They Came From Hollywood
Name: | They Came From Hollywood |
Developer: | Octopus Motor |
Systems: | PC |
Due date: | 2002-2007 |
They Came From Hollywood is cancelled PC game by Octopus Motor.
It was to be a Real Time Strategy game.
Gameplay
The game was to be a 2.5D RTS game.
Select a monster, customize it, and lay waste to a variety of cities.
The monsters would derive from Harold Haxton, a fictional filmmaker and associate of Ed Wood.
The aim of the game is to rack up a high score.
You get points for destroying buildings and killing civilians.
You get bonus points for destroying landmarks and killing military and scientists,
There were to be twelve controllable monsters.
Each is lifted from a fictional film of Harold Haxton.
Playable monsters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Newtrino the Atomic Newt | Fire-breath | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Tin Behemoth | Fires lasers and missiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Giant Ant | Fires acid stream | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Giant Plant | Fires toxic pollen clouds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 52-Foot Woman | Emits a superdonoc shriek | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Walking Eyeball | Fires a heat ray and can hypotise | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Giant Spider | Fires sticky web string | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thorax the Giant Mantis | No special ability | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Martian Mothership | Fires a death ray, can unleash kamikaze drones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Gob from Uranus | Leaves behind a toxic slime trail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Giant Cuttlefish | Fires a radioactice ink cloud | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Giant Pea | Can assume control of a baby pea once killed. |
Hidden in the game are special holiday-themed monsters:
Holiday monsters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Christmas | Santa Claus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Halloween | Harry, a skeleton warrior tribute to Ray Harryhausen |
There were to be seven cities.
Each would have unique attractions to destroy for bonus points.
Cities | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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San Francisco | Golden Gate Bridge, Painted Ladies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New York City | Empire State Building, The Brooklyn Bridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Washington, D.C | The Capitol Building, The Smithsonian, The White House | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Los Angeles | The Hollywood sign, The Griffith Observatory, Movie studios | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seattle | Space Needle, Music Museum | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chicago | The Miracle Mile, The Loop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nevada | Nuclear power plant, Army base |
You can choose four different time periods.
Each has different NPCs and technology.
Time era | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roaring 20s | Biplanes, zeppelins, machine guns | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Axis & Allies | Tanks, prop planes, napalm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Atomic Age | Jets, SWAT teams, incendiary charges | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Modern Times | Modern tanks and jets, cruise missiles, EMP bombs |
There several kinds of NPCs to watch out for:
- Paramilitary: cops, SWAT teams, and Hazmat teams
- Military: advance enemies with tanks and better weaponry
- Scientists: will get close to your monster to learn its weaknesses
- Press: like scientists but less effective yet more numerous
- B.A.M.R.O: army division with mechs and laser weapons
Development
They Came From Hollywood was in development on and off for a decade.
The game's immense development time was due to only having two employees.
The married couple would work on and off, taking on other projects to pay the bills.
Octopus Motor dev team:
- Lars Norpchen: programmer, designer, 3D modeler
- Jenny Sparks aka Sparky: designer, writer, webmaster
There were to be several planned expansion packs:
Expansion packs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Son of They Came From Hollywood | Cities in Europe and Asia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revenge Of They Came From Hollywood | Cities on other planets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Back To They Came From Hollywood | Cities set back in time |
Later on in development support for the PC Dance Pad was added.
In December 2004 Octopus Motor started the Abe Vigoda running gag on the game's website.
It was a humerous jab at the game's seemingly dead (cancelled) status.
Cancellation
Development of the game ceased around 2008 and 2009.
The game was never outright cancelled.
The devs diverted their resources to a proper (paying) projects, never to return.
Timeline:
- 2001: Octopus Motor founded, development starts
- 2002: game announced
- 2003: Giant Pea and holiday monsters added
- 2004: beginning of the Abe Vigoda running gag
- 2007: API switched to DirectX 3D
- 2008: asset pipeline rewritten
- 2009: last time the official website was updated
Gallery
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PC Zone issue 112 (February 2002)
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Computer Games issue 147 (February 2003)
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Guru Gamer issue 6 (Match 2003)
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PC PowerPlay issue 89 (August 2003)
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Computer Gaming World issue 235 (January 2004)
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Mad Scientist issue 11 (Spring 2005) part 1
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Mad Scientist issue 11 (Spring 2005) part 2
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Mad Scientist issue 11 (Spring 2005) part 3
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Mad Scientist issue 11 (Spring 2005) part 4
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Mad Scientist issue 11 (Spring 2005) part 5
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Mad Scientist issue 11 (Spring 2005) part 6
External Links
- https://web.archive.org/web/20011001203816/http://www.theycamefromhollywood.com/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20060614025730/http://actionvault.ign.com/features/interviews/tcfhollywood.shtml
- https://web.archive.org/web/20060619113248/http://www.gamecloud.com/article.php?article_id=2299
- https://www.tcfh.com/
- https://www.gamepressure.com/games/they-came-from-hollywood/z8e0c#pc