Apparently, no one who makes movies for judging over at the Movies official site likes to play the game.
I like to play the game.
I have a few limitations I've made on myself; I only make movies in-game, no sandbox. This makes it more of an interesting proposition, in my mind.
I also don't really like to use Mods. I avoid it. I have a few sets I downloaded, and a few outfits, but thats it. I only got those because I felt the game lacked them and should have had them.
There are a few other lacks I've felt, and for a while there I was getting pretty interested in trying to figure out ways to provide them; the last I looked, for instance, the only way to bring new 3d models into the game was via Blender....and I hate Blender with a deep loathing. Being a Edumacated guy with training enough to program a 3D studio script, I started work on one. It was a real pain, but I plugged at it every chance I got.
(By the way, I'm not just a dabbler; check out this for an example of what I can do when I'm trying a little)
Then, as has been my habit, I tried to see if I could take a story in my head and animate it using "The Movies". Thinking it was pretty close to what I was trying to convey, I posted it on the lionshead website.
I guess I had been pretty lucky, previously. the people who bothered to check out the stuff I was posting were able to usually see what I was trying to do, and apparently it was considered relatively "Good"; my game-studio over the course of a year rose to around 55th place; out of several 10's of thousands, not bad.
Then it happened.
A Critic.
I had not changed the intro screens and end screens that the game automatically generates.
I had not used Audio dubbing. (I had occasionally done so, but didn't when a movie required more than one voice & I was the only one handy).
I used other peoples materials without giving them credit (nope. Only the stuff supplied by the game manufacturers for this film).
I had used improper music techniques. The techniques i was supposed to use involved an editing method that I was not aware of, as it wasn't supplied in any company FAQ or in-game material. I went looking for it and never did come across an explanation.
For these crimes, the Critic decided my film rated a 1 out of 5 stars review.
Ok. I'm not a little kid. I'm Retired; on disability for injuries, actually, but old enough, barely to retire. I go into the forums at lionhead to *** a little (less that i did above, actually), and see if this was commoner than I thought.
I was vilified. reviled. The person who did me the "favor" of reviewing my film was just trying to point out errors that he had seen. He was a member of a cabal of sorts that espoused making films in a certain, specific way...and I had apparently broken all the commandments.
My feelings at the time? well, I think "Pissed" pretty much covers it. I got so mad I couldn't even play the damn game anymore (part of the fun was making a story that was in my head appear on screen, and then making it available to others). And I haven't. Not since Nov. 1, 2007. I even tossed the code out for the 3D studio script, uploaded what i had and forgot about it.
But. It's a cool game.
I'm starting to play it again. played it for 6 hours this morning.
(sigh)
Feel free to check out the Evil Movie I made, it's here: The Rhodian Scarab
But don't bother reviewing it; the Lionhead system gives heavy weight to the first review, and that one was sort of bad.