Inside Video Games: More "Movies" from Activision and Lionhead Studios

Moviesexpansion_1 Activision has released the first expansion pack for Lionhead Studios' "The Movies" called "Stunts & Effects." The new CD-ROM adds stuntmen and car chases, visual effects complete with blue and green screens, and new sets to the game. In addition, a new "Freecam Mode" alows players to adjust the camera as they want from virtually any angle. The new additions to the game open up the blockbuster capabilities of the movies that can be made with all the tools for action and sci-fi films. Activision has been working with "NUMB3RS" TV actor David Krumholtz since last year's Sundance Film Festival. He recently awarded the winner a Chrysler Crossfire at last month's E3 show as part of the Chrysler in the Movies Virtual Film Competition.

Krumholtz told me that Hollywood, especially the independent film world, is embracing "The Movies" game as a new way to pitch movie ideas in meetings. For $50 ($80 if you toss in the new $30 expansion pack), filmmakers and would-be directors can visualize their scripts into short films complete with soundtracks. This could be the difference between a novice director talking about a new film idea and missing the mark and showing the studio exactly what he or she envisions--virtually.

"The Movies" is also opening up the world of Machinima to a wider audience. Like Electronic Arts' "The Sims 2," "The Movies" makes it easy for anyone to use its intuitive toolset to create their own short, or long, film. The game's a Hollywood playground with all of the fixings, including the ability to write the script, cast actors, choose sets and direct the action in any genre. Machinima has gone from the realm of PC gamers with a lot of programming know-how to anyone who buys a $50 game. This streamlined approach is seeing results like the winning films that were awarded short film contracts by Chrysler at E3.

While the status of "The Movies" on next generation consoles is still in limbo, this game should have a long life on PC. It's the kind of game that could do wonders for Machinima if it does one day ship for PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. There's a huge console gaming audience that could easily get hooked on making their own movies. The intuitive nature of this game makes it the perfect stepping stone into this burgeoning art form. And there are plenty of aspiring Hollywood writers and directors who would likely benefit from a next generation console version. But for now, PC gamers have the upper hand when it comes to finding a new and inexpensive tool to bring ideas to life.