Steven Spielberg’s Director’s Chair
Preview by Al Giovetti
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Genre: animated simulation cum adventure
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Publisher: Knowledge Adventure
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Website: http://www.directorschair.com/challenge/
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History: Name a movie you really like, and the odds are that Steven Spielberg had something to do with it. Try Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, The Last Crusade, ET: The Extra Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Shindler’s List, and now in production The Lost World: Jurassic Park.

Plot: This is Steven Spielberg’s first signature CD-ROM product which rates its own web site. You get Steven Spielberg’s help and influence to get a great cast, composed of Jennifer Aniston, Quenton Tarantino, Penn and Teller, screenwriters Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio (Aladdin), director of photography, cinematographer Dean Cundey (Jurassic Park, Apollo 13), editor Michael Kahn (Schindler’s List).

First you enter the writer’s bungalow,and with two famous writers write the script. You then become the director and film the event with the help of a brilliant cinematographer. Once the film is finished you edit with a brilliant editor, the sound is then added to make the movie sing, and then add the music. After the movie is finished you work with some great promoters to advertise your film. The final step is to premier your movie for your friends or send it to them over the internet.

Game play: There are four levels of game play: novice movie maker, intermediate, advanced, and A-List Director. You need to learn how to succeed at each level with only $40,000 in budget. In the novice mode you are spoon fed various movie techniques. In the final or A-List difficulty experimentation with techniques can lead to often disappointing results. Intermediate has multiple tracks to pursue, but is still not free form.

Various disasters have been planned and set up to trap the would be directors, including star injuries, special effects mishaps, and other production delays.

Interface:

Graphics: Very realistic pictures of Steven in front of a blue screen are backed up by two dimensional hand rendered scenes of Holywood

Animation: Steve is in full motion video on the screen just to the left of the screen and helps by narrating various challenges.

Voice actors: All of the actors and famous people have lent their images and their voices to the production.

Music score.

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References:
http://www.directorschair.com/challenge/
Cindy Yans, Computer Games Strategy Plus, issue 71, October, 1996, pg. 46.