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"Girl game" Style Savvy [DS] is serious fuckin' business
Lunker
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Registered User regular
So this blew my mind.
Picture AeroBiz, just with a clothing boutique. Picture the C64 classic Lemonade, only with 10,000 different ways to create beverages and individual customers with unique tastes and repeat business. Picture the clothing trend aspect of The World Ends With You crossed with Taloon's chapter from Dragon Warrior 4. Picture a hard-core business simulator mixed with a puzzle game and then aimed at tween girls.
This is Style Savvy, which is being published by Nintendo. (You might know it by the name Wagamama Fashion Girls Mode in Japan, where it broke sales records like crazy.) I went to a media event this week for the women's magazine that I work for, and I just asked to see this out of courtesy but I was genuinely surprised at the level of depth involved.
You create an avatar and then run a clothing boutique: You buy and stock all of your inventory and pick from 10,000 different articles of clothing from 16 different fictional brands. Each brand has its own feel (upscale, low-key, boho chic, cheap-ass), and you can choose as many or as few items as you want from your starting credit. You can specialize in one style, carry only a few brands or sell one of everything.
From there, you have to expand your business by satisfying customers—which is where the puzzle game aspect comes in. You have customers, each with their own budgets and styles, and they come in to tell you what they're looking for. This trendy girl wants shoes to go with her pants, but her budget is only $108, she's dressed like a heroin chic runway model, and she loves cities but hates the outdoors. So not only do you have to find shoes that go with her outfit and fit her style, but you also have to make sure you have something in stock (plus try to upsell her as much as possible to get more profit). If she doesn't like your pick, she'll tell you and will probably leave. If she likes it, she'll buy it, thank you and walk out—but she'll come back at some point, looking for more clothing.
If customers buy things and leave happy, you get more money—not only to buy shit for your avatar, but also to revamp your store and restock, because all of your inventory is limited and you have to reorder if things are popular. If you notice ballet flats are hot right now because everyone is asking for them, the good business owner will make sure you order more next time. If winter is coming (and the game picks up on the seasons based on your DS clock), customers will ditch shorts and ask for coats instead. If you develop a reputation as a great place to buy sandals, more people will come in asking for them. Even little details like how your avatar dresses is important to your business, because who wants to buy from an upscale shoe shop if the owner looks goth? You can even pick what the mannequins in your window are wearing, which will influence foot traffic and if they want what's in the window.
The whole game runs like this. Pair that with the virtual dress-up aspect, where girls can connect with each other with local Wi-Fi and trade items or visit each others' shops, and it's pretty crazy how robust the game is. It's the only "girl game" that doesn't look like it insults its audience. Honestly, it's training them for business school.
Picture AeroBiz, just with a clothing boutique. Picture the C64 classic Lemonade, only with 10,000 different ways to create beverages and individual customers with unique tastes and repeat business. Picture the clothing trend aspect of The World Ends With You crossed with Taloon's chapter from Dragon Warrior 4. Picture a hard-core business simulator mixed with a puzzle game and then aimed at tween girls.
This is Style Savvy, which is being published by Nintendo. (You might know it by the name Wagamama Fashion Girls Mode in Japan, where it broke sales records like crazy.) I went to a media event this week for the women's magazine that I work for, and I just asked to see this out of courtesy but I was genuinely surprised at the level of depth involved.
You create an avatar and then run a clothing boutique: You buy and stock all of your inventory and pick from 10,000 different articles of clothing from 16 different fictional brands. Each brand has its own feel (upscale, low-key, boho chic, cheap-ass), and you can choose as many or as few items as you want from your starting credit. You can specialize in one style, carry only a few brands or sell one of everything.
From there, you have to expand your business by satisfying customers—which is where the puzzle game aspect comes in. You have customers, each with their own budgets and styles, and they come in to tell you what they're looking for. This trendy girl wants shoes to go with her pants, but her budget is only $108, she's dressed like a heroin chic runway model, and she loves cities but hates the outdoors. So not only do you have to find shoes that go with her outfit and fit her style, but you also have to make sure you have something in stock (plus try to upsell her as much as possible to get more profit). If she doesn't like your pick, she'll tell you and will probably leave. If she likes it, she'll buy it, thank you and walk out—but she'll come back at some point, looking for more clothing.
If customers buy things and leave happy, you get more money—not only to buy shit for your avatar, but also to revamp your store and restock, because all of your inventory is limited and you have to reorder if things are popular. If you notice ballet flats are hot right now because everyone is asking for them, the good business owner will make sure you order more next time. If winter is coming (and the game picks up on the seasons based on your DS clock), customers will ditch shorts and ask for coats instead. If you develop a reputation as a great place to buy sandals, more people will come in asking for them. Even little details like how your avatar dresses is important to your business, because who wants to buy from an upscale shoe shop if the owner looks goth? You can even pick what the mannequins in your window are wearing, which will influence foot traffic and if they want what's in the window.
