Choose a topic, do research, hire programmers & artists & etc. to convert said research into a sim game. Challenges lie in balancing staff size, time, effort, with budget while also balancing being as realistic as possible for the hardcore players without killing the fun factor for the rest. These balancing acts apply to every stage--R&D, actual development, QA. And all risk is assumed up front; only when it's completely finished and released do you learn whether your skill (plus luck) were enough to make a profit, or not quite but you showed enough promise to get the chance to try again, or you've tanked badly enough that your studio folds and it's back to working at McDonalds. Think enough people might be interested enough in experiencing the reality of the process to make this successful, or is actual reality too hard to sell?
