The Movies
Encyclopedia
The Movies is a business simulation game created by Lionhead Studios
for Microsoft Windows
and subsequently ported to Mac OS X
by Feral Interactive
. It was released on November 8
, 2005 in North America, and November 11, 2005 in Europe after reaching gold status on October 8, 2005. The game allows players to take the role of a Hollywood film
mogul, running a studio and creating films. Much has been made about the film-making aspect of the game, as it allows players to easily create viewable works or machinima
. The game is similar to the early 1990s film production game Stunt Island
; the game is also similar to the 1988 game Charlie Chaplin, the 1996 game Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair
and, to a lesser extent, the 1995 game 3D Movie Maker
.
On 6 June 2006, the first, and to date, only expansion pack was released, The Movies: Stunts and Effects. This expansion added a host of new features, among which were stunt
s (and stunt double
s), and special effect
s, as well as the ability to designate custom camera angles. This game is also available on the Mac. The Mac port of the game was published by Feral Interactive
and developed by Robosoft Technologies
. It won Best Simulation Game at the BAFTA Video Games Awards for the Mac specific features that have been incorporated in the game.
.
The two most important types of staff in the game are actors and directors, referred to as "stars" in the game. In order to keep stars in a positive mood, the player will need to give them a salary the stars deem satisfactory (relative to their success), an image the stars deem decent, a trailer
of good quality, and a large entourage. Stars can also get stressed or bored, depending on how many movies the player puts them in. Each star has different thresholds regarding when they will get stressed or bored. If stars get stressed, they will resort to alcoholism
or over-eat
ing. Actors play a big role in The Movies. An actor's age and physique affects the quality of movies. Scary-looking actors are suited for horror roles. Younger, more handsome looking actors are more suited for romance movie roles. 30-year-old actors are suited for action roles, and older actors are suited for comedy roles. All actors and directors will retire at age 70. However, depending on a Star's experience in the movie's genre, the movie's quality will go up if they have an adequate level of experience, or down if they don't have enough experience. All films require crew members to carry out the filming process. Early films just require a camera operator and a clapperboard
operator, but more advanced films require boom mike operators, lighting controllers and other specialised crew members. Other staff include extras (which can be promoted to Star status if they are good enough), janitor
s, scientist
s, scriptwriters, builders, and crew member
s.
The studio lot is where sets and buildings are built. In order to increase the 'prestige' of the studio lot, the studio must be neat, free of litter, well laid out and with areas of grass, trees and decoration. Buildings must also be linked together by paths. Buildings and sets also decay, thus decreasing the quality of movies that they appear in. They will eventually become unusable if they do not receive maintenance or repair by staff. The game begins with four rival studios, and six studios are added later. No more studios open for business after the year 1970.
There is no limit on movie length. The average movie length is between 30 seconds and 3 minutes, but user created films can be as long as budget will allow (although a 10 minute film might require over 20 game years of filming). In sandbox mode however, a director can have the movie shoot automatically with the correct options turned on, allowing a 15-20 minute movie made in about a minute. If this is chosen, however, the movie's crew rating will be announced as "awful". Once the actors, extras, director and crew are assigned to a film, production begins, with the entire staff of the film traveling between sets to film the movie. The sandbox mode allows films to be created without undergoing the lengthy production process, and with budgets of over $100 million. A film can be one of five genre
s: action
, comedy
, horror
, romance
or science fiction
. The main effect genre choice has is that real world events affect popularity of different genres. (The Vietnam War
decreases popularity of action, the Space Race
increases the popularity of science fiction, World War II
decreases the popularity of horror, the post-war period increases the popularity of horror, and the Great Depression increases the popularity of comedy.
Players are able to pick a script provided by the studio's writers or write their own, although automated scripts take long to write in game time, while user-written scripts take longer to write in real time. For pre-written scripts, the player hires a writer at the Scriptwriting Office to make one. Multiple writers can collaborate on a single script in order to write it quicker. A series of upgrades, which are unlocked by winning studio awards, will allow the player to build higher quality Scriptwriting Offices, which increase the maximum rating a script can garner (1 star to 4 stars). The ability to write one's own script is enabled after unlocking the Custom Scriptwriting Office, which is itself unlocked from winning an award. It is limited in terms of quality to what the highest scripting office can produce. Writing a custom script follows a storyboard-like suite. For each scene, the player chooses a set for the scene and then the action that will occur during the scene (for example: 'Living Room 1: Enter Scared'). The actors and their costumes can be chosen, extras assigned roles and mood, and lighting
and weather
settings altered. The process will cost money though, the price increasing for each scene. The player can choose to have the structure set out for them (e.g., Introduction, pursuit, conflict, resolution) or "Freeform" mode, where there are no guidelines.
