Micromanagement in Tycoon Games

Genre Analysis Theme Hospital

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By Siddhant

Contents
Definition of Tycoon Genre: ................................................................................................ 3
Introduction to Theme Hospital: ........................................................................................... 3
Definition of Micro-management:.......................................................................................... 3
Applications of Micromanagement: ..................................................................................... 3
Defining the Challenge of Theme Hospital ............................................................................ 3
Overcoming the challenge: ........................................................................................ 4

Dealing with the Evolving challenge: ................................................................................ 4

The basic engagement of Micro-management in Theme Hospital: ...................................................... 4
Basics of Micromanagement in Theme Hospital: ..................................................................... 6
Core Challenge for Micromanagement in Theme Hospital: ............................................................... 6
Priority Management: ................................................................................................. 6
Timing: .................................................................................................................. 8
Space Management: ................................................................................................... 9
Quick Mind: .......................................................................................................... 10
Aesthetic Management: ............................................................................................. 12
Money .............................................................................................................. 13
Employees .......................................................................................................... 14
Time ................................................................................................................ 14
Solution of Conflict through Resource Management: ................................................................ 15
Decision Making ..................................................................................................... 17

Definition of Tycoon Genre:

A Tycoon game is one which essentially has an economical approach towards resource management
and profits. In these games, player creates a venture made up of objects and systems governing the
relation between the objects, therefore establishing a business model.
Examples of Tycoon Games:

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)

Theme Hospital
Roller Coaster Tycoon
Pharaoh
Emperor
Zoo Tycoon
Prison Architect
Etc.

Game picked for Genre Analysis: Theme Hospital.

Introduction to Theme Hospital:

Theme Hospital is a Tycoon game in which player takes the role of Building and Managing the functioning of a
Hospital. The game is divided into progressively difficult and complex stages which challenge the players thinking
skill and his ability to react to situations.

Definition of Micro-management:
Micromanagement is simply the act of multi-tasking. In several games, players are required to keep a
large amount of Data in their memory and play the game with that data.

Applications of Micromanagement:
In Video Games, micro management is used to make the player as busy as possible during gameplay.
The complexity of the challenge determines how many actions per minute(APM) is the player expected
to perform.

To build an atmosphere of Work and Tension.

To prioritize the value of Resources.
To find more efficient solutions to the problems.
To make the player busy during gameplay.

Defining the Challenge of Theme Hospital

The challenge in the game comes from the following factors:
Interaction: Interaction with Patients. Choosing the right action to take.
Tactics: Quick Management tactics, effective allocation of resources.

Strategies: Short and long term strategies encompassing the predictions in the game.
Complexity: The game becomes increasingly complex with additions of new objects and concepts.
Other Factors influencing Challenge:
Evolution of Challenge.
Evolution of Levels.
Evolution of Variables in the game.

Overcoming the challenge:

Dealing with the Evolving challenge:
1) Better application of learnt elements.
2) Better allocation of resources for meeting objectives.
3) Better applications of micro-management.
Dealing with evolving Levels:
1) Larger hospitals need more efficiency to run.
2) Space must be used judiciously.

3) Factors like mood, fame and other financial factors must be considered before expansion.
4) New Rooms are unlocked as one progresses in the game. So space must be allotted for them beforehand.
Dealing with Evolving Variables:
1) New variables like diseases, rooms, qualifications etc. keep the player busy.
2) Strategies must be formed to anticipate these changes.
3) Capital must be safe-guarded to deal with these random variables.
4) Decision making process of the player must evolve with the game.

The basic engagement of Micro-management in Theme Hospital:

The Feel of being like a Builder/Manager:

1) During the gameplay, player has to build and manage a Hospital.
2) The player uses tabs and icons to build a Hospital in a defined area.

3) The player hires employees to run the facilities he designs.

4) The player manages variables like Money, Temperature, Research, Aesthetics etc.

The challenge of reaching the required statistics.

1) During the game, player has certain Objectives to achieve.
2) Reaching these objectives requires him to master the rules of interaction between objects
and maximize profit.
3) The overall progress bar is difficult to take all the way towards the green(positive) end.
4) The player also must manage statics of Research, finance, needs, etc.

