The cinematic qualities of the mainstream are making it increasingly difficult for an independent developer to make an impact in the action genre. With my lesson learned, I for one am retreating to the safety of an office. When I'm not breaking tables, one of my greatest strengths is getting inside an industry and bringing it to life on screen with unprecedented detail. Popscene was certainly my most successful game outside of wrestling - even giving Booking MPire a run for its money - and now the concept is trying its luck in the movie business...

Meet The Parents
The game has finally departed from Popscene with a universe of its own! It's the usual selection of clichéd organizations, but there's no place for pretentious titles in a game world. Each studio has to have a distinct style and identity, and in that respect they succeed admirably. We've got the highly respected home for proven veterans: "Class Act". A chart-topping, money-making machine called "Magic In Motion". A modest, respectable home for serious actors called "Blueprint Productions". And the big four are completed by the far less respectable output of "Raw Reels". Then you've got the obligatory "Film School", and a deceased pool going by the name of "Six Foot Footage". Quite where your work will end up remains to be seen. As in Popscene, it's quite important though because it determines who you've got access to. Snap up a deal with the trashy studio and you'll be begging for a decent actor! Likewise, if you opt for the more arty studios you'll be begging for somebody that can entertain. Eventually, all that remains is to aim for a big deal at one of the big two..

Coming To A Theatre Near You...
As the gameplay enjoys some stability, recent developments have been all about the content. The sets, in particular, have been flooding in day by day. It all started with a great looking cinema, which reappears elsewhere in the game as a real working cut-scene. Whenever you release a new movie, you're treated to a scene-by-scene preview of how it looks as a motion picture. It's little more than an interlude, but it's an enjoyable one thanks to the return of crowd reactions! As in Popscene, they react to each segment with varying degrees of entertainment and satisfaction - giving you a good idea of how the movie plays to an audience. You're then thrown straight into a magazine review, where the professional verdict is delivered. Thanks to all of these cut-scenes, what could have been a dull text game is becoming highly graphical...

Let's Do Lunch
Following on from the suburban street, there's even a fully decorated cafeteria to film at! Like other recent efforts, it's one of the best sets we've ever seen in my games. It features dozens of seating areas surrounding a counter - complete with decorated walls, a nicely tiled floor, real glass doors, and huge windows looking out into the outside world. It should be a popular location, where plenty of classic movie scenes can be recreated - not least the obscure conversations that adorn the dining tables of Quentin Tarantino's films! That said, you can't actually sit down at the tables at the moment. Although the locations are fully interactive as far as exploring goes, at the end of the day they are just glorified backdrops...

The Director's Cut
It may look similar to the cafeteria with its tiled floor, but this "Barber Shop" is actually a whole other location. The attention to detail ensures that it's equally impressive though - with fully decorated walls, real windows, and even a dubious mirror effect. And, like the cinema, the location promises to be used throughout the game too. There are plans to make hairstyling a separate cut-scene - much like plastic surgery was in Popscene. You'll whisk a character off to this studio and then edit his looks in real-time, before paying the barber for his/her services. That should make the process much more realistic and involving. And, if deemed to be a success, I'm sure the feature will stay on for the wrestling games too...

Lost In Space
I'm so confident with the sets now that I've even ventured into outer space! For all of your sci-fi needs, there's a Moon-like landscape surrounded by a galactic atmosphere. It's deliberately sparse and featureless, but the location does its job well. There are even plans for a spaceship variation, which will squeeze the action into a cockpit looking out into space. In the meantime, the selection is padded out with classics from Wrecked, Sure Shot 3D, Popscene, and practically every other game! That should ensure a formidable collection that goes well into double figures...

The Next Samurai
Just as much work is going into the characters too, as I put the finishing touches to an all-new wardrobe. It's already bigger than those we saw in Wrestling MPire and Popscene - featuring all manner of costumes that a movie star might need. The latest and greatest is a superb Samurai outfit, which goes well with the sword. There's even a Superman inspired costume for all of your superhero needs! In amongst the novelties, there are also more casual outfits than ever to ensure that each character looks unique. The faces haven't been left behind either. They're a notch better than even those in Popscene, boasting enough detail to make each one perfectly recognizable...

Last Action Hero
The characters will be looking unique on camera too, because there are dozens of acting gestures on display. In addition to fighting stances and punches, we also have a martial arts variation for those Bruce Lee moments. There's even a cheesy disco dance for anyone planning to remake Saturday Night Fever! Purists needn't fear though, because there'll be plenty of general animations for your acting needs. Whether running, walking, or crouching, you should be able to make a character assume any position...