Sets
are the constructions in the studio lot where the cast and crew assemble to shoot movies. The sets are divided into categories such as urban
, western and rural
. Different scenes have different actions available (a bar might feature many drinking related actions, while a street would feature various car
actions). Sets can be used to practice movies and increase genre experience. For example, an actor practicing on the set of a spaceship will increase his/her science fiction proficiency, leading to a better performance in sci-fi movies he/she is cast in.
Once production has finished, the film undergoes post production (provided a Post Production Building has been erected), where music
, sound effects, subtitles, speech and titles can be added to the movie. Cuts and changes can also be made to the length and order of the scenes, making editing
the film easier. You can also record sounds and a dialogue track for each character in that particular scene. The game allows for lip-synching, matching the speech to the actors. However, this only works for short sound files, and only shows basic lip movements. Once the movie has been completed, it can be saved in a proprietary file format for transferring to other PC
users, or WMV
format for online sharing. Outstanding player-made films can be nominated for a Stanley
, a version of the Oscars
. Once you have reached Level 3 in story mode, the publicity
office becomes available. This allows actors to hold press conferences and organizes marketing
for your movie. Once a publicity office is built, players can also choose an advertising budget when releasing a film. A heavily-advertised movie can make much more money, but using too much advertising can result in the movie being 'over-exposed'.
The game starts in 1920 and continues indefinitely, although technologies tail off in 2020. As a result, early films are in black and white
without sound, while modern movies feature digital sound and computer-generated imagery
. Inventing these innovations before rival studios can increase the quality of your films, but hiring more researchers can cost more than the extra income the advances provide.
that was used to buy new props, costumes, and sets, and to advertise online movies.
When the game was first released, a "propshop" was advertised as the only way to spend VCs. Moviemakers were asked, not required, to upload their movies made using the game, earning them around 500 VCs. Each review was worth 200 VC. After The Movies Stunts & Effects was released, The Movies Online entire site was remade. The new TMO featured a way to advertise movies to the general public, using movie posters. Movie posters were uploaded and could be posted to the main movie-poster spot on the homepage for 1,000 VC. Posters were randomly shown. This was, besides the propshop, the only "official" way to spend VCs.
Every week, Lionhead picked out six movies to be featured on the TMO homepage. These movies could be submitted to fansites, who generally contacted Lionhead on which movies they nominated. The "Hall Of Fame" was the 9th TMO chart. Before the site was re-done, there was a "Top Stars" chart, in which Top Stars were featured on the site. The Top Stars were fictional, and were often judged by how many films they appeared in on TMO. The charts were generally updated every six hours. The exact formula for how the charts were resolved was not publicly known, but numbers of unique viewers, peer rating and time elapsed since release of any given movie all played a role in calculating chart position.
On July 18, 2008, The Movies Online was taken offline due to server problems. On August 4, 2008, the servers were fixed. On September 2, 2008, The Movies Online experienced yet more technical difficulties. These had been solved to an extent but much of The Movies Online website did not work including the chart system and many bugs remained. On November 7, 2008, it was announced by the Lionhead team that The Movies Online would be closing on December 5.
On December 5, 2008, The Movies Online was shut down after three years and one month active. The website since its opening in 2005 has had two million visitors and 33025270 seconds' (more than one year's) worth of movies uploaded. The reason for closure was a drop in visitors and movies being uploaded to the website. A fansite has since been set up to replace TMO called The Movies Underground, although this fansite can't use the direct uploading feature within the game and movies must be uploaded by exporting the movie to your computer and then uploading the movie through the upload feature in the site.
brain-storming conference. The idea began when Peter Molyneux
and a few other Lionhead Studios
came up with a new idea for a simulation game inspired by the 1990s hit game Hollywood Mogul
. However, the idea was to create a more diverse and lifelike strategy aspect to the game giving players the option to create their very own movie, a feature that Hollywood Mogul did not include. They announced the idea in April 2002 at E3 2002. The fan reaction was pretty big- The Movies booth was one of E3's most visited that year and many companies wanted to distribute the game. Lionhead Studios
eventually chose Activision
. The game took almost 4 years to make because of various changes to the graphic engine during production. It was finally released for Microsoft Windows
in November 2005.
