Hollywood U Reflections

Not long ago, we released the final quest of Hollywood U (Pixelberry's 2nd of 3 games), something I'd been a writer, story lead, and producer on. This big moment caused me to take a step back and remember the long journey we've made together.

We launched Hollywood U two-plus years ago in December of 2014. What's crazy is that we did so in a matter of months. The energy in the office then was electric, with everyone scrambling around trying to hit their impossible deadlines.

We seem calm here, but the excitement on launch day was through-the-roof...

After our launch, we celebrated with an on-theme film festival. Several brave souls dug up embarrassing videos of themselves for everyone to watch.

The team has always been passionate about whatever it works on. And that passion comes through in cosplay... 

Recognize these characters?

...in dedication. Many of our writers wrote quests week in and week out. But we still managed to have fun together in our writing and in our brainstorms.

...and in collaboration. Here we are blitz-writing hundreds of dates for HWU's Couple's Corner. It was a very busy lunch.

The best part of Hollywood U was, well, all of you. Your creativity and enthusiasm -- expressed through fanart, headcanons, ships, and messages -- was what drove us to keep writing and doing our best. Eddie, who you might know from our livestreams, had this to say:

"To all the HWU players, thank you for all the love you've given us, thank you for the hours of livestreaming, and thank you for this adventure that was a big part of my life." -Edward

Some of you have already played the Hollywood U finale and even reached out to us about how the game has influenced you. That means the world to us. The next game update for Hollywood U will be its last, and weekly quests will no longer be released... but the spirit of Hollywood U continues to burn bright.

And for those Choices players who have no idea what I'm talking about... I hope you'll take a minute to check out Hollywood U and see this awesome game now that the story is complete. There's literally hundreds of hours of romance, adventure, and Hollywood excitement that we've poured our hearts into bringing to life.

When I look around our office, I see the Choices team dedicating the same hard work, creativity, and love that they put into Hollywood U. As we shift focus to Choices, the team will grow and evolve, but our love for storytelling remains the same.

It's been a long journey, but we're glad we made it with you.

-Eric