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Blockbuster Inc. is a simulation game wherein players can recreate what it's like to make movies in Hollywood. However, it goes beyond making movies. Players are tasked with taking care of the behind-the-scenes developments as well. This includes forming a crew, building a set, and ensuring that everything fits the budget. While the game undoubtedly focuses on simulation, it also requires some critical thinking. With all that said, here are our first impressions of the game.
Blockbuster Inc. – A True to Life Filmmaking Experience
Before anything else, I'd like to note that this isn't a full review and I'm simply giving my take on Blockbuster Inc. after two hours of gameplay.
Build Mode
Like many other games, Blockbuster Inc. starts with a tutorial session, teaching players everything they need to know to play the game properly. From personal experience, I was caught a bit off guard when the game taught me how to build walls and decorate rooms. Prior to playing the game, I've only seen screenshots of gameplay. Based on those pictures alone, I completely thought the game focused on creating a character and turning them into movie stars.
Obviously, my assumptions were wrong. Nevertheless, we're not saying that getting the full experience of creating and running a movie set is a bad thing.
Now, getting into the build mode, we feel like it could still use a little more work. Personally, I disliked how I couldn't rotate the objects I wanted to place with a push of a button. Players still need to adjust the camera at a certain angle to place the objects in their preferred directions.
Speaking of objects, we felt like it was a bit lackluster too. While players are free to design rooms however they want to, the game lacks decorations. We have a feeling that Super Sly Fox focused too much on adding objects that players need to have. Considering how we played a review copy of the game, there could be a chance that other decorative items might come to the game. However, readers should take that statement with a grain of salt. It's more of us being hopeful.
Movie Sets
One of the most important aspects of Blockbuster Inc. is the movie set. A crew can't film a movie without a set. Movie sets can also be found in Build Mode. Players are free to customize the size of the set and add certain props to it too. Unfortunately, we have the same sentiments regarding the decorative features.
At first, we thought that since movies heavily rely on set design, there would be more customization options. However, the selection was very limited as each theme only had one area to shoot in. One of the first movies we filmed in the game was about two cops who saw each other as brothers but then one of them betrayed the other half. We found it disappointing that all the scenes took place in the police station only.
Personally, I would've wanted the fight scenes to happen at a warehouse, the dialogue-heavy scenes at the police station, and then the betrayal scene at the back of an alley. Players can technically recreate something similar by making a new set based on other themes outside the main theme of the film. However, we feel like even doing so still feels limited.
As mentioned earlier, this article is based on a review copy of the game, which means more customization options might come into play by the time the game launches.
Forming a Crew
After establishing the studios and movie sets, players need to form a crew to start operations. We have to give props to Super Sly Fox for this one. Hiring staff members is quite simple in Blockbuster Inc. Players simply need to look at the list of available staff members and hire whoever they feel is a perfect fit for the team.
What makes the decision-making process easier is that the developers added elements such as personalities, traits, strengths, and weaknesses. On top of all that, players can also review their reputation and how it would benefit their studio.
Keep the Crew Happy
Once players finish forming their crew, there are several things to look into. For instance, certain personalities and traits don't get along with each other. During our gameplay, the director and actor we hired for one of our films constantly got in each other's faces. They kept bickering and arguing to the point that the movie's quality was in jeopardy.
Aside from keeping the crew working as a solid unit, players also need to watch out for everyone's mood. Like other real-life simulation games, the characters in Blockbuster Inc. also have everyday needs such as rest, socialization, hunger, bladder, and a few other things. With that said, a player's movie set must have essential rooms such as the canteen, lounging area, and toilets.
In addition to providing the essentials on set, it's also important to maintain a healthy work schedule. Overworking the crew might affect the quality of the output of the film. Players will be given full power to fix a 24-hour schedule for their staff. Within that period, they can assign which hours the crew should be working, resting, eating, and participating in leisurely activities.
