Keiran McEwen
Keiran McEwenSince this is creepy psychotics anonymous, I’ll admit that I have a thing for business simulators and the behind-the-scenes of how creative things work. Developed by Aniki Games and published by Goblinz Publishing and Maple Whispering Limited, The Executive – Movie Industry Tycoon lets you get your The Movies on like you were some disgraced former producer without that creative god-game business. At least outside of the office. Starting in the 70s, you’ll grow a burgeoning film studio from a one-room two-desk hierarchy to shooting a whole Acme film with John Cena, then shelving it for tax purposes so you can release it a year later.
If you’ve missed some of the film-business news in recent years, some references might fly over your head like a recent MCU film. However, I think to somewhat play these types of industry management titles you need some knowledge of the history, as every film title and every director/actor starting from the 70s is a play on real names. For example, we have Galactic Battles: Chapter IV – The Emergence of Hope, as directed by Leorge Gucas, starring Hark Mamill and co-starring Farison Hord, and releasing in time for the 1978 awards season. I wonder what that could be about. That’s also alongside Annie’s Hallway by Aloody Wellen, and Kin Scheme by Halfred Aitchcock.
Nonetheless, either through a “small” family loan that could make you a billionaire now or a “pay back the money or I break your kneecaps” sort of loan, you start your production office alone, single, and afraid. From there, you spend as much money as possible to make a profitable film that could possibly bankroll the next one and the next one, and the next and next one, and so on. There really isn’t much setup to be said about The Executive. Like most management games, it’s about making a profit and understanding small amounts of analytical data.
With The Executive – Movie Industry Tycoon, you don’t get much creative freedom. Fans of The Movies typically want that basic Windows Movie Maker tool and to be as creative as they possibly can, while those looking for the business side (akin to 2000s tycoon titles) want easy-to-understand number crunching. The Executive does a lot right in terms of the latter while obviously missing the former in favor of a more focused experience. I think what almost makes me want to put The Executive down after playing a couple of hours every time is that “lack” of creativity or something special.
The first employee is basically an avatar of you (not the blue sex pests or the bald martial arts one), a ‘jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one’ type. Your first few films are produced, scripted, and budgeted yourself, and a third-party distributor is found by you. The clue is in the title, The Executive is very much about the movie industry’s business rather than its creative aspects, but you are about to influence some of that creativity by naming films, picking the genres, and more specific attributes throughout the production of your films.
That’s about as far as your creativity can stretch in The Executive, producing Scream! several years prior to its official real-world release. Or more ridiculously releasing Star Wars VI directed by Cavid Dronenberg and starring Cicolas Nage and Ganny Dlover in May of 1989. Somehow, I believe with Cronenberg, Jabba the Hut would look far more disgusting, though with Danny Glover the PG rating might not fly. With each film’s release, you are given a small sample size of the critical opinion of the film you have very little investment in, alongside a “Sodameter” and “Avocadometer;” the latter calling great films “certified Fresh.”
After you’ve selected your director, actors, budget, themes, and genre, you’re left playing around with percentages to determine how much of the budget is spent on certain things. So after you’ve green-lit Men in Black, starring David Goelz as the Great Muppet Gonzo alongside Sigourney Weaver, as directed by Ethan Coen, you can select 35% of the initial budget to go to writing, and eventually you’ll unlock parts of production that might increase your Sodameter and Avacadometer if it’s a good enough film. Chances are, you can sort of cheat that with the actor and director’s popularity domestically and internationally, how liked they are by critics, and their affinity for the as-yet-unwritten script.
Split into three bits of production, your initial phase of selecting actors and such being pre-production, the other aspects are a bit “don’t think too hard about this either!” After you’ve got these big-named actors and directors on board, you’re then selecting bits of the script, and after you’ve supposedly shot the film, you can then decide if the film has long takes. All decisions you’d typically need to make before you start budgeting and before actors sign on to a long-term project. Eventually set to release, your film’s distribution is probably a touch more interesting but underserved.
Early on, you work with third parties like fake Disney and fake 20th Century Fox, which take half the money early on. It’s the self-distributing that could be better done/set up for more disasters than the odd economic crash here or there. We’ve seen actors become very loud about something, and then a bit too quiet about specific topics after certain interviews. Be it anti-vax, racial comments, or otherwise. The press tour, radio bits, magazines, and TV space you can buy to fill a quota in order to promote your latest film do just enough and no more.
Honestly, you’d have to be a cross between Rob Schneider, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Vin Diesel, Steven Seagal, and sure, let’s put Darren Ewing in there too, as to be so dense you’d not know what The Executive is. I’m not saying it is bad. However, very quickly, The Executive becomes all about the spoof names and surface gameplay, with a Steam News post for the 1.1.0 patch noting that there are over 700 spoof titles. Realistically, The Executive is a film-based version of Greenheart Games’ 2013 hit, Game Dev Tycoon, but without the larger implications that the industry can have on your business.
The Executive is fun in short bursts, but that’s it. Short bursts while you watch something on a second monitor or a TV, something like a film that doesn’t take a lot of brain power maybe. Sure, The Executive offers more analytical data to draw from (which might be useful on the highest difficulties) than just your reviews to define what percentages writing, set design, editing, and special effects take up from the base budget. Though I honestly can’t think of a more boring way to spend your time while playing. It practically gives you the answers to the exam you are taking.
Be it the art style, the aesthetic, or the overall presentation, I like a lot of what The Executive is doing. However, I’m left wondering why I’ve wanted to play it other than to second screen something. Even when trying to experiment with ideas, like naming films questionable things, I’m left doing so half-heartedly and half-interested. To a degree, I wasn’t expecting great depth, and beyond spoof names, there isn’t, but there is enough there to play with if you’re a movie buff or a casual popcorn eater.
Ultimately, The Executive – Movie Industry Tycoon is a niche within a niche that is serving a very small number of masters. What is there and what has been added as quality-of-life details does enough to be enjoyable for a few hours, but chances are if you’re looking for a Game Dev Tycoon-style game you’d play Game Dev Tycoon. The larger substance of the Greenheart Games title adds a bit more depth (albeit small) that The Executive lacks simply on its premise.
A PC review copy of The Executive – Movie Industry Tycoon was provided by Goblinz Publishing for this review.
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14 The Executive - Movie Industry Tycoon
$14.99
Pros
- A fun couple of hours at a time.
- A film-based version of Game Dev Tycoon.
Cons
- After a short while, you'll have seen just about everything.
- There isn't a special bit of gameplay that is pulling me back in with interest.