The feeling of improving and enhancing ones management skills.

1) The levels become progressively difficult to beat.
2) The number of elements increases in every level, so the players knowledge of the game
grows.
3) The objectives required to achieve increase with the increase in levels.
4) The number of decision making boxes also increase with progression.
5) The number of Emergencies to handle require effective decision making.

The feeling of being a decorator and practice Symmetry, organization, etc.

1)
2)

3)

Empty spaces can be utilized by placing decorative elements like Plants.

At the beginning of the game, the player allocates space to rooms, facilities and
Corridors.
A creative or organized player will focus on such elements like symmetry, themes,
specialized sections, orderly corridors etc.

Rewards
1) The player is rewarded for his efforts in several ways like:
Income: Player gets income whenever a Patient is cured.
Bonuses: Player gets bonus cash if the visiting VIP is impressed.
Yearly Bonus: Depending on the Overall performance bar, player gets some income
at the end of the year.
Mood of the People: If people like the Hospital, then more patients arrive and the
income rate goes up.

Basics of Micromanagement in Theme Hospital:

The idea of running a Hospital in a game comes with several categories of Objects and concepts which
work together in order to build the complex interactions in the game. The game allows the player to:

Core Challenge for Micromanagement in Theme Hospital:

Priority Management
Space Management
Quick Mind
Timing
Resource Management
Decision Making
Aesthetic Management

Priority Management:
1) Question: What kind of Challenges require Priority management.
Answer: Player deals with the following Challenges

Core Challenge: The Patients of different diseases are entering the Hospital.
Core Challenge: The capital given to start off the level is limited.
Conflict in the Challenge: Player has limited time/money to fulfill objective.

Solution to Conflict with Priority management:

Build Order:
1) Player must build rooms in a specific order.
2) Player must hire junior doctors first and carefully chose special ones.
What gameplay Mechanics that force this decision?
1) Not all rooms are available at start.
2) The salary of the Doctor depends on his qualification.
3) The initial money is limited and money must be earned by curing patients.

Priority of Objectives:
1) Player must choose which type of development he wants to make in his/her progress.
2) Player must dedicate time to each objective at hand.
What gameplay Mechanics that force these decisions?
1) The Money Is limited.
2) Once the disease has been discovered it can mostly be cured without problems.

3) The game rewards the player differently for each objective accomplished.

Priority of maintenances:
1) Player must maintain some of the assets he creates.
2) Machines, plants and sanitation are the objects that require maintenance.
3) Player must spend money to hire Janitors and pay them a salary to maintain the assets.
4) Player must decide on the right number of Employees to Hire and take care of their demands.
What Gameplay mechanics force these decisions?
1) The Peoples mood is affected by Aesthetics of the Hospital.
2) There are machines and equipment that can fail if not repaired in time.
3) Machines once broken cannot perform curative functions and must be replaced at the
cost of money.
4) Events like Earthquakes, etc. damage the Equipment and force the player to
repair/replace them.

Priority of needs.
1) Player has to fulfil the needs of the Patients and Staff.
2) Player has to attempt impressing the VIP once in a while.
3) Player must keep the Doctors, Nurses, Janitors, Receptionist and Patients happy by providing
them Space and seating. Mood is also affected by aesthetic elements like Plants.
4) Player must provide food and drinks along with a toilet facility to cater to their needs.
5) Player must keep the Doctors, Nurses, Janitors, Receptionist and Patients at a comfortable
temperature by building Radiators.
6) Player must keep the Doctors, Nurses and Janitors entertained and rested by building Staff
Room.
What gameplay mechanics force these decisions?
1) The number of Patients visiting the hospital depends on how well is the hospital doing
overall. This rating is affected by the following factors:
The number of Patients cured.
The number of Fatalities.
The Space design inside the hospital.
Quality of the Infrastructure.
The mood of the people inside.
The prosperity rating.
The opinion of the Doctors and Nurses on the Hospital.
The ease of access to rooms and the seating facilities.
The availability of facilities like Toilets and Snack Machines.
The cleanliness of the Hospital.
The attitude of the Doctors, Nurses and Receptionist.
The choices of the Player in case of emergencies and VIP visits.
2) The Staff make demands for Raise in Salary if not kept happy. Staff mood depends on:
The size of their chambers.
The facilities provided by the Hospital.
The ease of Schedule.
These demands can be fulfilled by giving them a raise in Salary, or a slightly
higher one-time Bonus at the cost of some money.