The game was originally going to be ported to PlayStation 2
and Xbox
, but development of the console ports was halted immediately before acquisition of Lionhead by Microsoft
. The game was officially cancelled on February 7, 2006. Poor sales was the reason cited for the cancellation. On February 8, 2006, Lionhead Studios announced that the console version may still be released, it just wouldn't be published by Activision
. Some rumors have hinted that if it is released on consoles, it may see a release on next-gen systems: Wii
, PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
.
In October 2006, the Macintosh
version by Feral Interactive
won a Bafta for the best simulation game of 2006 at the Bafta games awards. The Macintosh version added a number of additional features which aren't available in the original PC release, including iPod
& HD resolution video
export modes, integration with Apple
's iLife
applications such as iTunes
, iMovie
HD and GarageBand
, and an extra bonus utility. The game was also nominated in the soundtrack category, although it did not win.
s. Alongside this, unofficial mods are possible, leading to extra prop
s, sets, animations, scenes, and clothing designs.
8eyedbaby is one of the first and most popular modding sites for The Movies besides The Movies 3D.
Since even before the game's release, fans have been creating tools for the modification of meshes and costumes. In November 2007, The Movies Editor was released by DCMF, a tool which aims to make the task of creating new sets/costumes/props for The Movies possible for even the most non-technical of users. The Movies website contains a section called the Propshop, which lets users purchase additional content using virtual credits, earned through other achievements online. The propshop was regularly updated with new props, sets and costumes up until recently. Lionhead has now subsequently closed down the propshop along with The Movies Online. The basic concept of the propshop was taken over by The Movies 3D.
The Movies has many virtual and other "Easter Eggs", undocumented features, unannounced features, unannounced content, oddities, glitches inside The Movies including all current EPs patches.
. The soundtrack is varied, containing the many different styles of music used in different genres of film, ranging from the silent film era to modern 20th century film composition. Many of the pieces by Pemberton are "tongue and cheek" homages to other notable cues from classic film scores. The limited Premiere Edition of The Movies included a 20 track official soundtrack, partitioned as an Audio CD on the bonus DVD and spanning 38 minutes. The soundtrack was met with mixed or average critical reaction
The Movies [Premiere Edition] DVD Soundtrack (38:19) track-listing:
In addition to the film score used by the players to make their movies, in gameplay there is a radio station
playing called KMVS. For each significant cultural era (e.g. the Red Scare
) there is a DJ with a different personality and favored genre of music. The change in music is as follows:
1920s and 1930s
1940s and 1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s and on
At certain times newsworthy events will occur (and be read out on KMVS, but not by the current DJ). There are two broadcasts for each event: a prediction, which usually occurs a couple of years before the actual event, and an actual bulletin. These generally shift the genre interests of the public when predicted and after occurring.
Although events can be read separately on the timeline, the KMVS broadcasts are typically parodies, gross understatements, or exaggerations of the event or opinions at the time regarding the event (for example, when the news broadcasts about the computer
arrive, they state optimistically that by 2050 computers will be no bigger than a car and be able to store about 5000 words), and the various Red Scare broadcasts claim that communism is literally a viral
infection (a man is reported to catch it from a toilet manufactured in a communist country). The news extends into the "future" at least up to 2015, when it is reported that astronauts have landed on Mars and vandalized the landscape. There is an element of political satire
within these broadcasts as well; the achievements and beliefs of countries opposed to America are usually mocked or condemned (Sputnik is "proven" to be a fake) by these broadcasters, whilst similar American policies are usually heartedly overpraised.
is the only expansion pack for The Movies and was released in June 2006. It adds stunts, stunt men, new sets and costumes to the game. The changes in gameplay include a freely movable camera position, the ability to hire stuntmen and overlay which can to be used in players' films.
videos. Machinima is film making within a real-time, 3D virtual environment, often using 3D video-game technologies. Machinima
is real-world film making techniques applied within an interactive virtual space where characters and events can be either controlled by humans, scripts or artificial intelligence.
