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i was a gay commie 11/10 would hire hitchcock for an erotic sci-fi movie again
Disappointing... I was expecting some classic Hollywood hijinx, the kind of craziness depicted in "Moonlight and Magnolias", or "The Producers", but instead it's a bog-standard choice-of with a Hollywood skin. A great setting, completely squandered. Here's how: 1. You only get to make one film, and the details of that film don't seem to affect the story in any way (they can unlock some achievements, though!). Just nudge up the quality number to ensure it's a classic. 2. It's frustratingly one-sided in its politics. (I know, it's a choice-of, but still...) Rather than setting it in the golden era (surely the obvious choice?), it's in the 50s, and I think this is purely to bring in McCarthyism. Why do this? Well, you can maybe guess... still, it could theoretically have been made fun, but here the choice is between being an imaginative, freethinking pinko martyr or a creatively-bankrupt establishmentarian sellout. There should have been another axis, imho (or let my cigar-chomping oppressor-of-the-masses bribe the senator, or something). However, I suspect fun was lower priority than The Message. I could say more, but I'll leave it... just know that, for some, this will be an irritant throughout. 3. The relationship stuff seemed a bit rubbish. (To be fair, I wasn't massively gung-ho in pursuing one, since neither option seemed that interesting, but I can't be bothered playing again to say more.) 4. The writing is adequate, but no more. 5. The scenarios are lacklustre. None really stand out.
The game is excellently written (As I've come to expect from Choice of Games' authors), the storyline is interesting and the the choices are varied enough to entertain you for several playthroughs, though it is cut short when it had the potential to get truly interesting. I've played several Choice of Games (7) and this is one of the best written ones, though it isn't quite at the level of Choice of Robots in my humble opinion. It is, however, as engaging, perhaps because of the subject matter which I'm very interested in! Saying it is short would be unfair, but compared to Choice of Robots it falls into the shorter end of the spectrum. But honestly, for €/$3 at launch (or a bit more afterwards) you'll get at least 3 hours of very entertaining writing, and if you compare that to the prices of triple A games that leave you disappointed, or to a $30 cinema evening, there is A LOT of value here, just like there is in most of these games. Definitely one of the more succesfully written CYOA/Interactive novels that have come out recently, and it is more than worth your time! 8/10
In the tradition of games like Executive Suite and Hidden Agenda, Hollywood Visionary was an absolute joy to play. Plenty of options and paths to go down for a small game like this. (It is NOT a "visual novel" in the vein of Bible Black or England Exchange - it's much more engaging). I'm looking forward to this company's next release!
I like the game, but there's a glitch with the name-formatting of the grip, for one - I can insert any last name I want, but it'll still inevitably say 'there's already a character with this last name' unless I pick a pre-determined one. This bug has been around since launch (I originally got it on another platform), and I'm surprised it hasn't been fixed yet.
Loved this game. Kept me captivated until the early hours of Monday morning. Bravo to Choice Of Games. 10/10
It's a great concept and a decent format but there are plenty of times where the game clinches you into a certain decision point irrespective of your previous choices. It would be more interesting to see your earlier choices lead to more diverse outcomes. But all told, not a bad story.
Supported communism, told off it's haters, got blacklisted, and still got an Oscar winning movie. 12/10
In this text-based interactive novel, you get to be the founder of your own independent film studio and possibly write, edit, direct, produce, and even star in your own film! Navigate your way through 50s Hollywood and decide where you want to spend your film budget -- will you ask your buddies to star as actors in your film or seek out more expensive but famous options? Not to mention who might direct your film... you could always get Hitchcock if you try your best! But maybe he wouldn't be the best for a sci-fi flick with a romance subplot. The possibilities are endless. You get to customize your film on ALL levels, and will even get the opportunity to improve it on certain (weak) points while time progresses. In the meantime, against the backdrop of the Cold War, there's a lot of discussion about in what ways independent film studios are influencing the American public through Red propaganda. Are you a Commie or not? And is your film all you think about or do you have some time left for romance? Time will tell! PROS + Real immersion in the 50s world of Hollywood + Lots of customization options for your own film that affect all the different endings + The ability to also customize the people around you (friends, family, actors) CONS - No save points - Pretty short, can be finished in ± 1.5 hours - The courtcase surrounding the whole communism/blacklist angle felt forced The most enjoyable part about Hollywood Visionary was, to me, the ability to customize my film to such a great degree. You can truly create something that feels like it could be yours, and even get to enjoy the reviews/response once your film is released. The whole 50s vibe was amazing, mainly thanks to all the famous Hollywood people popping up here and there in the story. Though the Cold War angle could have worked, being pursued by an angry law-enforcing stereotype who drags you to court felt very forced (and distracted a lot from my precious film!). If you like this kind of 50s Hollywood stuff, then this Choose Your Own Adventure game could be the one for you. I had a lot of fun directing and writing my own romance adventure film that bombed at the box office -- no hard feelings, because I eventually left Tinseltown with a happy threesome consisting of me, a handsome actor, and a stagehand.