Timing:
Question: What kind of Challenges require timing?
Answer: Player uses timing to face the following Challenges:

1)
2)
3)
4)

Core Challenge: Most of the Doctors are Busy and new Patients are arriving.
Core Challenge: There are decision Tabs and emergencies to address.
Core Challenge: There is a shortage of capable doctors.
Conflict in the Challenge: There is not enough time to solve these problems.

Solution to Conflict with Timing:

Hiring the right number of Doctors and Nurses:

1) The player can hire Doctors and Nurses to treat the patients.
2) Each room (except Operation Theatre) requires ONE Doctor to function.
3) Doctors get more tired after curing each successive patients and must take a break.
4) Another Doctor must be available to fill in for the tired doctor, or else the patients will make
a long queue and affect the mood of the hospital.
5) The player must address emergencies and Requests. Emergencies require timing more than
any other element in the game.
EMERGENCIES:
Emergencies require the Player to treat multiple victims of the same illness in a
limited amount of time.
Number of Patients cured in the limited time decide the outcome of the event.
Player must make sure the following during an emergency:
a) The required Room has a very small/ no queue.
b) In case of too big a queue, the player must make a second room carrying out
the same function and add a staff to run it.
c) The required Machines are in good condition as they are repeatedly used
during the time of the emergency.
d) If the machines are in bad shape, then the Janitor must be manually instructed
to fix it.
e) The Doctor/Nurse in charge of the treatment must be rested and efficient
during the time of the emergency.
f) The doctors may need to be manually lifted from whatever they were doing
and put to the emergency. But doing so affects the mood of the Doctor forced
to the task.

What Gameplay mechanics force these choices?

1) The rooms have requirement for a Doctor/Nurse for it to work.
2) The Doctors and Nurses can get tired, unhappy or angry causing the
performance to suffer.

3) The Time allotted to the player for the emergency is limited and barely
sufficient to fulfill the objective with ONE room.
4) Outcome depends on how fast the player tackles the problem.

Preparing for a VIP Visit:

1) The player has to invite VIPs to visit the Hospital for survey and analysis if they chose to do
so.
2) The player tries to achieve the best rating possible from the Visit by keeping things in Order.
3) Before the arrival of the VIP, the player must make sure that everything is running smoothly.
4) The player must work on the timing of building, employment and aesthetic presentation to
make the Hospital presentable at its best during the visit.
5) The player must fix the Needs of the patients, Doctors, Nurses and Janitors before the VIP
arrives.
6) The player must ensure that everything near the VIP is not facing any kind of problems or
hassles.
What gameplay mechanics force these decisions?
1) The VIP stays inside the Hospital for about a month or two in game time depending on
how large is the Hospital.
2) The VIP visits every section of the Hospital and observes it in order to rate it.
3) The VIP sends his verdict to the Hospital after Departure.
4) The Rating can be from Excellent to Very Poor.
5) Excellent ratings earn the Player Bonus Funds.
6) Poor Ratings can hamper the reputation of the Hospital.
Choices offered to Player:
Player can accept or Decline the request for Visit by the VIP.
If the Hospital is doing bad or is not organized enough, the request should be
declined by the player.
This hurts the reputation of the Hospital slightly less than a bad rating by the
VIP.

Space Management:
Question: What kind of Challenges require Space management.
Answer: Player deals with the following Challenges

Core Challenge: The clinics has to be built in the provided area.

Core Challenge: The capital given to build the clinics is limited.
Conflict in the Challenge: Player has limited space to build all the clinics.

Solution to Conflict with Space management:

Clinic Space
1) Player must build clinics with their minimum required build area.
2) Player must spend capital to build the rooms, bigger the room more the capital.
What gameplay Mechanics force this decision?

1) Limited area in the hospital to build all rooms is given.

2) Rooms created take away a part of money from the capital.
3) Initial money given is limited for building everything, money must be earned in the later
stage of the game.

