Two Point Hospital

Two Point Hospital
Game logo
Developer(s) Two Point Studios
Publisher(s) Sega
Producer(s) Mark Webley
Designer(s) Ben Huskins[1]
Gary Carr[2]
Programmer(s) Ben Hymers[3]
Artist(s) Mark Smart[3]
Composer(s) Phil French
Tom Puttick
Engine Unity
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux
Release 30 August 2018[4]
Genre(s) Business simulation
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Two Point Hospital is a business simulation game that was developed by Two Point Studios and published by Sega. It was released on 30 August 2018 for Linux, MacOS, and Microsoft Windows.[5][6][7] Developed as a spiritual successor to Bullfrog Productions' 1997 game Theme Hospital, Two Point Hospital requires players to design and operate a privately owned hospital with the goal of curing patients of fictitious, comical ailments.[8][9][10] The game was designed and developed by some of the original creators of Theme Hospital,[11] including Mark Webley[12] and Gary Carr.[13]

Two Point Hospital was released to a positive reception from critics, who acclaimed it for its style, humour and its faithfulness to Theme Hospital's aesthetics, but the game was criticised for its difficulty and the lack of direction for the player.

Gameplay

Two Point Hospital offers a similar style of gameplay to that of Theme Hospital. Players take on the role of a hospital manager who is charged with constructing and maintaining a hospital; tasks include building rooms and amenities that cater for patients and staff, expanding the hospital into new plots, the hiring and management of doctors, nurses, janitors, and assistants to maintain the hospital; and dealing with a variety of comical illnesses. Two Point Hospital features unique, comical conditions, including "Light-Headedness" (having a light bulb for a head),[1] "Pandemic" (having a pan on one's head), "Mock Star" (patients are Freddie Mercury impersonators), "Cubism", and "Animal Magnetism" (having animals stuck to the patient's body;[14] the latter disease was planned for Theme Hospital but was cut.[15]).[3]

Unlike Theme Hospital, the game features modifications to existing gameplay - while rooms are square or rectangular, they can be expanded with individual additional plots; staff have personalities that affect their work and specialisations; expansion of the hospital onto new plots requires the player to wait for a fixed time before they can build rooms in the new wings; patients will require players to tend to their needs such as hunger and entertainment by establishing amenities such as vending machines, magazine racks, telephones, and plants;[3] the completion of challenges and other tasks awards "Kudosh", a currency that can be used to unlock new items that can be placed within rooms and corridors.

Elements new to the game including Star Ratings and Hospital Levels. Each hospital has a set of objectives, including the curing of a set number of patients, an increase of the hospital's value, the earning of a fixed sum of money, and an increase of the hospital's level that eventually increases the hospital's Star Rating. The unlocking of a one-star rating allows players to progress to the next hospital, though they may continue building up their current hospital by completing additional objectives to increase the rating to two or three stars. If the player moves on, (s)he can return to the hospital at anytime. Once a three-star rating is awarded, players can continue running the current hospital. Hospital Levels are determined by the number of rooms and staff members a hospital has – increasing the level unlocks more skilled staff to hire.

Development

Preview screenshot

Two Point Hospital is a spiritual sequel to Theme Hospital, a 1997 simulation game developed by Bullfrog Productions and released by Electronic Arts. Among those involved in the development of Theme Hospital were that game's producer Mark Webley and its lead artist Gary Carr, the lead. Theme Hospital followed Theme Park, also developed by Bullfrog, and there had been plans to expand the range of Theme simulation games.[16] Near the time of Theme Hospital's release, Electronic Arts began exerting more control over the products made by Bullfrog, leading to the departure of Webley and Peter Molyneux who co-founded Lionhead Studios, and Carr who joined Mucky Foot Productions, and the expansion of Bullfrog's Theme games never happened.

After they left Bullfrog, Webley and Carr continued to discuss a follow-up to Theme Hospital.[16] Their first attempt was ER Tycoon, which was planned during Carr's time at Mucky Foot Productions but was cancelled because they could not find a publisher for the game.[17] Mucky Foot closed in 2003 and Carr joined Lionhead; however, ongoing projects did not permit the continuation of the Theme concept. in 2015, Carr left Lionhead in 2015, which was closed by Microsoft Game Studios the following year. Webley had left the studio in 2013. Webley and Carr designed to found Two Point Studios to follow up on the Theme idea. Webley stated, "Gary and I have been talking about this project for a number of years and are really excited to be announcing Two Point Studios".[18][10][1]

The timing of a Theme Hospital-style game was also apt: Art director Mark Smart said making a hospital-simulation game "felt right" and that there was "a lot of love for Theme Hospital", while studio co-founder and technical director Ben Hymers said players had been wanting a sequel to Theme Hospital for years.[3] According to Webley and Carr, Two Point Hospital is a completely new game, rather than a reapplication of new assets to an existing game.[16] Carr said "I wanted to work on something like Theme Hospital again, appealing to a broader range of people".[1] The game was developed by envisioning fictional symptoms, often based on word play, and the means for the player to cure them, and determining which ones most attracted the attention of the development team.[16] Webley and Carr also wanted to develop a graphics style that would remain "future-proof" relative to changes in graphics rendering technology, and opted to use claymation-like effects, which they found made it easy for players to observe on-screen situations and would not become dated.[16]