Lionhead Studios
Lionhead Studios is a British computer game development company led by industry veteran Peter Molyneux, and acquired by Microsoft Game Studios in April 2006. Lionhead started as a breakaway from the developer Bullfrog, which was also founded by Molyneux. Lionhead's first game was Black & White, a...
for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and subsequently ported to Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
by Feral Interactive
Feral Interactive
Feral Interactive is a publishing company founded in 1999 that publishes games and other software that did not fit in with the release programs of the large established publishers. It publishes Macintosh games and has relationships with publishers such as Electronic Arts, Eidos Interactive,...
. It was released on November 8
November 2005
November 2005 is the eleventh month of that year. It began on a Tuesday and ended after 30 days on a Wednesday.-Portal:Current events:-News collections and sources:See: Wikipedia:News collections and sources....
, 2005 in North America, and November 11, 2005 in Europe after reaching gold status on October 8, 2005. The game allows players to take the role of a Hollywood film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
mogul, running a studio and creating films. Much has been made about the film-making aspect of the game, as it allows players to easily create viewable works or machinima
Machinima
Machinima is the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation...
. The game is similar to the early 1990s film production game Stunt Island
Stunt Island
Stunt Island is a video game designed by Adrian Stephens and Ronald J. Fortier and was published by Disney Interactive in 1992. The game, marketed as "The Stunt Flying and Filming Simulation", provides an island which contains a number of different sets, such as a city, an oil rig, a canyon, and an...
; the game is also similar to the 1988 game Charlie Chaplin, the 1996 game Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair
Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair
Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair is a simulation game created and published by Knowledge Adventure for Windows and Macintosh. It was released in 1996 in the United States of America....
and, to a lesser extent, the 1995 game 3D Movie Maker
3D Movie Maker
3D Movie Maker is a program created by Microsoft's "Microsoft Kids" subsidiary in 1995. Using this program, directors are able to place 3D characters in pre-made or custom-made environments, add actions, sound effects, music, text, and speech, and then show these movies off to friends, family,...
.
On 6 June 2006, the first, and to date, only expansion pack was released, The Movies: Stunts and Effects. This expansion added a host of new features, among which were stunt
Stunt
A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat, or any act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes in TV, theatre, or cinema...
s (and stunt double
Stunt double
A stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts...
s), and special effect
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s, as well as the ability to designate custom camera angles. This game is also available on the Mac. The Mac port of the game was published by Feral Interactive
Feral Interactive
Feral Interactive is a publishing company founded in 1999 that publishes games and other software that did not fit in with the release programs of the large established publishers. It publishes Macintosh games and has relationships with publishers such as Electronic Arts, Eidos Interactive,...
and developed by Robosoft Technologies
Robosoft Technologies
Robosoft Technologies is an Indian information technology company which provides software product development services. Robosoft was founded in 1996 by Rohith Bhat, who established the company to develop software products for the Mac market...
. It won Best Simulation Game at the BAFTA Video Games Awards for the Mac specific features that have been incorporated in the game.
Gameplay
In The Movies, players get the chance to run their own movie studio. The game can be divided into three main areas — designing the movie studio, forging the careers of movie stars and making movies. It is possible to focus on any of those areas that appeal most, and spend less time on the others. The game plays through from the birth of cinema to the present day and into the near future, with all the technology and historical advances that occur along that timeline. After the movies have been made, they can be played back for the viewer to watch. It is possible once the movie is made to add voice, text and music in post-productionPost-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
.
The two most important types of staff in the game are actors and directors, referred to as "stars" in the game. In order to keep stars in a positive mood, the player will need to give them a salary the stars deem satisfactory (relative to their success), an image the stars deem decent, a trailer
Mobile home
Mobile homes or static caravans are prefabricated homes built in factories, rather than on site, and then taken to the place where they will be occupied...
of good quality, and a large entourage. Stars can also get stressed or bored, depending on how many movies the player puts them in. Each star has different thresholds regarding when they will get stressed or bored. If stars get stressed, they will resort to alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
or over-eat
Eating disorder
Eating disorders refer to a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual's physical and mental health. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are the most common specific...
ing. Actors play a big role in The Movies. An actor's age and physique affects the quality of movies. Scary-looking actors are suited for horror roles. Younger, more handsome looking actors are more suited for romance movie roles. 30-year-old actors are suited for action roles, and older actors are suited for comedy roles. All actors and directors will retire at age 70. However, depending on a Star's experience in the movie's genre, the movie's quality will go up if they have an adequate level of experience, or down if they don't have enough experience. All films require crew members to carry out the filming process. Early films just require a camera operator and a clapperboard
Clapperboard
A clapperboard is a device used in filmmaking and video production to assist in the synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark particular scenes and takes recorded during a production...
operator, but more advanced films require boom mike operators, lighting controllers and other specialised crew members. Other staff include extras (which can be promoted to Star status if they are good enough), janitor
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
s, scientist
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
s, scriptwriters, builders, and crew member
Film crew
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew positions.A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the Actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for...
s.
