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| Source // Moby Games |
The urge to create can be found within us all. Some of us want to do it more than others, granted, but deep down, we humans like it when something new comes into this world, especially when we put it there.
Back in my youth, I was into movie making. Nothing remarkable, mind you, even after A-Levels and Diplomas. The movie-making bug has long since been cast out of my system, but I certainly see the appeal in going through all that effort, the blood, sweat, and tears, to get your vision onto the screen, and so does The Movies.
One part machinima creation suite, one part Hollywood Movie Studio business simulator, The Movies lets players live out their movie star dreams, taking on the role of basically everything as you strive to run a successful studio, churning out your own movies, even sharing them online for the world to see.
Will it rekindle the spark I had way back when? Am I the next Spielberg?
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| Source // Moby Games |
Frustrations
I'm not able to confirm that I am definitely not the next Spielberg, because The Movies isn't available digitally, and I haven't seen any copies out in the wild. It's a bit of a shame because this game does quite a lot.
You start with the creation of your own movie studio, setting your budget and time period to give yourself an easier or harder time of things, and are then let loose onto your studio plot to create buildings to manage your crew, your cast, your finances and much more. It's almost like a city builder, but instead of plopping down a school to educate your cities youth, you've got some acting classes that you physically drop someone into - anyone, even, whether they've the talent or not.
The more you invest in your studio, researching new technologies and attracting more stars, the more you're able to create the kind of movies that you want, and it's this side of The Movies that really shines.
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| Source // Moby Games |
Fond Memories
One lunchtime, back in 2005 or so, I was asked if I wanted to go around to a mates house. He had a car, we had an hour to kill, I was peer-pressured into going. I didn't want to. I'm an absolute stickler for being somewhere on time, and every moment o that lunchtime was spent wondering if we would make it back to school on time.
But off I went, and we found ourselves playing The Movies. I remember nothing of the business management side of things, but I do remember the actual filmmaking bit. Once you had a script developed and roped into some cast members, you can direct them using all kinds of tools, from scene setups to detailed acting prompts, saving the best takes and editing them into some kind of story.
I sadly forget what the story was, but I remember that we recorded voices for it, so it must have been quite a flexible bit of kit that allowed players to go wild. It only lasted a few minutes - we were on a lunch break, after all - but we had made (by the loosest definition) a movie.
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| Source // Moby Games |
Final Word
But that's all I played of The Movies. I didn't have a PC back then, and we never regrouped for a sequel, or a director's cut, or anything more than whatever we managed in that one lunchbreak.
Did I want to see more of it? Ehh. Well... I mean, sure, a full afternoon to see what it was about would have been nice, but if I wasn't desperate to even suggest we try another movie, perhaps I wasn't that fussed about playing The Movies.
What it offers - having watched a bit more on YouTube - is quite in-depth. Training your crew, paying your actors, even dealing with injuries sustained in stunts. The gameplay is very much rooted in the business management side of things, like a RollerCoaster Tycoon or something, but the fun must surely come in the hands-on creation.
You can see some of these user-generated efforts on YouTube, but back in the day, it was the game's website that housed apparently 33 million seconds of film. That's more than a years-worth of machinima from a single game.
I don't know of any modern equivalent to The Movies, but there should probably be one. Even If I don't play it myself, the idea of it appeals. Less so the business management, but still, it deserves more recognition.
If you get the chance to even glance at The Movies, give it a go. I don't even think you need to bother with making the movies yourself. I think you might just be able to play it as a studio simulator. I'm not really sure. I'll have to keep an eye out for a copy.
Fun Facts
You may not have been capable of making a masterpiece, but Alex Chan did. The French Democracy has its own Wikipedia entry and is a political film about civil unrest in France at the time, all created in The Movies.
The Movies, developed by Lionhead Studios, first released in 2005.
Version played: PC, 2005, via teenage memory.
Version watched: PC, 2005 (LGR)