The whole game runs like this. Pair that with the virtual dress-up aspect, where girls can connect with each other with local Wi-Fi and trade items or visit each others' shops, and it's pretty crazy how robust the game is. It's the only "girl game" that doesn't look like it insults its audience. Honestly, it's training them for business school.
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She loves those silly flash games where you run a store, and try to serve customers before they leave grumpy. This isn't exactly like that, but close enough I bet it'll get some use.
Maybe.
She gave me Professor Layton because it was too hard. She is eight so I didn't laugh too hard.
They should make a "boy version" where you run a gun store or something.
I'm so surprised and relieved that the character does not look like a bratz doll.
I think women will find this awesome. I had the hardest time when I had to pick jeans to go with this one customer's shoes. I'm like, "I'm a dude! Jeans are jeans!"
This may shock you son, but they make up half the population. I imagine the reaction'll be mixed.
Her birthday was on Oct 5, and one of the gifts was a card with a note "I ordered you Style Savvy from Amazon, expect it in about a month."
She loves the better girls games on the DS.
...for my girlfriend.
I'd definitely be all over this if I had a DS. Fun matching and playable? Yes please.
Wasn't one of the Hanna Montana games pretty good?
Anyway, my Niece is getting this for Christmas.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Hannah Montana Music Jam DS or something close. It had a crazy create-your-own-song system that was basically easy-mode for songwriting, and was pretty awesome, but the game part was atrocious.
Though really, they could've just had the Jam part and it would've been like a really cool Jam Sessions -like game.
Fittingly enough, I remember making a thread about that game too.
I was just really impressed by the entire business development angle of Style Savvy. It's really sim-like, and the whole concept of the store actually being yours seems ... compelling. The brands are all fictitious, but the rep was describing to me how players get a feel for each brand's vibe just through playing the game, so after a while you'll know off-hand what pieces you have in stock, so when someone asks for something, you know instantly what to look for. And you notice how certain customers gravitate to certain brands. Sometimes you can even nudge customers in a new direction, once you get to know them well enough and they trust your opinion.
If Square Enix had made this with JRPG equipment instead of clothing, it would be a totally kick-ass spiritual sequel to MLAAK, just called "My Life as a Merchant."
EDIT: They also stressed how closely they worked with freelance fashion writers in the U.S. localization, in terms of what pieces "go together," so this isn't Japanese fashion or anything random in terms of what goes with what.
Fixed.
Um, I mean I'm buying this for my girlfriend. Yes. My girlfriend. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go do some push-ups. And fire some guns. You know. Man stuff.
I already name-dropped Taloon in the OP, so I figured I'd use a different reference.
Tell me how they like it.
You know... so, uh... I can get one for my girlfriend too.
Haha, so you did. I only skimmed the post. Oh well. Great minds and all that.
And I'm not sure what to say. I'm addicted. I'm having a lot of fun with it. But I can also see how it's so not for everyone.
Still, I always enjoy dressing up my characters in other games. The only problem is that I tend to find one outfit that I like and stick with it throughout the game. Now I get to experiment with outfits all I like with the mannequins. And when someone comes along and buys whatever I have in the window, I get a big chunk of cash in one go and I can dress up the now empty mannequin in something new and somewhat different again. It's win/win.
Of course, if you don't get excited about the prospect of putting together a new ensemble... well, why are reading this thread?
Staying stocked up isn't too much trouble. I'm pretty sure you automatically make a profit on everything you sell, so you'll never run out. The only trouble I can see is deciding on whether or not you're going to focus on a limited number of brands (and so have a lot of different garments for a select clientele) or if you're gonna try and cater to everyone (and have a very limited number of garments for a large audience), because you'll never have enough money to buy everything from every brand.
But whatever you do, remember, it's autumn (over here). There're bound to be people asking for cardigans and coats, so try to get quite a few of those. Also AZ-USA miniskirts.
As for brands, I've taking a liking to Mad-Jack, Raven Candle and April Bonbon. Which would be punk, goth and bright cuteness respectively.
Anyways, yeah. I think it's fun in a simple, easy-going Animal Crossing kind of way.
Connect this with Borderlands weapon-creation system. "Yeah, I need a pistol that shoots acid, but I only have $50. And the color of the stock needs to match my eyes."
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
Any impressions? Most review sites seem to have ignored it.
And then almost inevitably play until the battery runs out. :P
Whoa, wait, what?
Hmmm, nah...why doesn't someone just remake Aerobiz in a portable form? I would pay for that. Wait, how did I end up in this thread? I think from the Steam thread? Also, thread necromancy.
This is a clickable link to my Steam Profile.
Yeah, I kinda like this game. :P
I have a feeling it would have sold like triple-stacked hotcakes if it had better publicity.
So first I couldn't buy everything I wanted because I didn't have the cash, now I can't buy everything I want because my wardrobe isn't big enough.
For those who HAVE played the game, does the subplot between the main character and the store owner have any kind of conclusion? My girlfriend is concerned because she beat the international fashion contest, and fears it may have prematurely ended the "storyline."
As far as I know.