The Movies

Back in the days of Windows 95 there was Microsoft's 3D Movie Maker, yes it was made for five-year-olds, but that didn't stop it being hugely good fun. The idea of being able to make your own movies is one of those things that is worryingly compelling. Just like The Sims this title aims to reel you in and prevent you from having a life. In a gaming world where things are consistently pushing towards the real we guess we should be complaining about this one on principal. After all, if gaming is all about escaping why go to all the trouble to make reality on a three-inch disk?

The simple answer is The Movies isn't reality. Not many people in this world get to take control of a full blown Hollywood studio, so this offers an experience that allows you to escape and enjoy something refreshing and even more importantly than that, exciting. We have never really seen the full vision for Lionhead's ambitious project, but new details have enabled us to see just where they are taking it.

The three main sections of the game are creating your own studio, working with new talent, and making the movies themselves. This all makes for a title that is very in depth and very interesting to play. You can focus on running an economically sound studio, or go all out on making a creative masterpiece. The gameplay has been tailored for the gamer who wants to play as much as possible and go into huge depth, or for the gamers who is just there for the thrills; to dip in, have some fun and bugger off again.

 

You are helped along your way with the assistance of four advisors, meaning you never feel alone and not sure of what to do. Sure you will mistakes, but the game always tries to give you ample chance to make the right decision, but even if you do go wrong it can be terrific fun trying to dig yourself out of a hole, no matter how cavernous.

Having to build the studio you will use to make your films is quite a challenge. Indeed, setting up a fully functioning movie studio is a daunting task, and one not to be taken lightly. Each building you place down has a purpose and each one opens up new possibilities and paths in the game. A research lab for example enables you to use new sets, costumes and the like, which means you can make different and more diverse films and in the end get bigger and better. When you have your studio basics all set up, you can take two paths. Either pump all your resources, money and time into making a world-dominating block buster, or run off a stream of smaller movies, slowly making your name in the industry and getting bigger and better each time. Eventually of course everyone is going to make the big movie, but some will take a bit longer than others. This games diversity is one of its biggest virtues.

When we mentioned the games three main sections, talent was one of them. How is works in The Movies is very clever indeed. For starters there is not one licensed star in the game, instead you have to create your own. You can make them look just how you want and come up with any name you like, the temptation to call someone Thelma Crackin will get the better of each and every one of you, in one respect or another.

 

This is a very cute game. All the little people running about, being busy. The movie stars with their massive entourages, the people working on the sets, the whole thing is great to watch, and great to be a part of and it looks very nice indeed. You don't just start in some undetermined age either, the game has a clear structure of time running through it. Films in the 1920s for example will be a far cry to what you are making in the 1970s, as you move through time, technology advances, tastes change and so does your studio. Everything is so well though over. You even have to hire security guards to keep the paparazzi out, marvellous!

Making the studio and making sure your stars are happy is only a small part of what is on offer here, a game called The Movies just would not have a point if you didn't actually get round to making any, and it is here where the game really comes to life. Each set has an individual style and use with a massive selection to choose from. You have sophisticated British manors, shiny science fiction, beaches and many more. You can also alter the sets up adding in props and the like, to make the perfect set for your needs. As you move through the game, and thus progress in time, you see advances in set design, and more of the game opens up for you, meaning there is a real incentive to keep on playing to see more of what this fantastic game has to offer.

With your set sorted out you then have to move onto picking the scene you want. There is a massive 2000 to chose from, all under subcategories to make it easier to chose what you want. The subtlety is immense here, even down to what actor to use in what film. Certain stars work best in certain film genres, meaning you will have you action man, your comedy actress and so forth, and choosing the right one will determine the level of your success. When you have chosen the right actor you have to chose the right outfit, again taking into account who you are making wear what.

 

But it gets more complex still. With set, scene, actor and costume chosen you have to work out what you want to do with the scene. For each genre you are given a meter. At each end you have the extreme for that type of film, if it is violence, one end will be a quick slap or punch, whilst the other could be all out war. Of course, you have to make sure it isn't too violent; otherwise you are taking out a proportion of the viewing public, which could be problematic. When you are happy with one scene you move onto the next, and the next and the next until you have what you want in front of you.

From here you move onto writing up the scripts. As we all know, the lines spoken in it make a film. We all have our favourites from the movies, be it 'I'll be back' 'Quite frankly my dear I don't give a damn' or whatever else, a good script is needed if you are to have a world-conquering film. With the script ready, the team move into make the movie. With that done it is onto postproduction. Here you work with audio, video and all the movies finer aspects to make the final edit. Now you have to get it into the public mind...

Marketing your film has to be done just right, you need to appeal to the right people, and show off your film as best as possible, then hopefully people will go out and buy tickets. If you make a bad film the people will know, yes maybe it will be hot in its first week or so, but sales will start to slip and you will end up with a very poor box-office haul. Of course, if the film is good then you will soon reap the rewards. As word gets out more and more people to see your masterpiece and the money starts to roll in.

As we have mentioned, The Movies changes as you progress through time, if you make the same sort of film over and over again, people will get tired of them and stop coming to see them. Significant events also effect things, when man lands on the moon there is a massive interest in science fiction films. It is all about giving the public what they want, or perhaps putting all your effort into an ambitious and risky project, that might just come off.