Reinforcements Have Arrived
The greatest graphical development has been the props though. Almost a dozen have been thrown in - ranging from all kinds of guns to casual things like beer bottles and cigarettes. Critics of my graphics may be pleased to hear that I've bought in some professional models to complete the set too. The guns weren't looking right, so I caved and resorted to a professional library. The results are a handful of photo-realistic firearms - ranging from a machine gun to some shiny handguns. They were so effective that I even went fishing for some decent cars (which I would have struggled to make myself having never done it before). They too have breathed new life into the graphics, as a smattering of great-looking vehicles line the streets of my suburban road...

Meeting Of The Minds
In amongst these graphical developments, the game continues to cement its structure as a concept. The news and meeting systems from Popscene are the latest to be invited back. The casual discussions now take place in the writer's office though, which is much more realistic. As ever, there are plenty of interesting matters on the agenda. Your cast push their luck with everything - from asking to write a scene through to how they should portray a given character! In an ongoing effort to perfect the system, I've provided all the information you need too. The stats of the character in question are always shown where appropriate, and you even get a reminder of a scene's qualities when it comes to script suggestions. The formal meetings have returned too - where you consider lucrative offers from characters related to the industry. New to this game is a haggling system (much like the one in Booking MPire), where you can turn down an offer and suddenly find that the stakes have been raised! Push your luck, though, and you may miss out on the entire deal. The system has been used to make rival studios come hunting for your talent. That feature wasn't quite appropriate for Popscene, but it should work well here...

King Of The World
Yet another feature lifted from Popscene is the chart system. They're taken one step further in this game though, as we now have 2 separate lists for box office and DVD sales. Another modification is that you can release multiple projects! While one project is cleaning up at the box office, you can release an older one on DVD or plough straight into work on the next one. This version is so much more drawn out that it's good to have those other distractions. It was a nightmare to program, but the results should boost the game's lifespan considerably. All in all, what was supposed to be a clumsy sequel to Popscene could very well end up being the superior game...

Black & White Movies
The game finally feels official thanks to the arrival of a logo and the accompanying presentation. As you may be able to make out from this shot, it's a reworking of the 2-colour Popscene logo with a movie reel motif running behind the text. You may also notice that the colour scheme has changed from red to black & white. That may sound monotonous, but it's actually working out quite well...

Star Power
The new presentation has filtered through the entire game, as I continue to plough through the many management screens. The heart of any project is the 5-scene representation that was hinted at in earlier previews. It's now a reality, as a series of scripts and screenshots summarize your efforts - complete with stars and hearts that indicate each scene's qualities. It's proving to be a very involving process, as you sculpt a decent script and then try to do it justice on film. I had worried that it would feel unnatural, but it's as effective as anything in Popscene - ensuring that this game will be just as good (if not better)...

Script Development
In case you thought all that writing would be boring, you'll be pleased to know that it's been made into a graphical process! Upon selecting to write (or re-write) a scene, you're treated to a cut-scene which shows the writer and director toiling over a computer. By the time the camera has glided around the room, the fruits of their labour are reported in Popscene fashion - as the "entertainment" stars and "artistry" hearts rattle onto the screen. It's a tense moment because your team can only work once per turn - and you have to throw away your old ratings to gamble on new ones. That may not be entirely realistic, but a little bit of risk is always good for gameplay...

Defining The Genre
To help you refine the project further, there's a "Publishing" screen similar to the one in Popscene - where you can switch projects, enter a new title, and eventually choose when to release in theatres and on DVD. A nice new touch for this game is that you can even specify a genre. It's a simplified selection consisting of just "Action", "Drama", and a hybrid of the two. However, the effects of these choices are very significant. Establishing that the movie is supposed to be action-based will make viewers value the entertainment qualities more than the artistry. Likewise, setting out to make a dramatic film will give you more credit for artistry than entertainment. This means a film doesn't always have to be perfect as long as it does its job. It's a very tactical choice that can pay-off nicely if you deliver what you promised. If you don't, however, you could end up being criticised more than ever...

Tabloid Junkie
Speaking of which, the magazine mock-up from Popscene has returned for this version - and it's even better suited to the movie industry. Everything is a notch better, with project summaries that depict who the movie was "produced", "written", and "directed" by - not to mention who stars. The reviews themselves are also much more interesting. For a start, there are 5 lines of text instead of 3. The game spends an extra couple of lines talking about how faithful the performances were to the script and direction. That may be a lot more work for me, but it ensures that each and every review is somewhat unique. It makes them a bit more coherent too, and therefore more enjoyable to read...