The studio lot is where sets and buildings are built. In order to increase the 'prestige' of the studio lot, the studio must be neat, free of litter, well laid out and with areas of grass, trees and decoration. Buildings must also be linked together by paths. Buildings and sets also decay, thus decreasing the quality of movies that they appear in. They will eventually become unusable if they do not receive maintenance or repair by staff. The game begins with four rival studios, and six studios are added later. No more studios open for business after the year 1970.
There is no limit on movie length. The average movie length is between 30 seconds and 3 minutes, but user created films can be as long as budget will allow (although a 10 minute film might require over 20 game years of filming). In sandbox mode however, a director can have the movie shoot automatically with the correct options turned on, allowing a 15-20 minute movie made in about a minute. If this is chosen, however, the movie's crew rating will be announced as "awful". Once the actors, extras, director and crew are assigned to a film, production begins, with the entire staff of the film traveling between sets to film the movie. The sandbox mode allows films to be created without undergoing the lengthy production process, and with budgets of over $100 million. A film can be one of five genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
s: action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
, comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, romance
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
or science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
. The main effect genre choice has is that real world events affect popularity of different genres. (The Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
decreases popularity of action, the Space Race
Space Race
The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national...
increases the popularity of science fiction, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
decreases the popularity of horror, the post-war period increases the popularity of horror, and the Great Depression increases the popularity of comedy.
Players are able to pick a script provided by the studio's writers or write their own, although automated scripts take long to write in game time, while user-written scripts take longer to write in real time. For pre-written scripts, the player hires a writer at the Scriptwriting Office to make one. Multiple writers can collaborate on a single script in order to write it quicker. A series of upgrades, which are unlocked by winning studio awards, will allow the player to build higher quality Scriptwriting Offices, which increase the maximum rating a script can garner (1 star to 4 stars). The ability to write one's own script is enabled after unlocking the Custom Scriptwriting Office, which is itself unlocked from winning an award. It is limited in terms of quality to what the highest scripting office can produce. Writing a custom script follows a storyboard-like suite. For each scene, the player chooses a set for the scene and then the action that will occur during the scene (for example: 'Living Room 1: Enter Scared'). The actors and their costumes can be chosen, extras assigned roles and mood, and lighting
Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...
and weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
settings altered. The process will cost money though, the price increasing for each scene. The player can choose to have the structure set out for them (e.g., Introduction, pursuit, conflict, resolution) or "Freeform" mode, where there are no guidelines.
Sets
Set construction
Set construction is the process by which a set designer works in collaboration with the director of a production to create the set for a theatrical, film or television production...
are the constructions in the studio lot where the cast and crew assemble to shoot movies. The sets are divided into categories such as urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
, western and rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
. Different scenes have different actions available (a bar might feature many drinking related actions, while a street would feature various car
Čar
Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...
actions). Sets can be used to practice movies and increase genre experience. For example, an actor practicing on the set of a spaceship will increase his/her science fiction proficiency, leading to a better performance in sci-fi movies he/she is cast in.
Once production has finished, the film undergoes post production (provided a Post Production Building has been erected), where music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, sound effects, subtitles, speech and titles can be added to the movie. Cuts and changes can also be made to the length and order of the scenes, making editing
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
the film easier. You can also record sounds and a dialogue track for each character in that particular scene. The game allows for lip-synching, matching the speech to the actors. However, this only works for short sound files, and only shows basic lip movements. Once the movie has been completed, it can be saved in a proprietary file format for transferring to other PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
users, or WMV
Windows Media Video
'Windows Media Video is a video compression format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater...
format for online sharing. Outstanding player-made films can be nominated for a Stanley
Stanley Award
Named after Stan Cross, the Stanley Awards, also known as The Stanleys are issued annually by the Australian Cartoonists' Association and recognise the best of Australian cartoonists and cartooning....
