The rise of prestige TV has elevated the status not only of the TV medium, but also of those who create it. These days, we often see headlines about how "showrunners"-producers and directors who a few years ago would not have bothered with the show-are now getting as much attention as the people who star in it. [For example, we knew that Dick Wolf produced "Law & Order," but we didn't see an article about him every other day, or hear that "Dick Wolf changed the casting of the district attorney and made this season a disaster." [People like David Benioff and D.B. Weiss of "Game of Thrones" and Damon Lindelof, Joss Whedon, Taylor Sheridan, and Shonda Rhimes of "Lost" quickly became as recognizable as the shows they work on and their fans are disgruntled, there is a lot of criticism directed specifically at these showrunners (as was seen with Benioff and Weiss after "Game of Thrones" spun out in its final season).

But as a TV fan, there is no reason to limit yourself to criticism of showrunners from the sidelines: with the TV studio strategy management sim just launched on Steam Early Access, aptly named "Showrunner" (opens in new tab), you can become a showrunner today!

"You can be a showrunner today.

"Create and run your own TV show," demands developer Inexplicable Games. In the isometric management game, you create scripts, place characters in the world, and cast actors to play them. Hire and manage your staff, develop your studio, and gain a devoted fan base. I started with the standard approach of watching what was popular [like "Game of Thrones" and "Ring of Power"] and simply copying it. I started a production company, named the new TV series "Ring of Thrones," and hired several writers to produce the scripts. I created a main character ("Bob Dragon") and a supporting character ("Cassie Wizard"), hired actors to play them, dressed them in vague fantasy costumes, decided on a theme for the season ("Family"), and named the first episode "The Dragon House." The show is a huge success

Episodes can be put together by choosing cards with different scenes and attributes to outline, such as "New Arrivals," "Tense Meeting," or "Brawl." Each card has a score for comedy, drama, action, visuals, etc., and an overall cost for inclusion in an episode. Since I was just starting out, my first episode had only three scenes. Two characters. Still, I am sure you will be glued to it.

Once the writers finished writing the script based on my outline, we went to the studio and shot it with a hired director, a couple of cameramen, my actors, and one set in a bar. Then I hired an editor to cut everything (it wasn't a lot of work), and finally it was time to air it and see what the viewers thought.

Unfortunately, you cannot watch your own show in Showrunner. The game is primarily a strategy sim, where you combine crews that work well together based on their attributes, find actors who can play characters well based on how close their skills are to the role they are playing, and spend points to upgrade different areas of the production company, such as the writer's room, editing room, and studio. They spend points on upgrades to various areas of the production company, such as the scriptwriter's room, editing room, and studio. And, of course, they need to find the best possible streaming deal within their budget.

I am sad to report that the first season of "Ring of Thrones" was not that great. The first episode, "Dragon House," received only half a rating (out of five stars) from a million viewers and did not get much better throughout the rest of the season. Despite the introduction of a villain (wearing a motorcycle helmet) in the third episode, the subsequent episodes "The Secret Elf," "The Good Guy is Actually a Bad Guy," and "A Wedding That Works" never received more than two stars. Making a blockbuster fantasy show is harder than it looks.

But as if my invisible audience wasn't impressed enough, I still got a contract for a second season of Ring of Thrones. Hiring a couple of new actors and increasing the cast to four would work, and with an improved camera and an upgraded editing room, my score might even go up a bit. The game is available on Steam (opens in a new tab).