FMV is back in a new Hollywood dating simulator that looks like a 90s daytime soap

I still get PTSD flashbacks from terrible FMV (full-motion video) games from the ’90s. The advent of games on CD-ROMs opened up the world to developers trying to bring interactive movies to our early PCs and the like. The games were fun if only for the reason they were so tragically awful – none more so than 1994’s Voyeur, which you can still get on Steam.

While never truly dying out, you do still get the occasional attempt at an FMV game. Gone are the days of the likes of Mad Dog McCree and actual arcade games; these days, FMV needs a pretty face to sell, and that is definitely the premise behind The Fame Game: Welcome to Hollywood.

This new “narrative-driven dating sim” is set “against the glamor and chaos of Hollywood” and sees you star as Jonathan, an up-and-coming actor, and he really is never going to make it (think Dr. Drake Ramoray from Friends).

Of course, the acting storyline is all a ruse for Jonathon to meet a variety of hot Hollywood talent and attempt to use his charms on the ladies with all the sophistication and nuance of those cops you see on TV smashing in a meth dealer’s front door with that big metal battering ram.

The game comes from Interactive Films, who have one other project listed on Steam that I can find. There was a trailer I wanted to include on this page, but it seems to have disappeared from YouTube but you can still check it on the game’s Steam page, which lists it as coming soon.

It is well worth a watch. Trust me

The blurb describes the game thus: “Through branching dialogue, meaningful choices, and a cast of distinct personalities, players are invited to explore not just romance, but the complicated stories behind the people they meet. From introverted creatives to career-driven dreamers, every relationship offers a different path to explore, each character brings a different lens to the world, and challenges the player to rethink what they think they know.”

This doesn’t quite tie in with the trailer, which seems to be a variety of hot women batting their eyelashes at you with some of them parading around in little clothing saying things like “do you need a touch up”, but hey, I haven’t played it (yet!).

You can wishlist The Fame Game: Welcome to Hollywood now. Things look pretty far on, so it probably won’t be too far away from launch.