Personal Computer News


Movie Producer

Author: Mike Gerrard
Publisher: Sillysoft
Machine: Dragon 32

 
Published in Personal Computer News #031

Rushed Direction

The adventure game Movie Producer, based on the movie business, sounds like a good idea - but unfortunately, like film companies, some software publishers are prone to exaggerating the virtues of their products.

Objectives

Set down in Wardour Street, the heart of London's movie industry, you play the part of entrepreneur Peeko Sputberg, who has a script to turn into a film. The finished film is somehow already lying in one of the rooms of a film company's offices, and you have to find it.

The cassette comes with a pair of 3D glasses to enable you to look at the specially produced cover 'for effect'.

In Play

Movie Producer

The optional instructions explain that you'll be given a specially chosen film script and your first job will be to find a backing company. You're shown six names like MGM and ITC, and have a generous ten attempts in which to get one of them to back you. You're not told how to do this, but in fact pressing any key on the keyboard will get you some response from a random set of messages, mostly refusals, till at last one will say "Yes, we'll make it".

Next step is to choose your budget of anything up to $50 million, and your shooting schedule of up to 50 days, before you begin to move through the various rooms, each move costing you one day and half a million dollars.

Along with your location at the top of the screen there may also be a helpful or not-so-helpful random message like "You find a European Distributor who pays you $2 million." I proceeded to visit rooms such as the Editing Room and the Preview Theatre, whose brief descriptions make feeble attempts at wit, and then on my fourteenth move I found the film, and the game was over!

I tried it again, and guess what? Yes, the film was in the same location. The whole so-called adventure had lasted about five minutes! I certainly had no inclination to look round the other rooms; there being no graphics and little prospect of surprises - but my reviewer's duty made me go round again and I discovered such hilarious and ungrammatical treats as "Woops! Womens toilets, you better get out fast (if you're male of course)'.

Verdict

This piece of silly software should run and run... and preferably as far away from me as possible.

Mike Gerrard

Other Dragon 32 Game Reviews By Mike Gerrard


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