Music Maven is an online Music Industry simulation game. You are the manager (and also possibly the front-man) for a band, competing against others in the Music Maven community. Your job is to take your band to the top, which is no easy task, since all the other bands in the community will be trying to do the same thing.
Different people may have different goals when
playing the game. For some, they may want to sell the most albums, others
may want to "aquire" the most groupies. Still others may enjoy
trying to make as much money as possible. How you play the game is entirely
up to you. Throughout the game you can view charts that show your ranking
as compared to others in the community.
As the leader of your band, you must continually make wise decisions to
ensure your band's success. You control what activities your band members
will perform each month, whether it be practicing, resting, or launching
a tour of the best European cities. Every activity you perform will have
real consequences. The Music Maven community as well as your band members
will react to your decisions - for example, while practicing all the time
may make your band write great songs, they may get "burned out"
and become very unhappy. Usually every decision you make will have positive
and negative effects - just like in real life! So be careful when deciding
your band's future.
Each day, you can log onto the Music Maven website and schedule your band's
activities for the upcoming month. Then, each night, one month of game-time
in the Music Maven Universe is simulated. Your band musicians will age
1 month, your albums that you've already released will sell 1 month's
worth of sales, and the game will execute all the activities you had scheduled
for that day. So you can see that the game moves very quickly. If you
don't visit the Music Maven website for a week, then you've missed 7 months
of your band's career!
Band Management:
Each month you need to decide how to turn
your garage band into a full-fledged rock powerhouse. There are many activities
for you to choose from...
- Tour: tour anywhere in North America, Europe, or the South Pacific in any of the 200+ venues that are included in the game
- Practice: decide the numbner of days per month that your band will practice, as well as the practice intensity and practice focus. The more you practice, the more songs your band will write.
- Record: After you have a few songs written, you can go into the studio and record a single or album. Decide which studio to record in, your producer, your artwork budget, and number of copies to produce.
- Rest: Even the most intense bands need to rest every once in a while to recuperate their health
- Promote: Decide which method of promotion your band will undertake. Place an ad in a local 'zine, or go all out and run a TV ad.
- Auditions: If your current band members aren't cutting it, you can always hold auditions for new members. But be careful...if your existing member finds out he might get angry.
- Shop: There are several items in the Maven Mall to choose from, from plastic surgery to your band's tour bus.
Community:
Even though you are competing against the
other bands in the game, you are also part of the Music Maven comunity.
Perhaps working together with other bands will help your chances at success...
- Record Labels: You can join a community-run record label. Or, if you are popular enough, you can create your own record label!
- Maven Mail System: Send mail messages through the Maven Mail System to any other band in the Music Maven Community
- Who's Online: At any time you can view the other bands that are currently playing the game and send them an instant message.
- Forum: If you have any questions, feel free to post them on the messageboard. There are several other bands that would be glad to help you out.
Comprehensive Simulation:
Music Maven has many stats which help make
the game as immersive as possible...
- Genres: Over 55 genres
- Venues: Over 200 clubs and arenas from around the word
- Bands: rated for Popularity, Band Cohesion, Number of Groupies, and Stage Presence
- Musicians: rated for Health, Happiness, Popularity, Instrument Skill, Overall Musical Skill, Musical Knowledge, Prolificacy, Charm, Creativity, Commitment, Intelligence, Intensity, Intimidation, and Looks
- Records: track monthly sales as well as overall record quality
