For a quick casual gaming fix, I just played and finished Mystery Case Files: Huntsville. It was the first Mystery Case Files title. MCF is a series of hidden object puzzle games. After some long CRPGs and strategy games, it was nice to play a game that could be finished within a single day. The gameplay was simple yet satisfying.

I’m now off to my pile of games to choose the next one to play.

When The Movies came out in late 2005, it immediately appealed to me. It reminded me of Detroit, an earlier business simulation I enjoyed. It also brought back memories of Stunt Island, a simulation with a focus on movie making. I have really enjoyed playing this game over the last month. Here is the tale of my studio.

It started back in 1905 when construction began on our studio lot. We built a stage school, crew facility, casting office, production office, and a script office. On January 11, 1920, Star Pictures opened for business. We started small with one star, Eliot Attridge, and director Jason Gilmore. Our first film was The Baggage Boy, a slapstick comedy. During the silent film era, we produced films quite regularly. We released the romantic Love Lasso, the humorous Doctor Copter, the frightening Body in the Canal, and our first sci-fi movie, Allan Lives Forever!

What we sometimes lacked in star power, we made up for in technology. Our research lab was top notch and kept us ahead of competing studios. We moved to sound and color pictures quickly. Star Pictures released Cavalry Twill, a popular western. Although we worked in all genres, Star Pictures established a reputation for horror and science fiction, in particular. The Moon Zeppelin did well in 1932 and Don’t Make Me Axe You Again was a fine horror release in 1948.

In the 1950s, Star Pictures really hit its stride. War movies were in demand, like 1950’s Danger Ranger. The public’s fascination with science fiction was growing. Huntress of Sol (1953) and the sci-fi comedy Little Titan (1958) were successes. By November 1958, we had climbed to the top. Star Pictures was the #1 studio in the industry. Our time at the top was somewhat short-lived, unfortunately. Many of our stars were overworked and unhappy. Some of them battled addiction problems. For several years, our studio was in trouble.



1963 was our turnaround year. Star Pictures released a sci-fi smash hit, Battleants Defend Jupiter. That movie put us back on the map. We rode the momentum for the next two decades. In 1983, we debuted a very lucrative film—the sci-fi cult classic, Brown Midget. Finally, I should mention our biggest box office moneymaker ever. It was the 2002 horror classic, Playerkiller. Although Playerkiller easily outclassed all preceding films in box office receipts, nothing could ever touch the impact of Battleants Defend Jupiter, particularly considering it was released almost forty years earlier.


Scene from Battleants Defend Jupiter

By 2005, I was recognized as a respected studio head. Over the last century, many stars had graced our lot, such as Rachel Clavel, Chris Roe, David Gamel, Kate Webley, and Sonja Stender. Our directors included Jason Gilmore, Lee Ross, Jeremie Texier, and Adam Zamoyski. For years, the writing team of Alexander Hutchings and Christian Gossart worked furiously behind the scenes, cranking out script after script.

It has been tremendous fun guiding Star Pictures through its first 100 years.