• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Interested in a radio station management game?

michael hagerty said:
That would make the game worse than useless. No, the way it responds to the inputs I make for my own stations is logical and rational (for the most part), but it seems to be a little fuzzy on the landscape around me (I've only tried single-player mode). This was clearly put together by someone with an understanding of the business---but all the bugs haven't been worked out and since this appears to be heavily AI-driven, they may not be able to be worked out.
Click to expand...
Indeed.

During the free beta period, I tried it out, and I enjoyed it (I was reasonably successful too; don't recall the details, but I posted them in this thread somewhere). I wanted to play with it some more, but I got busy, and now I think there's a subscription fee.

I've only tried single-player mode also. It would be interesting to see what would happen if, hypothetically, we were to try multi-player. I'm sure you'd outdo me easily, if only because of your extensive experience.

K.M. Richards said:
Flaws or not, it would give the armchair quarterbacks some much-needed education about radio station management before they start criticizing moves made by stations and dissing those here who have hands-on knowledge.
Click to expand...
Indeed. I learned a lot from trying it. I'm not sure how well it translates to the real world (which I believe is @michael hagerty's concern), but it's a good start, and in a perfect world where radio broadcasting was still a viable business, this could be a good learning tool for students in broadcasting school or something?

c
 
So an update: Brian and I have been e-mailing pretty much every day, and the game today is several steps more realistic and engaging than it was just a week ago. Again----it is addictive.

From our conversations, it's clear Brian knows his stuff and did his research. These are early days---I can't wait to see where this game goes.
 
I'm tempted. I think I'd see just how life like it was. Like Electronica on AM or a niche format does. Obviously has no chance in the real world. Question is how easy is it to restart the game after making a total mess which I'm certain to do
 
KC8UOK said:
I'm tempted. I think I'd see just how life like it was. Like Electronica on AM or a niche format does. Obviously has no chance in the real world. Question is how easy is it to restart the game after making a total mess which I'm certain to do
Click to expand...

Very easy. Just hit "new game". It also auto-saves games in progress (handy, because if you're doing 50 years 1970-2020 and multiple stations in a cluster, a game can take several hours).

There is still a free mode with several games, so nobody has to buy a premium level as of now (I am not affiliated, just addicted, and I don't know Brian's plans).
 
Hi, everyone! I've enjoyed reading through the thread!

I invite everyone to head over to airwaveempire.com and play the tutorial. It's free. It walks you through the basic of how to run your station. You'll be guided for the first few years (each turn is 6 months...you'll get a Spring book and a Fall book), and then it's wide open for you to play. If you like it, there are subscriptions that open up more markets and more options.

I've certainly tried to hew as closely as possible to reality. I'm sure you'll find a format here or there that behaves a little weirdly. Please tell me (click "Contact" on the site), and I'll go in there and find out what's happening. Also, no two games are the same. The market seeds slightly differently each time a new scenario starts, so while the general qualities of a market persist, the competitive environment will be a little different each time.

Thanks to new friends like @michael hagerty , I'm getting tons of GREAT ideas for features and improvements. There's a long list of new features I'm working on (for instance, in the past few days, I've added Spanish News/Talk, some new visual tweaks for unassigned talent and some further tweaks to make the markets even more realistic). Right now, I'm working on better modeling what happens to the audience and revenue when a popular talent leaves a daypart and the new person comes in. I'd love to add your ideas to my list! I'm energized by the great feedback I'm getting from players -- especially how much they're enjoying it!

I was in radio for a few years before I got into TV -- but I've always loved the radio industry. From the time I was 10 years old and learned about the magic of clear-channel AM stations, I've been a radio nerd.

If Airwave Empire can give you a little bit of the excitement of running an FM during a 1985 CHR war in Los Angeles...or the challenge of steering a heritage AM station through the decline of MOR (and rise of FM) in the 1970s...it has succeeded!

This game is my love letter to radio. I hope you get a kick out of it!

PS: Huge thanks to @davideduardo without whose site none of this would be possible. The archival material at worldradiohistory.com, especially Jim Duncan's rich contributions to the industry, has provided the framework to create the simulation.
 


Back
Top Bottom