"The Executive": The dream of film or the monotonous reality
I'm not only a passionate gamer, but also a huge film and series junkie. In "The Executive", I'm building my own film studio and combining the two.
Sidney Lumet, Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock or Francis Ford Coppola: my dream has always been to slip into the role of a famous director or film producer who creates monumental works. In "The Executive" I do just that. The game begins in January 1970 with me as an aspiring film producer in a small office and takes me through several decades of the film industry.
Source: Kim Muntinga
From these humble beginnings in the small office with two workspaces, I want to lead my newly created film studio "Muntinga Movie Studios" into a Hollywood empire. However, the game does not offer a proper campaign.
Some newspaper reports hint at new eras: I start the game in a sandbox endless mode. I can choose between four difficulty levels, each with different starting conditions: the number of available film themes and my available budget.
The first decisions for my film debut "Brothers in Arms"
Having just moved into the office, I start working on my first film. I'm the only employee and responsible for everything. I choose the genre and topic of the film and come up with a nice title. The result is the action film about friendship "Brothers in Arms". Then I choose the director - Buy Breen - and hire George Gegal as the lead actor. What illustrious names.
Source: Kim Muntinga
When I select them, I get several other pieces of information: their salary and percentage of profit share, their national and international fame, as well as their popularity with critics and how well they match my script based on genre and topic.
Click and move: budgeting for filming and post-production
After pre-production, I can allocate my base budget proportionally in three categories to set a focus. Do I want to invest more money in the script? Or would I rather invest in the set design or costumes/make-up? I can also add various premium features. However, I haven't activated these yet.
Source: Kim Muntinga
In the next step, I choose my second budget allocation: this time for post-production. In this area, I can divide my investment between the categories special effects, sound design & music and classic post-production. Once again, I have access to unlockable premium features.
Source: Kim Muntinga
Once I've finished shooting my film and made the final cut, it goes into distribution. As I'm still on my own, I look for national distribution partners myself. I first have to activate other options. For each production, I then receive an overview of the reviews for my film and the finances.
After the film is before the film
That says it all. Everything repeats itself from here. Some reports herald new eras in the film industry. So I have to focus on the home entertainment industry, as there is a lot of money to be made here, or focus on the international market.
Source: Kim Muntinga
I quickly try to only generate research points to unlock further options. But even these don't bring much new gameplay. I move to a larger office, hire employees: other producers, people for Marketing, Sales or Analysis. At some point, I can make bigger films or even franchises with prequels or sequels. But ultimately it's always the same - just more expensive.
Source: Kim Muntinga
Nice menus, boring trappings
The menus and user interface in "The Executive" are clearly structured, offer a good overview and are intuitive. The user interface is colourful and appealing without being overloaded.
Source: Kim Muntinga
Source: Kim Muntinga
Other than that, the presentation is very simple. The interface shows the current office with a few minor details, plus the character models of my character and those of my employees. Otherwise, these models are hardly noticeable in the game and play no role in the gameplay. All in all, it looks visually boring.
"The Executive" was provided to me by Goblinz Studio. The game has been available for PC since 11 February.
In a nutshell
Interesting setting, boring realisation
"The Executive" offers an interesting premise by putting me in the role of an aspiring film producer building his own film studio from the ground up. The game starts promisingly with the ability to control various aspects of film production: from genre selection and casting to budgeting and post-production. The clearly structured menus and appealing user interface contribute to a positive first impression.
However, the game quickly loses its appeal as the tasks and processes are repetitive and offer little variety. Despite the possibility of collecting research points and unlocking new features, the gameplay remains monotonous. The graphics are simple and the character models do not play a significant role in the gameplay. Overall, "The Executive" lacks depth and long-term motivation. Those who are already familiar with "Game Dev Tycoon" need not bother with "The Executive".
Pro
- Interesting setting
- Clearly structured menus
Contra
- monotonous gameplay
- Lack of depth
- no real campaign
- Simple graphical representation
Header image: Goblinz Publishing
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My interests are varied, I just like to enjoy life. Always on the lookout for news about darts, gaming, films and series.