Funding The Five Thousand
We're also prepared for the benefits of those rave reviews! The financial breakdown from the music game is yet another feature to be borrowed, as your earnings filter through up to 7 employees. To cope with that unpredictable cast, this version rearranges the characters depending on how many there are - so things don't always look this cluttered. You can see why it was so important to tone things down though. Any more than 8 men and we'd have to lose this graphical breakdown. As it is, it displays your cash flow in crystal clear fashion - which, in this game, ranges from box office takings to DVD sales...

Contract Killer
Speaking of finances, it's also worth noting that the contract negotiations are being finalized. As hinted at in earlier previews, they centre around a big signing-on fee and a smaller weekly wage. Both of which need to be balanced nicely to seal the deal, while royalties are on hand to provide the icing on the cake. As ever, nothing is that simple in business though! Like the musicians in Popscene, your prospective employees have all manner of other concerns that need to be addressed. Some new ones to this game include script objections. As in real life, major stars like Tom Cruise are unlikely to climb aboard unless they see a decent script first. If you're serious, you then have to go away and develop a script that's worth talking about. On the other hand, out-of-work actors will take anything that's going! In any case, there are very few problems that can't be solved with money - so you can make anything happen if you're prepared to pay...

Getting In Character
Exactly who there is to sign up will be the last thing that I turn my attention to, but I am sewing the seeds for some good characterization. I'm slowly building a wardrobe of classic costumes - such as the Indiana Jones gear being sported in the above shot! You should be able to recreate all kinds of classic images. I've even found time to add yet more hairstyles to what was already a healthy list. "Corn Rolls" are the latest (and most unusual) addition to the selection. It's a shame they weren't here in time for Popscene, but at least these movie stars will get to enjoy them. The black community get yet another consideration with a smaller version of the "Afro" too. It's a much more subtle look, which is somewhat reminiscent of Muhammad AlI's style. Unlike its bigger counterpart, it also goes nicely with a ponytail or length. Speaking of hair, another nice touch in the editor is that the game automatically detects when a hairstyle conflicts with a piece of headwear and then tries to squeeze it underneath! It means you can happily browse the hats without having to constantly alter the hairstyle to match...

Toy Story
The props are growing alongside the fashions too. We've already seen a real glowing lightsabre and a pistol, but now there's a Samurai sword for traditional combat! It's fairly well constructed, and even shines when light hits it - which makes it look nice and sharp. All manner of other props are set to follow - ranging from more weapons to domestic items such as beer bottles and cigarettes. The headwear is even getting in on the deal, as the army helmet from Sure Shot 3D joins the list! That should be good for recreating war settings. It remains to be seen what effect these props will have on your progress. I'm tempted to make them an asset to the scene, but it seems unfair to punish filmmakers that don't want to use them...

The Burbs
Of course, the biggest props of them all are the actual sets! I must say that it's absolutely agonizing to spend so much time making what is essentially a glorified backdrop. I had tremendous difficulty making a suburban street, but I finally seem to have stumbled across a good look. I got to work on the most detailed buildings we've ever seen in my games - with neat porches, foundations, and real wooden window frames. We've even got trees dotted around the various gardens, and white picket fences to keep everything separated. All of which will, of course, go completely unappreciated by the ignorant people that plague my games. However, I can assure you that some serious developments have been made in this neighbourhood...

Store Wars
The location even doubles up as a city setting, as several stores and concrete structures sit across the road. These look especially good - even boasting 3D signs above the doors. The most noticeable being a huge MDickie logo, as we finally get to the see the MDickie MPorium from the outside! That may be a little self-indulgent, but I'll be damned if I'm making yet another fictitious logo for a fictitious store. Although this will be a popular setting, there are plans for dozens more. In fact, there should be dozens by default because I can call upon many of the sets from previous games. The Wrecked island has already been rebuilt for this game, and I'm sure we'll see some stuff from Popscene and Sure Shot 3D - not to mention a certain wrestling arena...

The Running Man
The breakthroughs made in Wrecked mean that your cast can be placed on any of these landscapes and trusted to explore properly. It's not quite necessary to turn it into a full-on platform game, but you can position your characters wherever you want them. For the first time in my games, we even see a decent walking animation! Actually, it's not perfect - but it was so unbelievably difficult that I'll take it. They walk by default, but you can always make them run to get around quicker. You can even lift them up into the air to place them on higher surfaces. When they're in the right place, you can even decide how they act. If they've got a prop, for instance, they can point a gun or swing a sword. Dozens of other classic acting gestures will follow over the coming weeks...

