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Post by harryw87 on Aug 31, 2017 23:23:13 GMT -8
i love Hollywood mogul 3. I love the feel and the way the game looks. I think these kinda games for me, are a case of as long as it all works properly then it doesn't have to look overly fancy. The idea of putting movies, tv shows, games and everything else together in one is brilliant.
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tagam
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Post by tagam on Sept 7, 2017 19:28:06 GMT -8
Hi all, long time since I've posted on an HM forum, but I thought I'd weigh in on this topic.
A bit of background, I am a professional product and brand designer, as well as one of the original testers of HM3 and have been a fan going back to hm1. (Bring back B3 Carey!)
There are really two key things to take away here in my opinion.
The first is the UI design, it's absolutely essential to any product, as the look and feel is the first thing to draw you in, but that's nothing to do with the kickstarter campaign, the goal was simply a little too lofty, it was trying to cover the entire cost of the game before selling a single copy... but I digress, in a game as text heavy as hms the challenge of creating an effective and efficient Ui is incredibly daunting, and by his own admission Carey is not a graphics designer, nor does he have one on staff, he's a one man show. While certainly there's a massive opportunity to increase the overall appeal of the game through heavy design work I do not believe that the game will in any way cause the game to fail or even decrease in players based on the looks alone, although not investing in it will not help the base to grow. Let's face it guys, we're all a niche market, and while I wish there was a lot more of us looking for this type of game there simply isn't. And until there is we'll all continue to seek out excellence in the genre as we all were doing when we found hms in the first place, the truth is it's rare to find a current game with this level of performance and depth and that's why I've always been such a big supporter of Carey and his work.
The second is playability, you hit the right nail, but you didn't quite hit it on the head, in my opinion. I think overall HM2 did a better job in this area, but I wouldn't call hm3 BAD. What I found over time has been a little surprising to me, as it was was the opposite of what I thought in the development period between HM2 and HM3. I was the first one to request more, more stats, more control, more information. But as I've played the game, I've found it a little... for lack of a better term, slow. I'd long thought it was an intangible in the difference between HM2 and HM3, just something that didn't click for me... I mean Carey gave me the bigger talent pool to create my files, the tools to do the job, the range of options I wanted in each movie, but somehow I wasn't enjoying it on the same level as HM2. Reading this thread, Maggie's post in particular, it hit me, it wasn't, for me, that I couldn't find things, they seemed logically placed to me, it was that it felt like I was working too hard for the movie, so somehow that makes it feel like the process of creating each one takes too long and the game drags. Yet it's what I asked for. What I wanted. I'd actually been thinking over the last few days about some of the differences between 2 and 3, like the writing being exact, maybe that removed some of the serendipity of creating just the perfect movie. Maybe knowing how long it takes to get a 5 star script made it less enjoyable to check the progress after each rewrite, despite that the length of time may be the same. In short, maybe sometimes less is more. I don't know exactly which pieces though, but the message of focus on the core rings true to me.
By extension, Carey, to provide something that I hope will be constructive, maybe your post "a more controlled experience", combined with the idea of focusing on the core functions, eliminating some of the extraneous would help reduce the text elements and on its own lead to a more streamlined UI. I would go so far as to even suggest that if there's something you'd feel torn about removing, but would classify as extraneous to the core it could be listed in advanced options as an optional function. (Lets face it, some of the input from the user won't affect the final box office right?)
I would even suggest that features could be re-added over time post release if needed, as was planned with the expansions. (Rant) Just please don't ever go micropayment, there's no excuse for that model, premium experiences should cost a premium, not a weekly premium. (/end rant)
As always, if I can be of any help, I don't have a lot of free time, but I'm happy to volunteer what little I do have.
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That said I would still love to see the ability, in a game surpassing 20 years in length, to be able to create the talent file or source file, I always dreamed of... adding stars or works from an era passed and adding future elements with their release/birth dates so they can join the game at the right time... there's just something about opening the game with a young Sean Connery doing the "new" James Bond, and many years later bidding on the up and coming new franchise Harry Potter, where Daniel Radcliffe has just gotten old enough to play him.
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Post by TheMovieman on Sept 8, 2017 16:00:59 GMT -8
Really like the character traits, esp sing and dance.
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Post by thenextbigthing on Sept 16, 2017 19:35:05 GMT -8
Huge Fan! I love the UI. Nothing better then starting from nothing and build a database with your input on it. Online multiplayer would have been cool, but i can see that it would be difficult to add to the game. Anyhow Mr. HMDesigner, how is the progress of the game going?
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Post by sirandyd on Oct 15, 2017 5:06:30 GMT -8
Hi Carey, i hope you all is well with you, I stumble upon a thread on reddit about Indie-Friendly publisher, if you ever think that you needed a publisher maybe this could help
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Post by HMdesigner on Oct 16, 2017 8:02:52 GMT -8
sirandyd Thank you, that was very thoughtful. Development on HMS2 has slowed way down while I attempt to finish my RPG. I wonder if we should make HMS2 open source and just give it away? What do you folks think about that?
HMdesigner
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Post by mvsbanno on Oct 16, 2017 14:43:40 GMT -8
Whatever you want HMDesigner. Either way, I'm looking forward to it.
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Post by thenextbigthing on Oct 22, 2017 16:37:51 GMT -8
Hmmm, I think open source would be cool! I think it can be huge! =) But it's up to you. You created the series! IMO the best movie studio game there is! I chose HMS over Lionheads "The Movies" any day!
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Post by fan on Oct 23, 2017 14:14:22 GMT -8
Great! Can't wait for it. It seems trully amazing!
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tagam
New Member
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Post by tagam on Dec 30, 2017 20:57:44 GMT -8
Open source could actually open some interesting doors for the series, you’ve always managed to attract talented and dedicated people to your work, it would be interesting to see where it goes.
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