, a version of the Oscars
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. Once you have reached Level 3 in story mode, the publicity
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
office becomes available. This allows actors to hold press conferences and organizes marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
for your movie. Once a publicity office is built, players can also choose an advertising budget when releasing a film. A heavily-advertised movie can make much more money, but using too much advertising can result in the movie being 'over-exposed'.
The game starts in 1920 and continues indefinitely, although technologies tail off in 2020. As a result, early films are in black and white
Monochrome
Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...
without sound, while modern movies feature digital sound and computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
. Inventing these innovations before rival studios can increase the quality of your films, but hiring more researchers can cost more than the extra income the advances provide.
The Movies Online
The Movies Online was the online portal for those who wished to release their movies to other gamers. As well as its own section on the general Lionhead forums, TMO allowed players to upload their own movies to the Internet for others to review and criticize. Reviews allowed users to rate movies from 1 to 5 stars, as well as leave a comment. When uploading a movie, the player could place the movie into one of five different categories: Romance, Action, Comedy, Horror, and Sci-Fi. This translated into Virtual Credits (VCs), a form of virtual currencyVirtual currency
Virtual currency is used to purchase virtual goods within a variety of online communities; which include social networking websites, virtual worlds and online gaming sites....
that was used to buy new props, costumes, and sets, and to advertise online movies.
When the game was first released, a "propshop" was advertised as the only way to spend VCs. Moviemakers were asked, not required, to upload their movies made using the game, earning them around 500 VCs. Each review was worth 200 VC. After The Movies Stunts & Effects was released, The Movies Online entire site was remade. The new TMO featured a way to advertise movies to the general public, using movie posters. Movie posters were uploaded and could be posted to the main movie-poster spot on the homepage for 1,000 VC. Posters were randomly shown. This was, besides the propshop, the only "official" way to spend VCs.
Every week, Lionhead picked out six movies to be featured on the TMO homepage. These movies could be submitted to fansites, who generally contacted Lionhead on which movies they nominated. The "Hall Of Fame" was the 9th TMO chart. Before the site was re-done, there was a "Top Stars" chart, in which Top Stars were featured on the site. The Top Stars were fictional, and were often judged by how many films they appeared in on TMO. The charts were generally updated every six hours. The exact formula for how the charts were resolved was not publicly known, but numbers of unique viewers, peer rating and time elapsed since release of any given movie all played a role in calculating chart position.
On July 18, 2008, The Movies Online was taken offline due to server problems. On August 4, 2008, the servers were fixed. On September 2, 2008, The Movies Online experienced yet more technical difficulties. These had been solved to an extent but much of The Movies Online website did not work including the chart system and many bugs remained. On November 7, 2008, it was announced by the Lionhead team that The Movies Online would be closing on December 5.
On December 5, 2008, The Movies Online was shut down after three years and one month active. The website since its opening in 2005 has had two million visitors and 33025270 seconds' (more than one year's) worth of movies uploaded. The reason for closure was a drop in visitors and movies being uploaded to the website. A fansite has since been set up to replace TMO called The Movies Underground, although this fansite can't use the direct uploading feature within the game and movies must be uploaded by exporting the movie to your computer and then uploading the movie through the upload feature in the site.
Development
Production of The Movies began back in late 2001 in a Lionhead StudiosLionhead Studios
Lionhead Studios is a British computer game development company led by industry veteran Peter Molyneux, and acquired by Microsoft Game Studios in April 2006. Lionhead started as a breakaway from the developer Bullfrog, which was also founded by Molyneux. Lionhead's first game was Black & White, a...
brain-storming conference. The idea began when Peter Molyneux
Peter Molyneux
Peter Douglas Molyneux OBE is an English computer game designer and game programmer. He created the God games Dungeon Keeper, Populous, and Black & White, among others, as well as business simulation games such as Theme Park and more recently, the RPG series Fable.Despite the success of his games,...
and a few other Lionhead Studios
Lionhead Studios
Lionhead Studios is a British computer game development company led by industry veteran Peter Molyneux, and acquired by Microsoft Game Studios in April 2006. Lionhead started as a breakaway from the developer Bullfrog, which was also founded by Molyneux. Lionhead's first game was Black & White, a...
came up with a new idea for a simulation game inspired by the 1990s hit game Hollywood Mogul
Hollywood Mogul
Hollywood Mogul is a computer game released in 1997 that allows players to take charge of a movie studio. It was conceived, designed and published solely by Carey DeVuono. An economic simulation game, players can choose movie plots to use for a movie, set production budgets and select the talent as...