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Moods of people you hire.

1) Player must build clinics with enough area to keep the person he hired happy.
2) Player should increase the size of the area if the hired person is not happy.
3) Player must give enough windows in the clinic space to keep the people happy.
What gameplay mechanics force this decision?
1) Hired staff need a specific amount of space to be happy.
2) If the staff are not happy with space allocated, they ask for more salaries.
3) If the hired people get unhappy they may quit the job.
4) With no proper allocation of space hired people get unhappy which affects the
reputation of the hospital.
Buying More Space
1) Player must buy new areas available to increase the area for building more clinics.
2) Player must spend large amount of money in buying this space.
3) Player must decide when to buy the space i.e. at the start or in between the game to expand
the hospital.
What gameplay mechanics force this decision?
1) Later in the game more clinics are available and not enough space.
2) The more diseases discovered, need more types of clinics.
3) Amount of patients coming in increases considerably.
4) More clinics need more people hired, who need more space to work.
Space for completing objectives
1) Player must buy more space to reach the objective of the stage.
2) Player must complete these objectives for moving on to the next stage.
What gameplay mechanics force this decision?
1) Objectives become difficult with higher targets.
2) Objectives in later stages cannot be achieved with basic space provided.
3) Objectives considered different aspects which depend on space, such as:
Moods of hired people in objective.
Revenue raising objective.
Aesthetics and moods of the patients.
Objectives based on diseases cured.
Objectives based on number of patients treated.
Objectives on space bought and managed properly.

Quick Mind:
Question: What kind of Challenges require Quick Mind.
Answer: Player deals with the following Challenges

Core Challenge: Increasing number of patients with game progression.

Core Challenge: Discovery of new diseases and emergency service

Conflict in the Challenge: Player has to make quick decision which might affect other aspects
game.

of the

Solution to Conflict with Quick Mind:

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Increasing tasks
1) Player must looks after many aspects and tasks of the game at the same time.
2) Player must keep a look over other functions and procedures of the hospital.
3) Player must follow set of rules while performing these tasks
What gameplay Mechanics force this decision?
1) As the game progresses hospital harbors the functions of multiple things.
2) With game progressions new patients keep coming.
3) New diseases are discovered.
4) Emergency calls keep coming in.
5) Hospital popularity increases attracting more patients.
Mood of people.
1) Player must keep a look over moods of patients and hired personnels.
2) Player must perform certain actions to keep the people in his hospital happy.
3) Player must keep the people happy so that it doesnt affect his hospitals popularity.
4) Player must provide proper aesthetics, space, windows, etc for keeping the mood of the
people happy.
5) Player must keep improving the hospital environment as the game progresses.
What gameplay Mechanics force this decision?
1) Multiple people start getting unhappy at the same time.
2) People who are unhappy may have different reasons.
3) Hired people quit sometimes, which affects the popularity.
4) Popularity increasing brings in more patients with different moods.
5) Doctors ask for more salary if they are unhappy.

Popularity(Reputation) of Hospital.
1) Player must keep increasing the popularity of the hospital to attract more patients.
2) Player must increase the popularity of the hospital to accomplish certain objective.
3) Player must gain as much popularity as he can to gain more income.
4) The players hospital must be popular in competition with rival hospitals.
What gameplay Mechanics force this decision?
1) Increasing number of objectives given to the player.
2) More revenue requirements.
3) New diseases discovery.
4) VIPs visit to the hospital.
5) Cleanliness of the hospital.
6) Unhappy moods of the doctors and patients.
7) Limited space provided to build clinics.
Emergency calls
1) Player must make decision to accept or decline the emergency case.
2) Player has extra tasks to perform with acceptance of emergency calls.

3) Player has to take emergency calls to gain more revenue.

What gameplay Mechanics force this decision?
1) Increasing popularity.
2) Difficult objectives.
3) Low on revenue or target.
4) Reputation of the hospital.

Aesthetic Management:
Question: What kind of Challenges require Aesthetic Management.
Answer: Player deals with the following Challenges

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Core Challenge: Limited corridor space given.

Core Challenge: Most of the space provided is taken by clinics.
Conflict in the Challenge: Smaller space make patients and staff unhappy.

