“The Movies: The Movie Factory” is a computer game in the strategy/simulator genre for the film industry, developed by the renowned studio Lionhead. The worldwide publisher is Activision. The publisher in Russia is “1C” (now “1C-SoftClub”). The game was released in the fall of 2005. The release of the translated and localized version took place in April 2006.
“The Movies: The Movie Factory” is the work of LionHead Studios as a whole and a product of the creativity of the famous Peter Molyneux, and old Peter does not make bad games. This fully applies to his creation “The Movies: The Movie Factory.” What is this game about? “The Movie Factory” tells about such an important milestone in human history as the film industry, giving the player a wonderful opportunity to touch it, so to speak, from the very origins. At first, you play as the head of a young studio operating in the 1920s. Black and white cinema. No voice acting. Minimal decorations and pavilions. What needs to be done? Write scripts, hire actors, and shoot films based on the technologies of that era. But everything flows, everything changes – over time, the film industry develops comprehensively, years change to decades, and now the twenty-first century stands at the door – with its computer graphics and modern special effects.
Although “The Movies: The Movie Factory” has a truly magnificent idea, the game, in essence, is a typical tycoon. Here you need to build buildings, manage the activities of workers, conduct communications, hire support staff, and so on. But of course, “The Movies: The Movie Factory” does not stop there. The game has everything needed to create a movie: screenwriters, specialized Scriptwriting Office, production and post-production stages, actors, and much more. The film shot can be presented to the esteemed audience, so that later, if the film deserves it, you can receive the main local award – a virtual equivalent of the famous “Oscar.”
“The Movies: The Movie Factory” captivates with the tiniest details, making the player create various films over and over again. However, shooting a truly genius film does not always happen – you have to make a great effort, considering the myriad of factors: script quality, accuracy of decorations, beauty of costumes, and even the acting cast. The stars in “The Movies: The Movie Factory” are quite capricious and sometimes even unbearable, but they are the guarantee of the success of any film. To keep them satisfied, you need to meet their demands, ensure they do not get bored, and prevent them from developing a taste for alcohol or fatty foods. In short, it's just like in real life.