. However, the idea was to create a more diverse and lifelike strategy aspect to the game giving players the option to create their very own movie, a feature that Hollywood Mogul did not include. They announced the idea in April 2002 at E3 2002. The fan reaction was pretty big- The Movies booth was one of E3's most visited that year and many companies wanted to distribute the game. Lionhead Studios
Lionhead Studios
Lionhead Studios is a British computer game development company led by industry veteran Peter Molyneux, and acquired by Microsoft Game Studios in April 2006. Lionhead started as a breakaway from the developer Bullfrog, which was also founded by Molyneux. Lionhead's first game was Black & White, a...
eventually chose Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
. The game took almost 4 years to make because of various changes to the graphic engine during production. It was finally released for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
in November 2005.
The game was originally going to be ported to PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, but development of the console ports was halted immediately before acquisition of Lionhead by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. The game was officially cancelled on February 7, 2006. Poor sales was the reason cited for the cancellation. On February 8, 2006, Lionhead Studios announced that the console version may still be released, it just wouldn't be published by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
. Some rumors have hinted that if it is released on consoles, it may see a release on next-gen systems: Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.
In October 2006, the Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
version by Feral Interactive
Feral Interactive
Feral Interactive is a publishing company founded in 1999 that publishes games and other software that did not fit in with the release programs of the large established publishers. It publishes Macintosh games and has relationships with publishers such as Electronic Arts, Eidos Interactive,...
won a Bafta for the best simulation game of 2006 at the Bafta games awards. The Macintosh version added a number of additional features which aren't available in the original PC release, including iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
& HD resolution video
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
export modes, integration with Apple
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
's iLife
ILife
iLife is a suite of software applications developed by Apple for organizing, editing, and publishing photos, movies, and music. The suite comprises five applications: iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, GarageBand, and iWeb, all of which run on the Mac OS X operating system....
applications such as iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, iMovie
IMovie
iMovie is a proprietary video editing software application which allows Mac, iPod Touch 4th generation, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPad 2 users to edit their own home movies. It was originally released by Apple in 1999 as a Mac OS 8 application bundled with the first FireWire-enabled consumer Apple...
HD and GarageBand
GarageBand
GarageBand is a software application for Mac OS X and iOS that allows users to create music or podcasts. It is developed by Apple Inc. as a part of the iLife software package on Mac OS X.-Audio recording:...
, and an extra bonus utility. The game was also nominated in the soundtrack category, although it did not win.
Customization
The game has been designed to be mod-able. Lionhead has stated that they might release the actual tools they used to create scenes (though as of yet, no such thing has been seen), shortly after the release of the game, along with expansion packExpansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
s. Alongside this, unofficial mods are possible, leading to extra prop
Theatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...
s, sets, animations, scenes, and clothing designs.
8eyedbaby is one of the first and most popular modding sites for The Movies besides The Movies 3D.
Since even before the game's release, fans have been creating tools for the modification of meshes and costumes. In November 2007, The Movies Editor was released by DCMF, a tool which aims to make the task of creating new sets/costumes/props for The Movies possible for even the most non-technical of users. The Movies website contains a section called the Propshop, which lets users purchase additional content using virtual credits, earned through other achievements online. The propshop was regularly updated with new props, sets and costumes up until recently. Lionhead has now subsequently closed down the propshop along with The Movies Online. The basic concept of the propshop was taken over by The Movies 3D.
The Movies has many virtual and other "Easter Eggs", undocumented features, unannounced features, unannounced content, oddities, glitches inside The Movies including all current EPs patches.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for The Movies was composed by British film and television composer Daniel PembertonDaniel Pemberton
Daniel Pemberton is an Ivor Novello winning and multi BAFTA-nominated English composer.He has composed title tunes and incidental music for countless award winning television series including Peep Show, Desperate Romantics, Occupation, Suburban Shootout, Hell's Kitchen, Great British Menu,...