Plot Development
Like the music industry, movies are a frustratingly difficult art form to simulate in a game. The sheer scale of the business means that you can't possibly allow the player to become a real filmmaker - at least not with results that a computer appreciates! With that in mind, "symbolism" is very much at work in this game - much like it was throughout Popscene. Fortunately, I've managed to conjure up a fairly intuitive system though. In the same way that writers and producers delivered your material in Popscene, it's writers and directors that sew the seeds in this game. Then, as surely as performers brought songs to life in the music game, it's actors that bring the script to life here. The system hasn't been fully integrated at this early stage, but the plan is to break each project down into 5 acts. A script must be churned out for each act, which has entertainment and artistic qualities, and then the scene must try to fulfil that potential on celluloid. Unlike Popscene, however, re-writes will feature quite heavily in this game. You'll have to waste your weeks rolling the dice on better scripts and performances until you gradually mould a decent project. Time is money though, so you'll have to call it a day sometime - and the overall quality of your footage then determines what the future holds...

On Location
Fortunately, as with all of my games, this whole process is very graphical. Although you can't record live footage, the game does ask you to compose each scene (like a glorified screenshot). Once you've chosen a location, everything comes to life like any other game - with actors that you can take control of and place anywhere on the scene. In the finished game, there'll be all manner of gestures, props, and sets to help you recreate any scene you can imagine...

Lights, Camera, Action
You can even adjust the lighting of a set (in real-time) to create the right atmosphere. In addition to the daylight hours that Wrecked gave us, there are all manner of unusual settings for sci-fi environments! Unlike in other games, you can even dissect the atmosphere into 3 parts. There's a setting for the actual lighting, a separate setting for the fog colour, and then a third setting for how thick the fog is (if there at all). This ensures that you can get completely different results from the exact same set...

Wardrobe Department
Of course, this game is also the first to enjoy the brand new character model. In fact, the editor is already fully integrated. As you'd expect, it's almost identical to that in Popscene. Not necessarily out of laziness, but because that system worked so well. One or two things have been tweaked even further, but it should all feel blissfully familiar. At the moment, even the textures have been borrowed! Although the game does promise to introduce hundreds of its own. I should point out that the slim character model is the only one available at the moment too. All manner of variations are sure to follow, and they should reach even further than those in previous games...

Tale Of The Tape
The presentation is also borrowing quite a lot from Popscene at the moment. I'm not sure how true that will be of the final game, but for now we have to start somewhere. What I can confirm are the statistics that will fuel this version. They're mostly similar to the previous management games, with "Popularity", "Reputation", "Attitude", and "Happiness" forming the basis of a character's personality. However, new to this game are the movie-making and acting skills. A character's talents are spread amongst "Directing" (the ability to deliver entertaining material), "Writing" (the ability to deliver artistic material), "Performing" (the ability to bring entertaining material to life), and "Acting" (the ability to bring artistic material to life). Each of these expertise will be essential for producing a substantial movie and making it successful...

Gang Members
Although Mr. Cruise comes close, very few characters will be able to deliver everything that a project needs! You will, of course, need to construct a crack team to share the workload. Some players may be disappointed to find that symbolism rears its head here too. I obviously can't have you hiring the hundreds of people that go into making a real movie. You don't want to go through that process, and I certainly don't want to program it! So, in the same way that Popscene focused on the band members, this game focuses on the starring roles. You, as a producer, are on board as standard and you must then bring in writers, directors, and a handful of key actors. Although there are only 8 spots on the team, that will feel more than enough when they're all bickering about the production schedule and throwing tantrums...

Power Lunching
You bring these characters on board with the contract negotiation system that was perfected in Popscene. The discussion points promise to be slightly different here though. It hasn't been finalized yet, but royalties are expected to take a back seat. They WILL be involved, but they've been broken down into just one percentage from the project's takings. As in real life, even that one privilege is beyond the reach of your average employee. The real negotiations surround a signing-on fee and a guaranteed weekly salary. The contract length returns too, to determine how long a character is tied to the project. You can book a major star for a cameo to boost one scene, or you can shell out enough cash to make them the backbone of the production! As a producer, you have your own deals to worry about too. In the same way that Popscene labels funded your music career, it's film studios that bring you on board to make movies. They throw money your way (in what is essentially a budget) in return for a commitment to their studio. The more successful you become, the bigger your budgets will get - but, of course, the pressure will increase just as much! It promises to be a very interesting ride...