About The Game

Hollywood U: Rising Stars is a mobile game designed and released by Pixelberry Studios. It is the fourth game developed by the team, who started with Electronic Arts, and the second game developed by the team after they formed Pixelberry Studios. Launched on December 10, 2014, Hollywood U is a virtual simulation or role playing game that lets the player send the main character on quests to gain experience points, level up characters, and build the fictional Hollywood University campus.

The app is rated T (Teen) in Google Play and requests players to be 12+ in the Apple (iOS) Store. As such, content is generally suitable for ages 12 and up. Disclaimers state that the game may contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language.

The Hollywood U app was a spin-off / continuation of the app High School Story, which was also released by Pixelberry. High School Story (now called "High School Story Prime" to differentiate it from Pixelberry's "Choices: Stories You Play" app's in-game series by the same name) was also rated T (Teen) in Google Play with a lower age allowed (9+) in the Apple (iOS) Store. This suggested that Hollywood U was for a maturer audience.

With the rising success of the company's third app Choices: Stories You Play, the company decided to stop updating and continuing storylines in both Hollywood U and High School Story Prime on April 20, 2017. They last updated their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy on May 15, 2018, and had a final "fix" to the game (for any remaining bugs) on August 30, 2018. On July 15, 2022, the company announced they would be shutting down the games' servers on August 10, 2022 with in-app purchases in Google Play and the Apple Store not being available for purchase starting on July 20, 2022.

Story[]

You are the main character (MC) of the story, who begins studying at the famous Hollywood University. You are given three majors to choose from (Director, Fashionista, and Movie Star), and once chosen, you cannot change majors unless you decide to unenroll (uninstall the game and being anew). Throughout your schooling at Hollywood U, you are given quests to fulfill, side quests to help your friends (whom you also recruit into your friend group - also called your "entourage"), and later opportunities to date fellow classmates and celebrities. You also help build, expand, and decorate the Hollywood U campus. Eventually, your goal is to become an "EGOT", winning an award in each of four entertainment categories: an Emma, an Audrey, a Gossy, and one other (which are the game's versions of the Emmys or Emmy Awards (television), the Oscars or Academy Awards (film), the Grammys (music), and the Tonys (stage/theater)). By the end of the story, you will have won three of the four awards.

Gameplay[]

The Hollywood U app allows the player to choose one of two genders for the main character (male or female), skin tone, and hair color. At launch, dark or brown eyes were the only color given; approximately a year later, light or blue eyes were added as an option.

Except for wardrobe and physical appearances, choices made by the player are permanent. That is, players cannot rewind or restart quests to choose different options once they make their choices. The only quests that became replayable were the dating series of certain characters (for example, Chris Winters, Thomas Hunt) after their final dates had been purchased and played. The only way to restart the game would be to uninstall and reinstall the game which would cause players to lose all their data and progress.

In-game Currency[]

Players earn one of three in-game currencies (cash, diamonds, or tickets) for quests they fulfill. Of the three, cash is the easiest to obtain and in larger amounts ($50+), while diamonds are rarer and in smaller amounts (1+ 💎). Diamonds can also be earned by linking friends to the game via Facebook and watching ads. If the player purchased diamonds in the past, ads are replaced for a short duration of time by a "Thank You" message with 2 diamonds. Generally, cash is used for standard or "free" upgrades and to continue the story on the "free route". Diamonds are used to make premium choices, make premium purchases, and recruit premium characters. Both cash and diamonds can also be purchased by the player in the store.

Starting with the August 2015 update, tickets became the third in-game currency and are earned by fulfilling weekly challenges. Easier challenges earn less tickets than harder or premium challenges that may require premium purchases. Earned tickets then can be used to redeem rewards in the Rewards Center.

Limited time "bundles" were also available for varying prices, and offered a mixture of cash, diamonds and an "exclusive" outfit that could not be purchased through the closet. However, a few exclusive outfits became available later in exchange for tickets.

Quests[]

Players are given quests to fulfill to earn experience points (XP) and level up their games. Most quests are given durations before they can be concluded, and players have the option of spending diamonds to "rush" the timer to the end and finish the quest faster. The longer the timer, the more diamonds are required to end the quests. A few quests give the opportunity to earn bonus diamonds if they are completed within a certain time frame. If the time frame expires, the bonus is forfeited.

Quests may require players to expand the campus by purchasing Land Plots, build various Buildings, decorate the campus, recruit students of certain character types (which can be accomplished by sending two characters to party at Club VIP or by purchasing them through the store), level up MC and/or other characters in the Workshop, and matchmake characters in Couples Corner.

Dating[]

Dating is purely optional for the player. After the Amour building is unlocked and built, players can send their MCs on dates with various set characters. While this can also be accomplished through the Couples Corner, Amour's dates provide storylines like quests while Couples Corner does not. Also, players can choose to date one, some, or all characters available in Amour; whether they choose to be monogamous or polyamorous, the MC's love interests do not exhibit jealousy or anger towards the MC in the normal story route. However, in Couples Corner, once a relationship is started, players must "break up" couples to free each character to start a new relationship with a different character.

Certain characters require cash to be spent to start dates while others require diamonds. For this reason, diamond dates are subcategorized under Premium Dates.

Closet[]

The closet holds your character's and your entourage's outfits, which are earned by leveling up characters or via purchases. Some quests require certain characters (or character types) to wear certain outfits, and typically those outfits can be purchased with cash. Expensive or premium outfits that require diamonds are available for aesthetic reasons, with a few being required to be purchased to complete weekly challenges for tickets.

App Support[]

In the past, players could contact app support through the Help section of the app or through one of the company's social media accounts. However, as of August 30, 2018, the company no longer provides support for players. Players may attempt to contact the company through other means but should be aware their questions and concerns may go unanswered.

About The Game

Contents