Solution to Conflict with Aesthetic Management:

Small Corridor and Clinic Space

1) Player must manage the corridor space and keep the patients happy.
2) Player must keep doctors happy if clinic gets allocated small space.
3) Player must keep patients and doctors mood good for more popularity.
What gameplay Mechanics force this decision?
1) Limited space for building clinics.

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2) More types of diseases which need different clinics.

3) Limited capital.
4) Increasing number of patients.
5) More types of diseases require more types of doctors and clinics.
Placing Aesthetics
1) Player must place aesthetics in the clinics and corridors in order to keep doctors and patients
happy in small spaces.
2) Player must check on moods of patients and staff in order to increase the popularity of the
hospital and to get work done faster.
3) Player must place aesthetics for VIPs to give good reviews on the hospital.
What gameplay Mechanics force this decision?
1) Unhappy mood of staff.
2) Unhappy mood of patients.
3) VIP visits which grants the hospital its reputation.
4) Popularity of the hospital.
5) Losing patients.
6) Losing staff because of them quitting their jobs.
7) Limited provided space.
VIP Visits.
1) Player needs to keep the hospital clean to increase its popularity.
2) Player needs to put aesthetics for good review from the VIPs.
3) Player needs to keep handyman to make them clean the litter.
4) Player can put aesthetics on the litter if a VIP visits.
5) Player needs to put aesthetics to keep the mood of doctors and patients happy when VIP
comes.
What gameplay mechanics force this decision?
1) Popularity of the hospital.
2) Increasing patients.
3) Less number of handyman.
4) Low revenue.
5) Low space allocation.
6) More types of clinics.

Resource Management:
Defining the Resources of the Game:
Money
In theme hospital money is one of the most important resource.
Managing money as your build your hospital and hire employees is very important part of the
game play.
Player has to manage the money while hiring people, inputting furniture, making rooms, etc.
All the aspects of the gameplay are some or the other way related to money.
The main objective of the stages in Theme hospital is to earn a specific amount of money for
your hospital in order to succeed.

Employees
Employees are very important resource to manage in theme hospital.
Player has to hire right employees for the right clinic/task.
There are many options available to hire different employees with different level of skill.
The player need to choose the correct doctors/handymen/receptionists/nurses for the correct
wards, clinics, etc.
Managing employees will result in the game going smoothly.
Employees also need certain things in their rooms to make them happy and keep their mood up.
When an employees mood is up, the work done by him is very good, and the rate of work done
is fast as well.

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Too few

Optimal

Too Many

Time
Time is a resource which the player needs to keep an eye on.
Time affects the finance of the stage.
Because as time passes the employees will get their salaries which will be cut from your main
account.
As time passes the money will also come to your main account due to the patients that have
come and gotten treated.
Time is important during the emergency situations that come, where patients will be needed to
be treated urgently.
Time affects the mood of your employees and their job performances as well.

Question: What kind of Challenge require Resource Management?

Answer: The player needs to enforce Resource Management to face the following Challenges:
Core Challenge: There are numerous Medical Facilities to build and provide labor to.
Core Challenge: The Space Provided is limited but there are plots to buy.
Core Challenge: There are facilities which require specialized Doctors.
Core Challenge: Completion of Objectives in limited time.
Conflict of the Challenge: These challenges offer the following conflicts:

There is limited space to build everything.

There are limited resources to build everything.
There are limited specialists available.
The number of Choice Making tasks for the player is high.

Solution of Conflict through Resource Management:

In order to address these conflicts, the player does the following:

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Build wisely.
1) Rooms like GPs Office, General Diagnostics, Pharmacy, Psychiatric and Wards should be focused on
early game because:
Low Construction Cost.
Only one Specialist required.
Can treat most of the early diseases in a level.
They do not require too much space (Except Wards).
GPs office should be instantly accessible in the Hospital.
There should be adequate seating outside every room especially GPs office.
There should be access to most visited rooms very near to the GPs Office.
A decent sized Staff room must be constructed to cater to needs of staff.
2) Space should be conserved for future constructions.
3) There should be space for seating.
4) Careful analysis of finance status before Expanding into new Plots.

