Industry Master Review: Real Life its Not

By Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson), OnRPG Journalist

In Industry Player you are given the seat as the head honcho of a large multinational corporation. You are given a personal assistant and chief advisers in each field that you must tap into to be able to become one of the best managers in the game.

Getting Started

With you just entering the market, the game does not immediately throw you into the on-going simulation round. With the time you have before the next round starts your personal assistant will advise you to try and observe the current round. This is a good start for any new players who are trying out the game, this gives those who are not familiar with the business world, or those who are still studying about the business world enough freedom to try and test the waters first.

Your Company

As the manager of your company, you will need to know not only the ins and outs of the stock market where your company's share is on the line. Next to that you have to balance the inner workings of your company so that you can come out the best among your competitors. The game gives you a certain position on a certain industry your company belongs to per round. The position you then have gives you almost all the power to do whatever you want so that you can be on top. 

Industry Master has done a wonderful job in this aspect of the game because the game gives you the actual privileges and power your position would have in your company based on its real-life counterpart. This is one of the key simulation aspects the game has.

Investors READEH!

So imagine you have your company's money in your grasp and you get to actually use the millions of investor money to make it into a big pot of gold for your investors and for your company. So it is important to understand that making bad decisions also affects your company position considerably. However, this is where the beauty of the simulation games comes in. You won't necessarily have to lose your home, your car or even your PC if you made a bad investment. Everything is just a simulation of what may happen if you made a good decision or not.

The in-game market is tied to how the real industry works therefore this can serve as your testing ground for your decisions without the fear of losing your real life money. However the risk factor of this is that everything is sped up in Industry Master. One simulation round is equal to 60 minutes which is in turn translated to one month in-game time. So there is going to be a question of reliability of the processing of information for the game if you want to use the information you entered to real life. That is why it is highly recommended not to think of the game as an alternative to test out the waters of investment and treat everything you get as data you can use in real life. This is first and foremost a game and therefore it should be taken as one.

Information Overload

For an online game, I must admit that the Industry Master can pass as a very informative online game. Aside from the products and the industry information you get, the game also provides information and definition on various business terms and concepts. The terms and concepts are based on the actual terms and concepts used in real life which is a good thing because this can be a seen as a nice alternative way of learning. This is good for students of business because they can see how the concepts and terms they have learned or are learning in school are being used in actual practice.

Meanwhile, this can serve as an alternative teaching tool for people who are highly interested in the world of investments and would like to learn the ropes. A word of caution for those who are not familiar with the business industry, the business jargon that the game throws at you is in volumes and it would feel as if a big book about business is being stuffed into your head. Still, if you are willing enough to suffer and learn painfully then this is a good way of learning.

Conclusion

All in all, Industry Master is a game that has successfully used online gaming as an alternative tool of learning for students and would-be investors. The game provides information that you would have to normally pay for in the form of a college degree or big books. The game goes past that and provides you an actual training ground that teaches both how the market is and how rough it can be. However, players who see this as a nice way to test out their skills in the business world must remember that this is a game. Unless you do try to get around the information that you get here then it is highly advisable to not use the actual data you get here in your real life investments. 

It is your money that is on the line and it is foolhardy to rely on information taken in such an accelerated pace lightly, regardless of its simulation value. True, the game has masterfully succeeded in creating a real-time business simulation game, but it is still just a game. If you want know how things are being done in the market then this is a good choice as your training for the real thing. Just be sure that you invest enough money for headache pills before you start playing because this one's going to give you one big headache.

Pros:
- The game does a wonderful job of creating a simulated business world
- You can learn about business trends and how the business world works through playing
- The game is done in real time so you won't get bored as you play.

Cons:
- The game is for a niche group of people
- Casual players would find the game hard to understand
- The knowledge you gain here in the game is only good for the global market and therefore may render itself useless if you plan on using it locally.