. The soundtrack is varied, containing the many different styles of music used in different genres of film, ranging from the silent film era to modern 20th century film composition. Many of the pieces by Pemberton are "tongue and cheek" homages to other notable cues from classic film scores. The limited Premiere Edition of The Movies included a 20 track official soundtrack, partitioned as an Audio CD on the bonus DVD and spanning 38 minutes. The soundtrack was met with mixed or average critical reaction
The Movies [Premiere Edition] DVD Soundtrack (38:19) track-listing:
- 1. Acid Bass (2:16)
- 2. Armageddon 1969 (2:07)
- 3. At The Ritz (1:49)
- 4. Big Bad Bud (2:12)
- 5. Clever Clogs (1:55)
- 6. Dr Moores Evil Lab (1:20)
- 7. Femme Fatale (1:48)
- 8. Ferrari Lightning (1:37)
- 9. Fresh Sneakers (2:08)
- 10. Frisky Flute (1:29)
- 11. Hows About That (2:20)
- 12. In The Saddle (1:48)
- 13. Magic Of The Movies (1:39)
- 14. Melodramatic Love (2:04)
- 15. Oompa Jumpa (1:56)
- 16. Relaxing By The Sea (3:09)
- 17. Secret Agent (1:53)
- 18. The Big Adventure (1:46)
- 19. Wonky Tonky (1:30)
- 20. Yee Ha (1:33)
In addition to the film score used by the players to make their movies, in gameplay there is a radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
playing called KMVS. For each significant cultural era (e.g. the Red Scare
Red Scare
Durrell Blackwell Durrell Blackwell The term Red Scare denotes two distinct periods of strong Anti-Communism in the United States: the First Red Scare, from 1919 to 1920, and the Second Red Scare, from 1947 to 1957. The First Red Scare was about worker revolution and...
) there is a DJ with a different personality and favored genre of music. The change in music is as follows:
1920s and 1930s
- DJ: William McDove
- Music: JazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
1940s and 1950s
- DJ: Wally Cronkelberger
- Music: Swing Jazz and WarWarWar is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
-themed music
1960s
- DJ: "Mad Dog" John
- Music: RockRock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and 60s-style jazz
1970s
- DJ: Randy Shaw
- Music: DiscoDiscoDisco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
and Rock
1980s
- DJ: Andy Wright
- Music: Rock and New WaveNew Wave musicNew Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
1990s
- DJ: Kristin
- Music: Rock and GrungeGrungeGrunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
2000s and on
- DJ: Hugh (until 2025)
- Music: Rock, Grunge, Jazz, and War Music is played randomly
At certain times newsworthy events will occur (and be read out on KMVS, but not by the current DJ). There are two broadcasts for each event: a prediction, which usually occurs a couple of years before the actual event, and an actual bulletin. These generally shift the genre interests of the public when predicted and after occurring.
Although events can be read separately on the timeline, the KMVS broadcasts are typically parodies, gross understatements, or exaggerations of the event or opinions at the time regarding the event (for example, when the news broadcasts about the computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
arrive, they state optimistically that by 2050 computers will be no bigger than a car and be able to store about 5000 words), and the various Red Scare broadcasts claim that communism is literally a viral
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
infection (a man is reported to catch it from a toilet manufactured in a communist country). The news extends into the "future" at least up to 2015, when it is reported that astronauts have landed on Mars and vandalized the landscape. There is an element of political satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
within these broadcasts as well; the achievements and beliefs of countries opposed to America are usually mocked or condemned (Sputnik is "proven" to be a fake) by these broadcasters, whilst similar American policies are usually heartedly overpraised.
Release
The game was released as a standard edition and a premiere edition, which contains additional content. The Movies: Stunts & EffectsThe Movies: Stunts & Effects
The Movies: Stunts and Effects is an expansion pack for the PC business simulation game The Movies. The expansion pack is developed by Lionhead Studios. It was released on June 6, 2006 in North America and June 16, 2006 in the UK....
is the only expansion pack for The Movies and was released in June 2006. It adds stunts, stunt men, new sets and costumes to the game. The changes in gameplay include a freely movable camera position, the ability to hire stuntmen and overlay which can to be used in players' films.
Legacy
The Movies has been used often in machinimaMachinima
Machinima is the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation...
videos. Machinima is film making within a real-time, 3D virtual environment, often using 3D video-game technologies. Machinima
Machinima
Machinima is the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation...
is real-world film making techniques applied within an interactive virtual space where characters and events can be either controlled by humans, scripts or artificial intelligence.
External links
- http://www.feralinteractive.com/game/themoviesThe Movies at Feral InteractiveFeral InteractiveFeral Interactive is a publishing company founded in 1999 that publishes games and other software that did not fit in with the release programs of the large established publishers. It publishes Macintosh games and has relationships with publishers such as Electronic Arts, Eidos Interactive,...
]