Production began back in late 2001 in a Lionhead Studios brain-storming Press Conference. The idea began when Peter Moly
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. The game was also nominated in the soundtrack category although it did not win.
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-production. The movies can then be exported and shared or uploaded to a website (The Movies Online) for anyone who wishes to watch them.
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-eating.
Other staff include extra (which can be promoted to Star status if they are good enough), janitors, scientists, scriptwriters, and crew members.
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 your staff.
The first four rival studios your studio will compete against are the following: * Maxipack Worldwide * Lionear Productions (a spoof of Lionhead Studios) * Creamboat Creations * Old Rope Cinema (a spoof of the Time Warner-owned New Line Cinema)
Later in the game these five studios open: * Rigormortis Movies * Gusset Entertainment * Cletus' Shotgun Cinema * Boney Studios (a spoof of Sony Pictures Entertainment) * Booboo & Dingo Films
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).
Once the actors, extras, director and crew are assigned to a film, production begins, with the entire staff of the film travelling 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.
Players are able to pick a script provided by the studio's writers or write their own. Provided scripts take longer to write in game time, while user-written scripts take longer to write in real time.
For prewritten scripts, the player hires a writer at the Scriptwriting Office to make one. The player initially begins with the Basic Scriptwriting Office, in which six script writers can work together on a single script. This office is limited to creating one star scripts. The first upgrade, the Intermediate Scriptwriting Office, comes in a basic pack, after the first awards ceremony. This building has a maximum of a two star script. The second upgrade, the Proficient Scriptwriting Office, is won by meeting the criteria for an award. It can employ six scriptwriters like before, but each writer can now work on his/her own script (effectively allowing for 6 scripts be written simultaneously). This building creates complex scripts usually nine scenes long, and is limited to a maximum of a three star script and the fourth upgrade a First class scriptwriting office and the maximum of four star rating and can have his/her own script like a proficient Scriptwriting Office.
The ability to write one's own script is enabled after unlocking the Custom Scriptwriting Office, also unlocked from winning an award. It is limited to what highest scripting office can produce (if the player has the Proficient Scriptwriting office, he/she is limited to a three star movie). 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, lighting and weather settings altered.
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.
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.
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 better sci-fi movies he/she is cast in.
The Movies: Stunts & Effects is the first expansion pack for The Movies, it adds stunts, stunt men, new sets and costumes to the game. It also now includes a 'free-cam'; giving total control over the camera position and movement (previously the camera was fixed in the scene presets). The game was released in June 2006.
New Features Include * 58 New Costumes * 15 New sets * Countless new props and backdrops * New features in advanced movie maker, for example a free-roaming camera * Perhaps the biggest new feature to the game is being able to hire your own stuntmen. With new stunts that your stars are unable to attempt, you will need to hire a stuntman in order safely complete that action.