Hollywood Visionary is one of my favourite entries from the Choice of Games brand. For those unfamiliar with Choice of Games, they are a series of interactive stories inspired by the old 'choose your own adventure' books. The format has been improved upon, and the presentation is both slick and intuitive. I went into this game a fan of the brand, but not expecting to be particularly enthralled with this story or setting. I was wrong. The premise is that you have a dream movie you wish to create, and the story that follows explores whether or not you can achieve this dream, and the ups and downs you experience on your journey to this end goal. These games tend to give a nice perspective of life, but I think this one was a standout. If you are interested, I have a video discussing Choice of Games, and some of the entries within their series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22wAYzW_CdM
This is a great game and I played many times. One playthrough, I went over-budget, had quite a few thing go wrong, revealed myself to be a former communist, got blacklisted, got arrested and I still got the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. Once again, great game, I recommend it to anyone who likes text based games.
Became a gay communist sympathizing writer who fought the law and won. Oh, and maybe made some movie about a cyborg athlete as well.
Engrossing, very well-written interactive story with many, many choices throughout which customize your journey from starting up a film studio to screening and reading a review of your first independent film. You have control over almost all of the details involved, and keep track of stats to see what your film is becoming and how you're treating your crew as well as yourself. It's like reading a really good book being written while you get to control its writer. Highly recommended! Edit, a long time later: there are no crazy story branches that take it to a completely different section, it's more a case of there being enough choices along the linear path to make it really interesting, even worth multiple play-throughs. I find myself coming back to this one.
It's fun.
Greta Garbo nearly ruined my sci-fi horror flick, got friendzoned by everyone, and ratted on Commies to survive long enough to win an oscar. 10/10 would read again. In all seriousness, though, the game is all reading. It's a Choose Your Own Adventure story only with fewer options that end in your death. If you can handle two hours of black text on a white screen, it really is an amazing story. Though devided into several chapters that stay roughly the same regardless of your choices, the events within the chapters do have a lot of room for change. The story is very well-written and engaging; I felt my heart rate go up every time my picture started to fall apart. Definitely has some replay value, though you'll find yourself skimming text once you've read it a few times. All in all a great buy at $5.
Very enjoyable, especially if you're a movie aficionado. Competent writing. Relatively short, but with a very high replay value due to the multiple choices that change the outcomes of events.
Bad writing. Indistinctive, unlikeable characters that are impossible to get attached to, besides maybe your niece, but your relationship with her is cheesy and unrealistic, bonding much too quickly. No clues to possibly know about "the twist", there needs to be atleast a bit of subtle foreshadowing, not to notice in the moment, but to notice when replaying as a clever subtle detail, and I've found many of those in tons of other choice of games. I ususally love these interactive novels, and I've played quite a few of choice of games, but I just couldn't get into this one unlike the others. Choice of Robots and Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven were my favorites if you want a better one than this. I mean, seriously, the actress/actor you meet at the resturant and the grip barely have any personality differences. No contrast, no side by side display of their personalities by having to side with one in a crisis, nothing! Very poor character development overall. Don't waste your brain cells on this game. It's trash.
This is a 'Choice Of' game, which is essentially a choose-your-own-adventure program. Some mild resource management like "stress" or "funds" affects outcomes, but otherwise the entire game is writing. And it is well-written. Hollywood Visionary is a good story, and you do get a diverse array of choices. I was happy to see that these games are available on PC. They might be better for mobile formats, where you can pick them up and enjoy them for short bursts, but it's nice to have them for a big, distraction-free computer screen as well. At 4.99, they're the cost of a slightly pricey coffee drink. It's worth it to try one out, and Hollywood Visionary is as good as any to start with. If it doesn't sound good on PC, they should be available on mobile devices, as well.
I've just completed my first playthrough, and I must say I enjoyed it immensely: the writing was truly engaging at all stages and actually quite affecting in some specific scenes, the stat-based mechanics constantly keeping the pressure on, making the balancing of the development of the movie and maintaining the more story-involved character relationships precarious at best. Although the game sells itself as a 'Be a Hollywood movie-maker!' type of story, it actually goes in-depth about the atmosphere of fear and paranoia surrounding the McCarthy witch-hunts that happened around that time, lending an unexpectedly serious tone to an otherwise fairly light-hearted piece. That isn't to say that the part of the story to do with the film itself is unremarkable: the writer clearly has a great love and knowledge of the old way of making films and manages to capture quite a few moments of that old movie magic in a couple of scenes, especially in the super-dramatic and witty conversations. They just don't make 'em like they used to. And what happened on my first playthrough with Johnny Wheeler of the company Wheeler's Reelers? I played according to my conscience: honesty, loyalty, and above all, integrity. Although holding true to his convictions got Johnny blacklisted and forced him to make movies abroad or otherwise in secret, years later after the fear of Communism fades Johnny's films are discovered by a new generation, his faith in humanity upheld as they recognise his work and his bravery with a Lifetime Achievement Award - plus Johnny gets to hook up with the secretary, for whom I was secretly gunning since the beginning. Best. Ending. Ever. Looking back on it now, I must say the story reminded me a lot of The Crucible. Only with a happy ending, in my case.
Not much replay value here. The story is pretty much the exact same every time. It's neat seeing some of the old Hollywood name drops, but the effect quickly wears off.