Online features were an early target of the design of Two Point Hospital; Webley and Carr recognised that players of management games tend to prefer single-player experiences. They designed the online elements of the game to be opt-in and to feature asynchronous gameplay elements, including multiplayer (co-operative and competitive modes[1]) challenges. Players would be tasked with achieving objectives such as curing patients within a set number of months and their scores would be placed on online leaderboards. Players would be able to view their progress compared to that of friends and other players during the challenge from these leaderboards, an approach Webley and Carr took from ghosts that are used in some arcade racing games.[16] Theme Hospital was recognised as one of the first games with support for mods; Webley and Carr said Two Point Hospital would feature mod support, which will not be available at launch.[16]

To produce the game, Webley and Carr considered a few approaches to developing the game before signing with Sega. They originally considered crowdfunding the development through Kickstarter; they spoke to Playtonic Games, which had used Kickstarter to revive a 1990s property Banjo-Kazooie for Yooka-Laylee. Shortly afterwards, however, they found video game development via Kickstarter was waning and decided this approach was too risky.[19][1] They also considered taking an early access approach.[19] Hymers suggested they approach Sega as a publisher, which was fortuitous because Sega wanted to expand their profile with games similar to Theme Hospital.[19] While they were in negotiations with Sega, they selected a number of Lionhead Studios developers to help with Two Point Hospital's development, but Microsoft closed Lionhead in April 2016 before the Sega deal was complete and they had to quickly choose their staff on limited funds, building the team more quickly than they had planned.[19]

According to Hymers, the developers used their experience in making games including Theme Hospital, Populous, and Black & White to make Two Point Hospital, which GamesTM described as "engrossing time-vacuum gameplay". Smart said the team wanted the game to be accessible and not throw players in at the deep end, and that they wanted players to have confidence when examining the sub-menus and realising the level of strategy involved. Smart also people do not like to visit hospitals and that using humour makes a difference. According to Smart, the ailments were concocted backwards; someone would decide that they wanted something and the team worked from that, or that they worked on them from "terrible puns".[3]

Hymers said queues of patients and their movement along corridors was difficult to produce because the game is in 3D, which raised questions about wall thickness and cell width. He compared these elements with their counterparts in Theme Hospital and believed it was much easier in that game, which is 2D with graphics made from sprites, and that people were drawn in front of the walls. He also stated that making people avoid each other was tricky.[3] The game was developed using the Unity engine.[20] A later patch for the game featured character customisation, and a "copy and paste" rooms feature.[21]

Release

Two Point Hospital was announced on 16 January 2018[22] in a short YouTube video showing the game's visuals and comedic styling, and depicted a patient suffering from Light Headedness.[23][8] Edge compared this disease's role in the game's marketing to that of Theme Hospital's Bloaty Head, which was described as its "poster disease".[1]

The first public viewing of Two Point Hospital was held at the PC Gamer weekender on 17 February 2018.[24] The gameplay demo explored the game's user interface and its turning camera, which was not present in Theme Hospital.[25] The game's publisher also announced a potential release date in August 2018.[26] The panel discussed some of the new ailments that would be included in the game, confirming one that changes the patient into a mummy.[25] In a GamesTM preview, Smart stated that the closest illness in the game is Hurty Leg, which he described as "almost like somebody in plaster".[3]

Developers Two Point Studios announced in a newsletter that subscribers would receive a "golden ticket" that would allow the player to download an in-game "golden lavatory".[27] An hour-long gameplay demo that included information about the release was available during E3 2018.[28]

In July 2018, Steam began accepting pre-orders for the game, which was released on 30 August 2018.[4]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic85%[lower-alpha 1][29]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Game Informer75%[30]
Game Revolution4.5/5[31]
GamesRadar+100%[32]
IGN88%[33]
PC Gamer (US)87%[14]

Two Point Hospital was well received by critics; media review aggregation website Metacritic summarised the game as garnering "Generally favorable reviews".[lower-alpha 1][29] The game received praise for its nostalgia compared with that of Theme Hospital. Rachel Weber of Games Radar was positive about the game's use of nostalgia, stating that the game had "taken the funny bones" from the original and transplanted them into Two Point Hospital.[32] Weber also praised other aspects of the game, calling it a "delight" and giving it a perfect score.[32]

Critics were positive about Two Point's improvements over Theme Hospital, and how the game commented on the modern health care industry. Johnny Chiodini of EuroGamer stated that the game "stays true to the spirit of its sort-of predecessor" in Theme Hospital, and that it was a "modernised successor".[34] Chiodini also called the game a "welcome reinvention of a childhood classic".[34]

