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Help needed for Soap game!


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Old 02-07-2007, 15:35
SoapLand
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Join Date: Jun 2007
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Hello everyone,

Firstly I've had a quick look at the forum rules and I don't think my post will break any of rules but if I have placed this post in the wrong section, please let me know and I will inform the forum moderators to move it!

Having said that, I'll get to the point.

If you’ve ever watched an episode of EastEnders or Coronation Street and thought – “I could do better”… then this post might be very interesting for you.

We are currently producing a simulation game, almost reaching completion but we thought perhaps a community of soap enthusiasts like Digital Spy might be able to help us make the game even better.

The game is a simulation of the Soap Opera industry, where you take control of your favourite soap. Whether it’s an established show like Emmerdale, an American import or even a brand new start up… the extensive database will allow you to take control of them all.

The objective is to improve television ratings, maintain a positive bank balance and keep your cast happy. We’re using an intuitive engine so that the storylines and feuds you create are ‘recognized’ and rated by the game.

To the ladies on here: if you have a boyfriend or a husband who is into his football and have heard of “Football Manager” then you might already have a brief idea of what this game will be like. If you haven’t, we’ll be releasing screenshots and website shortly, so you’ll have a good idea shortly.

The features below are either already programmed or nearly complete. If you have any ideas or suggestions that will improve the realism of the game, or anything you’d like to see, then please go ahead and post below. Any thoughts and comments would be great.

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Take control of your favourite Soap; call all the shots as the Executive Producer…

- Your employment as an executive will rely solely on your performance - winning the television rating wars and running a tight ship as far as finances goes will help you gain favour with the bosses. In a dog-eat-dog world, with network bosses constantly overlooking your performance, you’ll have to use all your wits to survive and keep your place in the hot seat.

- Balance the budget or you’ll find yourself running out of money to pay the cast and staff. Adjust your production levels, the size of your cast and monthly expenditures on advertising and merchandising to keep your balance sheet in the positive.

- Compete against other national and local soap operas, not only will you be expected to maintain and improve your show’s public image, but also win against rivals in the battle for viewers!

- The quality of your output (dictated by the storylines you script) and your performance as an executive translates into a monthly performance which either sets the momentum for ratings dominance or a slide to the graveyard slot and the dreaded axing of the show from the network!

- Control the 'Risk' factor of your soap, as the executive producer you can breathe new life into your flailing show by giving it a brand new direction. High risk Soaps run shocking and controversial storylines, attracting extensive media attention and possibly a completely new audience demographic. Although whether an upturn in television ratings is enough to placate the network executive and your bosses depends on the network and time slot your show airs on!

- Take control of your soap's brand, from repackaging the soap to advertising and merchandising.

Manage an entire bevy of on screen talent and backstage staff…

- Maintain a talented and quality packed cast, by hiring and axing actors and actresses from a wide pool of talent from celebrities to graduates from the country’s top theatre schools and acting academies.

- Create your own characters and families from your new cast members before debuting them on screen, applying names, relationships, personalities and depositions.

- Negotiate contracts with existing members of staff, dealing with agents and the increasing demands from your more established cast members. Can you strike the balance between a happy cast and the spiralling cost of wages?

- Hire and fire writers, camera crew, floor managers and other personnel all of which have an impact on the quality of your output.

Negotiate with the network whilst making sure you don’t go into the red…

- Planning for raunchier storylines? Negotiate with the network to change your time slot. Or perhaps your fledging soap is unable to compete with its rivals, again maybe you need to broadcast at a different time and try to appeal to a different demographic.

- Once you’ve built a formidable cast, you need to give significant air time to get the characters familiar with the fans. Perhaps you need to air an additional show per week? Depending on your overall performance and the network’s own TV schedules, you might be able to negotiate an extra episode or even remove an existing episode if budget demands becomes excessive and a bloated cast becomes too difficult to manage.

- As an executive producer, you are also in charge of the show’s finances, your balance sheet will show all the income and expenditures… but it’s up to you to make sure you don’t dip into the red. Hiring a world famous celebrity actor to play a part in your soap might send the ratings crashing through the roof, but is smashing your wage structures worth the risk? Perhaps you’ll need a short term loan to cover the cost of the signing – you live and die by your decisions!

Surf the Internet…

- Want to know what the media and the general public think of your show’s output? You can take a peek at the content on four different in-game websites to canvass opinions:

1) Your Soap’s Fan Site – To find out what fans think of characters, storylines, cast members and your general performance as an executive (Examples: Walford Web / Corrie.net)

2) Your Soap’s Official Site – An easy to read overview of the entire Show, from debuting cast members, hot feuds and storylines, lists of most talented cast members and their skills to the view of the site webmaster! (Example: bbc.co.uk/Eastenders and itv.com/coronationstreet)

3) General Soap Fan Site – A fan site for the world of soap, find out what storylines are capturing the most interest, which actors/actresses are winning the audiences hearts and what the nation’s favourite soap is. (Example: DigitalSpy.com)

4) Gossip and Rumours Site – Wade through both true and false rumours about the industry, find out if a rival soap’s top star is about to walk out, leaked storyline plots and the network opinion on your performance before a P45 lands in your inbox. (Example: PopBitch.com)

Storylines

- As the executive producer, you get to finalize and pen the storylines that run on the show. Storylines are split into two sections:

Using an adapted version of the 36 Plots of Polti, the game will allow you to create any number of storylines involving any number of cast members. From abductions to murder, love triangles to weddings – the only limit is the quality of your writers and the risk level of your show!

Storylines are used to develop feuds and relationships between your show’s characters. You can create several ‘active’ prominent feuds and relationships – by creating storylines, the momentum of these feuds and relationships increase… leading to dramatic pay-offs or future storylines. Your consistency as a writer will determine how successful your show is.
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Old 02-07-2007, 16:52
Bonze
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: innit tho'
Posts: 5,642
Maybe we can ask the mods to setup a soap/games forum
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