If Sam Goldwyn Were Alive, This Would Be His Favorite Game
That's because Hollywood Mogul 3 is what it says it is: a game for wanna-be studio heads. If you'd rather be Michael Eisner than Martin Scorsese, this may well be the game for you.
Hollywood Mogul 3 is to Molyneux's The Movies as Football Mogul is to John Madden Football. That is, it's a data-driven game with enormous detail in which your role is to manage the studio, not watch cute animations or move animated characters around. Visually, it's far from stunning--some have likened it to a spreadsheet--but the level of detail, and the complexity of the underlying model is stunning (and somewhat overwhelming to a first-time player; luckily, there's a good tutorial).
You can think of it as more of a true simulation than a game; if you want to understand what problems studio heads really face, and the ins and outs of the movie making process from the studio side, its the single best way to find out, this side of moving to LA and going to work for MGM or Disney.
We want to emphasize that this is not a game for everyone; a light, casual diversion it is not. Instead, it's a rich, complicated, and detailed simulation. But if you like the idea of spending your time managing a business in Tinseltown and aiming for a high box-office gross, give it a shot; the demo provides a generous ten days of play before you'd need to buy the game.
The Developer Says:
Hollywood Mogul 3 is the PC Strategy game that makes you the Head Of The Studio.
Go inside The Dream Factory and run your own Hollywood movie studio.
Hollywood Mogul is a complete top-to-bottom rewrite of the award-winning turn-based
strategy game Hollywood Mogul 2 released in 2000.
Release 100 Movies. Or 500 Movies.
Play 10 years. 20 years. 100 Years.
Own the studio. Run the studio. Make the movies.
There is a place where dreams come true
And the greatest dreamers make millions.
The whole world has always looked to Hollywood.
Now the whole world is looking to you...to become the next Hollywood Mogul.
In the ultimate PC strategy game challenge you'll go inside the dream factory...and you'll call the shots.
Risk all you have...for all you could ever want.
Ride it out.
From the first talent contract negotiation to the last dollar of the worldwide box office gross.
Reviews
"Hollywood Mogul is the game I wanted when I bought Peter Molyneux's holiday blockbuster The Movies, or at least something closer to it."
-- Henry Jenkins IV
Our Review
Hollywood Mogul 3: Award Winning Performance
Submitted by DrJ on Thu, 2007-02-15 21:07. The WordHollywood Mogul 3
"Screenplay" by Dr. J.
In real-life, I listed with a Hollywood agent when I was college. I didn’t expect movie work. I was hoping for voiceover and radio work. That work never happened for me, but I was in the agent’s office long enough to hear him take other calls and use about five of the top 10 Hollywood clichés. Long after grad school, I met a disappointed screenwriter named Carey DeVuono. Carey had gotten closer to the Hollywood life than I had and he gave me a lot of insights about the “management by committee” styles that forced mediocrity on so many of the films we see today. Carey wreaked revenge on the Hollywood establishment by exposing some of the flaws and some of the process in a little Visual Basic game called Hollywood Mogul.
AWARD WINNER: Using a fan-created database, you can insert photos of actual stars in the game.
I was fortunate enough to be able to assign myself the review when I was working at the once legendary Computer Gaming World magazine. I loved the mix of customizable activities, decision points, and cute displays on the screen. I didn’t care that the graphics were crude, the screens were text-heavy, and that the program was sometimes slow. It was, in those days, our kind of game—more steak, less sizzle.
Of course, we’ve seen the bulk of computer/video games move toward the sizzle side of the continuum. But thanks to a few independent visionaries, we still see a few products that are chewy, juicy, tasty, satisfying steaks. For strategy gamers who like a simulated slice of real life (and I suppose I have to use that term loosely when I speak of the “business” of Hollyweird) and the ability to control lots of details like the control freaks some of us are, Hollywood Mogul 3 is such a steak. This sequel to that old Visual Basic game has a tremendous amount more to offer than that earlier game.
Voice of the Masses
Hollywood MogulNo posts