Based on our experience, we feel like Super Sly Fox did a good job of recreating what goes down in a movie set.
Filmmaking
The main highlight of Blockbuster Inc. is filming movies and TV shows. With that said, we particularly put the majority of our attention on the filmmaking aspect of the game. Honestly, we have a few concerns regarding this.
Directing Scenes
First of all, we were disappointed with the directing aspect of the game. Sure, it's cool that Super Sly Fox gave players the freedom to direct scenes however they want to. But we felt like the developers didn't fully deliver.
One of the things players can do when directing a film is make their characters perform certain actions in specific scenes. However, the options felt limited which somehow made it challenging to create scenarios. For example, one of the films we created during our playthrough features romantic themes. There were specific actions we wanted the actors to do. Instead, we were stuck with options like the couple simply talking and arguing with each other. There weren't any romantic options such as hugging or holding hands. That's only the tip of the iceberg.
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Another thing to point out is staging the scene. While having multiple actors in a film will trigger specific animations for each action, we found it weird how we weren't allowed to move them to a specific area of the movie set. For instance, the police film we created had a scene where one actor was giving CPR while the other was receiving it. That particular scene looked awkward because the actors were far away from each other. The one giving CPR was performing the emergency to the ground while the one receiving CPR was taking it from an invisible entity.
We tried going back to the tutorial a few times to see if there were certain actions we missed. Unfortunately, there really wasn't a way to move characters around on the movie set.
Costumes
In terms of costumes, we get that the developers want to be straightforward by providing themed outfits. But it would have been nice if players had the option to mix and match outfits for specific scenes. It gets quite boring seeing your actors wearing one outfit throughout the entire movie.
Editing
One of the coolest features of Blockbuster Inc. is that players can edit audio and video clips, like in real life. The game gives players access to a simplified version of an editor wherein they can drag and drop clips. Recreating the full capacity of video editing software isn't an easy task. Having that said, we need to give props to Super Sly Fox for adding this feature.
Video
We felt like the developers should've added more effects to work with. Most of the camera work featured simple zoom-ins and outs, then panning to the left and right. As we said, props to the developers for still adding a feature that allows players to edit films however they want. But adding more camera effects and video editing options could be something they might want to look into.
One thing they could add in the future though is color grading. Given how we're only giving our thoughts on the game after two hours of gameplay, we're not entirely sure if that feature will eventually become unlocked. But based on our experience, all the films we created were in black and white. Before creating a new save, the game asks players which era they want to start filming in. We selected the 1990s era, which is why it was weird having black and white films in that period.
Audio
Another thing the developers could consider adding in the future is dynamic sounds. We don't have any problems with the sound effects the editing software already has. In fact, there's a wide selection of effects. However, they all feel too basic. While we did mention the devs provided a simplified version of the software, throwing in slightly more realistic sound effects might not be too much to ask for.
We're assuming that a big chunk of Blockbuster Inc.'s player base will be gamers who either went to film school or took similar classes during their schooling years. Some might even be aspiring filmmakers trying to get a grasp of what movie-making is really like. With that said, it's more than likely that the player base will have creative minds. Given these factors, the developers should understand that adding more creative options wouldn't make the game more difficult to play.
Verdict
Overall, we were satisfied with what Super Sly Fox had to offer in Blockbuster Inc. The game had a touch of realism which is kind of important in simulation games. Considering how the developers are working under an indie studio, we genuinely feel like they did a fantastic job with their game.
Given how we now live in the modern era of gaming, all the setbacks and lackluster features can always be added in future updates. No game is perfect, especially with its first version only about to launch on June 6, 2024.
With all that being said, we feel like Blockbuster Inc. is a game worth looking into. This is especially true for gamers who are familiar with the filming industry and who are aspiring to get into the scenes. The developers did a good job recreating the struggles of working on a tight budget while managing how to generate income from the films the crew creates.
We will give our final review after the game launches.
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