Automan VI

Automan VI is a 2020  developed by Alulim Games and Mosavali Studios and published by Alulim Interactive. It is the ninth main entry in the Automan series and is the first major title to be released after Automan V in 2012. Set within the entire south-central Artemian continent, the map contains fictional representaitons of Seratof, Samotkhe, Velselexo, Svenskt, and Borgosesia. It follows the story of SAMOTMAN, a real estate agent and infamous hacker, SERATOFMAN, a young orphan seeking to make big in the central Artemian underworld, and BORGOMAN, a renowned bank-robber in Borgosesia, and an enemy of the state in their efforts in committing various crimes, heists, and scores while working for various corrupt agencies and institutions. The open world design allows players to explore the entire map before completing missions, however Borgosesia is locked until a specific point in the game.

The game's development began even before the release of Automan V in 2012 and was shared between two studios in Seratof and Samotkhe. An MoU was signed in 2010 between the two companies which shifted some work into Mosavali studios. The game takes heavy inspiration from real-world settings, events, and customs from previous games, combining them to create a holistic game world for the player to explore. As a result, much of the game's work and development was spent on working on the game's big game map, which is significantly much bigger than all previous Automan games, and is one of the biggest open-world game maps in the video entertainment industry. The game's soundtrack was composed by a team of composers, musicians, and recorders that collaborated over several years to produce original soundtrack from the game.

The game was released in December 2020 for the and, and in March 2021 for the , , and. Since its announcement in early 2018, the game has been highly anticipated and marketed, with the company spending as much as 400 million Zakkas on advertising and publicity. Seratofian President Žuljus Badűrjos officially promoted the game as a "national pride." It was released to universal acclaim from critics and fans alike, with the game selling 15 million preorders and another 5 million in its second day, amassing 1.1 Billion Zakkas in revenue. The game caused various controversies even before release for the depiction of highly sensitive issues across all countries, such as racism, violence, and sexism. However, it still managed to win several notable gaming awards, and is one of 2020's highest rated games.

Gameplay
Automan VI is an  which is played in either the  perspective as is in previous games or in the. The story takes place in the fictional south-central Artemian region, and players are free to roam between the different countries within the map from an early stage of the game. Outside of missions, players are free to roam the entire map using a multitude of vehicles and ways. With a large map, it is now possible to book bus, train, or plane tickets between cities and countries. Unlike previous games, there is no impassable water or solid boundaries at what would usually be considered the limits of the game map, however the player would cross increasingly difficult terrain until the game redirects the player back to within the playable area. For example, once the player reaches the northern boundary, inspired by the Central Artemian Range, an irremovable snowstorm appears, severely obstructing the screen until the player exits the border area. For water boundaries, the game will seamlessly reorient the players back towards the land area.

The game is progressed by entering and completing missions which are scattered throughout the map. There may be more than one mission available to the player at a given point within the game. New to the Automan series is that the order and manner in which a player does a mission will effect the future of the story, and will indefinitely lead to different endings depending on the previous actions of the player. When not on a mission, players are free to roam the map and perform various side-missions and activities which are not vital towards the main story. Side-missions and activities may also affect the main storyline in various forms, such as dialogues between the characters, or slightly different objectives or conditions in future missions. The number of side missions and activities in Automan VI has been very greatly increased and improved when compared to previous games. Some side activities included in the game are:


 * Gambling: Players may visit casinos and other gambling spots across the map and partake in both legal and illegal gambling activities. The type of games available as well as the maximum amount able to be gambled at once depends on the player's gambling skill and the location the player wishes to gamble in.
 * Theme parks: Automan VI offers two theme parks within the game, namely "Harambe theme parks" in Seratof and in XXX. These themeparks offer many types of entertainment and rides such as water slides, roller coasters, funhouses, pools, restaurants, and casual bars. The theme parks are based on Hararei theme parks in real life.
 * Sports: Players are able to play basketball, tennis, squash, golf, perform yoga and meditate, and partake in ski, jogging, and swimming tournaments scattered throughout the map. Players may also attend matches between football and basketball teams in selected venues and only in specific dates.
 * Burglary: Players are able to break into houses, offices, and other designated buildings and perform burglaries.
 * Heists: When not on a mission, players are able to perform several heists and robberies. The player must plan and coordinate the heist and perform the heist as planned.
 * Relationships: Players may engage in relationships with NPCs met throughout the game. Players may take their SOs on a date, perform side activities together, or do adult stuff.
 * Character customization: Continuing from previous games, players have full control over the appearance of their character. Players may style or cut the characters' hairs and beards, select their clothing, alter their body fat and muscles, and select their tattoos or other body modifications.
 * Vehicle tuning: Most vehicles can be tuned in-game, and players are free to tune and modify their vehicle in select garages and other workshops around the map.
 * Management: New to the Automan series, the Management minigame allows player characters to own and run a business, which allows for passive income generation for in-game currency. Different characters will have different business opportunities and abilities.
 * Hunting: Players are able to go on hunting trips in wilderness scattered throughout the map and hunt, and even compete with locals or other characters in hunting.

With the inclusion of most of south-central Artemia, new to the game is the existence of both left and right handed vehicles to accommodate both left and right side traffic. As a result, national license plates will denote where a specific vehicle comes from. Border control and checks are also introduced into the game. Players may possess up to five different currencies, representing the five different nations included into the game. The character may convert between currencies if needed in either banks or using an online application. When visiting different countries, a different currency would be used. The interaction with police in different countries will represent the difference in laws and police culture, such as police aggression when equipping certain items or cosmetics, however this feature has been subject to heavy criticism.

Development
Plans for a sixth major installment in the Automan series have been afloat even before the release of Automan V in 2012, with several leaked reports from the same year citing that the studio responsible for the series were developing both games simeoultaneously, sharing some features between the two "titles". Although so, initial reports or leaks did not mention that the two games would be successive series of the Automan games. With the heavy success of Automan V, being praised for its graphics and gameplay which was revolutionary during its era and setting a standard for games which were released after it, the board directors, along with the three studio heads, covertly announced "Project AAAA" in the summer of 2012, this being the codename for Automan VI during its production.

In early 2013, Árlja games signed an MoU and contract with Mosavali Studios from Samotkhe, and announced that the two studios were going to work and collaborate together. It was only revealed in 2018 that Árlja Games and Mosavali Studios were working together to develop the next main installment in the Automan series slated for release in either 2019 or 2020. During this period, executives and employees from both studios pioneered the regional developmental and progression model, with each individual studio working independently yet still intertwined in technology and gameplay, coordinating rigorously to avoid any miscommunication or errors in development. The overall cost of developing Automan VI was estimated to be more than 5 billion Zakkas ($750 million) consisting of more than 2,500 people in three nations,making it one of the most expensive and extensive video games to be developed in history.

Setting and environment
CENTRAL ARTEMIA WOOOOO

Additional Content
Through free updates, content is continuously added to Automan VI in package increments. Although the Online Mode of the game is still under development, several DLCs have been announced and released for the game. They are shown below.