What are the gameplay mechanics which force these decisions?

1) The levels have an increasing pattern of difficulty.
2) The complexity of diseases rises as the time passes.
3) The diseases in the first 10-15 minutes of the game(on Fastest) are very basic in nature and can be
cured by a total of 4-5 rooms.
4) The revenue generated early game is needed to make additions and implement high level facilities and
treatments.
5) The player doesnt initially have the capital to build everything in the game.

Management of Money:
1) Player has to spend money carefully and strategically.
2) The player must focus on strategies to earn Money through building facilities and curing patients.
3) The player must keep in mind the following factors while dealing with scenarios:
Building Rooms :
a) Larger rooms need more money to build.
b) Adding extra stuff to the room requires money to purchase.
Hiring Employees:
a) Doctors:
Ability: Doctors with low work ability are cheaper.
Qualification: Each qualification increases monthly salary.
Experience: Each level adds to monthly salary.
b) Nurses:

 Ability: Nurses with low work ability are cheaper.

Personality: Polite nurses affect the mood in positive way.
c) Janitor:
Ability: Janitors with high ability have higher salary.
d) Receptionist:
Ability: Receptionist with high work ability have higher salary.
Personality: A polite Receptionist affects mood in a positive way.

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Allocating/Buying Space:
a) Larger rooms need more money to construct.
b) Plots are expensive.
c) Buying Plots for specific reason only.
d) Division of sections of Hospital for accessibility and order.
e) Possible allocation of space for a second GPs Office.
Catering to Needs:
a) The temperature must be increased to comfort the people.
b) Higher temperature yields high Electrical Bill.
c) Heat is given out by radiators placed in rooms and corridors.
d) Drinks machines are purchased at cost of Money.
e) Food and Drink leads to littering which must be cleaned by Janitors.
Low Heating bill

Good mood

High Heating Bill

Research and Training:

a) Research Department is built at the cost of Money.
b) Researchers demand a higher Salary than regular Doctors.
c) Player must decide how much capital to allocate to research every month. The more
money allocated, the faster the technology of medicine upgrades.
Fast Research

Balance of Funds

Slow Research

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What Gameplay Mechanics force these decisions?
1)
2)
3)
4)

Every action of creation done by the player requires money.

Money is drained every month.
The Larger the hospital, the more money required to run it every month.
The initial money allotted to the player is limited and cannot be used to last very long without earning
income.
5) The Salaries of High level Doctors are difficult to manage. High level Doctors are needed to earn more
money and cure advanced diseases.
6) Electrical bill gets deducted from the Money pool Annually.
7) Plots are priced highly and the initial space provided is insufficient, forcing the player to buy plots within
first 20 minutes of gameplay initiation.

Decision Making
Question: What kind of Challenges require decision making?
Answer: The player faces the following challenges and conflicts through decision making:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Core Challenge: Patient has a possibility of Dying.

Core Challenge: Patient has nowhere to go.
Core Challenge: VIP Wants to Visit the Hospital.
Core Challenge: There is an emergency.
Core Challenge: There is an epidemic.
Conflicts associated with these Challenges:
Too many choices to manage at the same time.
What to do with a Patient?
How to respond to emergencies and epidemic.

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Solution: The player overcomes these obstacles by doing the following actions:

Choices for Patients:

1) Patients with low chance of survival should be sent home.
2) Patients with nowhere to go should be made to:
a) Stay in the Hospital if player can find the reason of his hold up.
b) Go home if there is no solution.
3) Patients with an unfamiliar condition should be sent to research department.
4) Emergency/Epidemic patients should be prioritized by pushing them ahead in the queue.

Choices for Emergencies:

1) Emergencies should only be handled when the Hospital is prepared for it.
2) The seriousness of the Emergency affects the number of Patients.

3) The player must choose whether to accept or deny service.

4) The success in handling an emergency gives high amount of Money.
5) The failure has a negative impact on the Reputation of the Hospital.
What are the Gameplay Mechanics that force these decisions?

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The choices appear without warning.

The choices always have a reward for success and downside for failure.
The choices of the player directly affect the outcome.
The combined effect of several decisions at once is hard to calculate for the player.