Movierooms - Cinema Management
Preview
EA SCOUT the last line of defense for buying on Steam's Early Access
by Howie Howard
previewed on PC
Let's take a look at this new movie.
The game we're taking a look at in this first look is Movierooms - Cinema Management - a sim by Indie game studio Mad Pumpkins. Mad Pumpkins consists of a small team of programmers based in the countries of Italy, France and Portugal. Their main focus as a company, which I took from their web site states: "The studio excels in a wide range of expertise, including development, prototyping and consulting for video game applications and software. The company supports schools and businesses with integration and gamification being included in their training processes." That information is important because it indicates the type of game you can expect to be purchasing. In this case, game play takes a historical look at movie history from beginning to present day with the game player being a movie cinema proprietor.
Above we mentioned that the history of films is the main focus of Movierooms - Cinema Management and that certainly is true; but that part of the game is not yet present in the pre-early access alpha version that I looked at. However Mad Pumpkins has set the ground work for a very detailed history of movies computer game that covers it all from the beginning to present day. That being said, the game presently contains only a limited sandbox version of the game which allows the game player to build and operate their movie cinema. The setting in the preview build does indicate the form in which movie history will be presented when it gets closer to being a finished product. Presently the game contains references to movies through out history along with the equipment that was available at the time. The sandbox is basically just a build the cinema affair that presents the basic operations of the game.
Our host Gaspard will tell us everything we need to know
The game is still in a minimalist state where only the basic game function is presented. There's a basic tutorial with a character named Gaspard as your host who will take you through a brief step-by-step tutorial. Also, there are a lot of screens that indicate the beginnings of the historical nature of each particular era in the game. At this stage though, it comes with quite a lot of spelling errors and some rather incoherent text. It appears ass though the translations to English is still being worked on.
Sandbox Mode
Sandbox Mode is included in the full version of the game with the initial part of the Historic Mode containing elements of sandbox as a tutorial. However, in sandbox players will have the option to pick and present to your customers various movies from history with no historical time line involvement. This would include 1919 silent pictures along with 1990s and beyond fare being available. The same with movie projecting equipment. After building a cinema and hiring the necessary staff, such as projectionist, ticket seller, maintenance person, etc., it will be time to open up and start making money by selling tickets; along with selling the general movie going fare of pop corn and candy. Make note that keeping employees and patrons happy is a big part of game play.
Story Driven Historical Mode
In Historical game mode, the history of movies is the main focus. This means the business of movie showing in the early days is in effect and it is true to life and realistic according to the date. One historical aspect of movie showing history, which is interesting and something I didn't know about, was the presence of piano players in order to keep customers in movie theaters entertained. This was common practice back in the day and it is a rather charming practice from days gone by. Realistic era equipment such as the old method of presenting silent moving pictures by manually flipping cards while projecting the effect on a screen is there and this makes the game be educational as well as fun. With all of that being said, historical reality is the name of the game when Historical Mode is fully functional.
This movie isn't a hit yet, but it could be
The review version is - as I've said earlier still in a basic state, but there were clear indications of what Mad Pumpkins intend to have in their final version of the game. As of this writing there hasn't been a date of when the final version of Movierooms - Cinema Management will be released, but even now it looks like the final presentation will be something to look forward to. If you are a movie buff that enjoys watching old movies, like I am, then sitting down to experience this title should be worth the wait. I can say with confidence that there are a lot of positive features for this historical movie showing game! Stay tuned because once the curtain fully opens on this one it may even win an Oscar! I think it will because the developer is dedicated to getting it right.
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Watch
The game has potential, but we're not ready to jump in with both feet. If the game interests you, look, but don't touch - yet.