Critics also praised the game's humorous content. UK newspaper Metro regarded the "amusing script and visual humour" of Two Point Hospital as one of its best features, calling it "endearing".[35] Nic Rueben of Rock, Paper, Shotgun also commented on the game's humour, writing; "it’s not that any individual element is hilarious – it’s more of an infinite dads pulling infinite crackers sort of scenario. It just feels comfy, goofy and pleasant ..."[36]

Jose Cabrera of IGN Spain was positive about gameplay but critiqued its lack of challenge. Cabrera referred to the game as being "fun and casual", but was well put together. Cabrera also called the game a "perfectly balanced simulation" that is based on the nostalgia of Theme Hospital.[33] Fraser Brown of PC Gamer magazine was positive about the game's release, calling it a "brilliant management game regardless of nostalgia".[14] Brown, however, was critical of the game's balance, saying some "missions bleed together" and only a few levels are noticeably distinct.[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Based on 28 critics[29]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Two Point Hospital". Hype. Edge. No. 317. Bath: Future plc. April 2018. pp. 46, 47. ISSN 1350-1593.
  2. ↑ Richard Scott-Jones (18 July 2018). "Two Point Hospital is out in August and what's next is up to you, say the devs". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Two Point Hospital". GamesTM. No. 203. Future plc. pp. 52–57. ISSN 1478-5889.
  4. 1 2 "Two Point Hospital books in a release date". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "Two Point Hospital release date announced - VideoGamer.com". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  6. ↑ "Two Point Hospital on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "Ben Perry on Twitter: "Yes its [sic] coming to Linux too :)"". Twitter. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  8. 1 2 Phillips, Tom (16 January 2018). "Theme Hospital spiritual successor Two Point Hospital announced". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  9. ↑ Donnelly, Joe (16 January 2018). "Two Point Hospital is a new management sim from the creators of Theme Hospital". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  10. 1 2 Minotti, Michael (16 January 2018). "Two Point Hospital is Sega's spiritual sequel to hit business sim Theme Hospital". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  11. ↑ Dayus, Oscar (16 January 2018). "Sega's New Game, Two Point Hospital, Is A Spiritual Successor To Theme Hospital". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  12. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (16 January 2018). "Theme Hospital creators working on spiritual successor with Sega". Polygon. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  13. ↑ Davidson, Matthew (16 January 2018). "Two Point Hospital Announced By Theme Hospital Creators". IGN. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Brown, Fraser. "Two Point Hospital review". PC Gamer US. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "The Making of Theme Hospital". Retro Gamer. No. 130. Bournemouth: Imagine Publishing. June 2014. pp. 46–51. ISSN 1742-3155.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Donnelly, Joe (19 January 2018). "Two Point Hospital is the first of many throwback sims, say its creators". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  17. ↑ "Footprints: The rise and fall of Mucky Foot". Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  18. ↑ "Theme Hospital creators announce Two Point Hospital". Metro. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Dring, Christopher (29 January 2018). "Two Point Studios: "People seemed disappointed it wasn't Dreamcast 2"". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  20. ↑ ""We want to build out a world of sim games"
    How Two Point Hospital is a step toward bringing Bullfrog-era sim games back from the dead"    . Rock Paper Shotgun. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  21. ↑ "Coming This Week: Customisation Update!". Steam. Two Point Studios. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  22. ↑ Dale, Laura (16 January 2018). "Two Point Hospital, a Theme Hospital Spiritual Successor, is Releasing Late This Year". Kotaku UK. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  23. ↑ Andriessen, CJ (16 January 2018). "Two Point Hospital coming in 2018 from the minds behind Theme Hospital". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  24. ↑ Dale, Laura Kate (26 January 2018). "First Two Point Hospital Gameplay Debuting at PC Gamer Weekender". Kotaku UK. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  25. 1 2 Sykes, Tom (20 February 2018). "See some of the bizarre new ailments you'll need to treat in Two Point Hospital". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  26. ↑ Sanders, Mike (18 February 2018). "Theme Hospital Successor Two Point Has Gameplay Video". eteknix.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  27. ↑ Donnelly, Joe (20 April 2018). "Two Point Hospital newsletter signees get a free golden toilet". pcgamer. Archived from the original on 3 May 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  28. ↑ "Two Point Hospital hands-on: Theme Hospital fans are getting the exact game they want". pcgamer. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  29. 1 2 3 "Two Point Hospital". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  30. ↑ Reeves, Ben. "Two Point Hospital Review – A Bittersweet Pill". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  31. ↑ Tamburro, Paul (2 September 2018). "Two Point Hospital Review – Killing Me Softly With His Incompetence". gamerevolution.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  32. 1 2 3 Weber, Rachel. "Two Point Hospital review: 'A mini-universe of glee and medical mischief'". Games Radar. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  33. 1 2 Cabrera, Jose (30 August 2018). "Análisis de Two Point Hospital para PC". IGN España (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  34. 1 2 Chiodini, Johnny. "Two Point Hospital review - pitch perfect retread that manages to improve on a classic". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  35. ↑ "Game review: Two Point Hospital creates a healthy obsession". Metro. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  36. ↑ Rueben, Nic. "Wot I Think: Two Point Hospital". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
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