Needing money fast, I developed a small business sim using the revolutionary new engine, titled "Cashflow". Development of this small game brought me to the brink of bankruptcy. I could not afford my $180,000 monthly costs. I took out a $500,000 loan from the bank.
Development of Cashflow finished at last, and I released it. Solid 8s all around. Enough people bought it for me to embark on my next major project: a ground-breaking school RPG targeted at children, developed for the Gameling. It would be the greatest game the world would ever know. Unfortunately, the money from Cashflow didn't last long enough. Just as development was wrapping up, I found myself in debt again. There were 40 bugs in the game, but I couldn't afford to keep my employees on staff any longer. I rushed the game out the door and fired everyone. The reviews were amazing despite the bugs. Solid 10s from everyone. The sales were just as incredible. I made 8 million off that game, but at what cost?
My talent was gone. My company was a shell of its former self. With the profit from School Master, I tried to assemble an elite team of designers, but the new hires were useless. The games I released were atrocious, panned by reviewer and consumer alike. When my cash reserves started to dwindle, I tried to cash in on my company's prior success. I developed a sequel, School Master 2, and poured millions into advertising. This was it. This was my last chance.
It was a complete disaster. The team I assembled could never do the original justice, and the hype was unreal. It tanked, and with it, so too did my company.