Could FMV games make a come back?

[MissingNo_1231]

I was looking through some of the old FMV games the other day, like the stuff on CD-i, and it seemed to me like a great idea that was plagued by crappy titles.

And I began to wonder, if, with today's advances in video game graphics technology, would it be possible to revisit this genre and make some games that are really good?

[Loremaster]

I don't think FMV games will ever truly come back, not as a major genre. I think they are more suitable to either mini games or some sort of educational/training software. For example, when I was learning to drive, there was a program for driver training that I had [completion would give me a discount on insurance], and it had several sections with FMV gameplay. You were in a car, and had to select the correct safe action [accelerate, brake, go left, go right] at the correct time.

Because the gameplay is by nature rather limited, I don't think that they would be terribly popular as stand alone games in today's market. However, as a minigame, or some sort of quicktime event, I could definitely see some sort of resurgence. Indeed, you could even say that quicktime events owe their existence to FMV gameplay, I would imagine.

[acem77]

I was looking through some of the old FMV games the other day, like the stuff on CD-i, and it seemed to me like a great idea that was plagued by crappy titles.

And I began to wonder, if, with today's advances in video game graphics technology, would it be possible to revisit this genre and make some games that are really good?


mad dog mccree for the wii

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/16/mad-dog-mccree-blasts-his-way-to-wii-with-the-gunslinger-pack/

the best thing about the wii is that all gun games from the past can be ported with little problems.

I have mad dog 1 and 2 +plus the gun for the cdi and thought those would be the final and best ports.
I guess i am wrong as the wii ver came out with 3 games on one dvd.
and a gun/controller that will work on any tv.

From what i have played not a bad port

[Pezcore343]

I do remember that there is a game very similar to FMV games coming to PS3 in the near future although I forget the title. I'm sure someone else on the boards will remember what I mean. It's basically like watching a movie that is affected by your input. Don't know if this will ever be big again since the only reason it caught on in the early days was because of the "superior" graphics, but you may start seeing a few titles here and there with the new focus on casual friendly games.

[Fuyukaze]

I doubt it'll ever make a come back. FMV may be cheaper and the hardware needed may have been drasticly improved but the new has worn off. Unless someone can do something drasticly different to re-invient the medium, it may as well be dead.

[TonyTheTiger]

I want my Sewer Shark 2. I genuinely like that game.

[tomaitheous]

Could FMV games make a come back?

Oh god, I HOPE not. FMV games, besides their now cheese factor that appeal to some, in general are hollow/soul-less pieces of crap. Thank god the fad died off. FMVG rip.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I've heard very good things about the Casebook (http://areo.areograph.com/) series. The story sequences are performed by real actors, in classic FMV style.

[Cryomancer]

There have been a few stabs at it again last generation but I would like to see them try it again now that the hardware isn't an issue. It COULD be cool, just how they go about doing it is the problem. Models and physics allow a lot more things to happen without having to film them all, so they would have to get pretty creative.

Maybe they should do a new 2D mortal kombat with digitized actors for a start?

[emceelokey]

Well, there's a lot of quick time events in games now that pretty much play like Dragon's Lair. I just don't think it would really be efficient to produce a full game like that anymore. Back in the day, FMV was considered to be somewhat a graphical upgrade, now that would not only be a graphical downgrade but make a game one dimensional. Maybe some casual games can put that to use but I just don't see the need for it.

[grolt]

The FMV generation I consider to be the worst, and most misguided, era in video game history. It's not just that the graphics were beyond awful or that the gameplay was terribly simplistic. It's that it goes against everything the medium of video games rests upon, and that is coding something abstract to represent reality. Half the fun of video games, at least for me, is seeing the way levels, characters and sprites are designed - either how close it is to reality, or how intentionally different it is. The FMV games don't have any of that whimsy - they are shot on video and encoded into a very shallow point and click shell. There's no artistry to the game the way there is a game designed entirely by polygons or sprites. Furthermore, it's basically a different medium masquarading as a video game. A comic book where you have to use the A button to turn the page and the B button to hold the magazine closer to the screen would not work, neither would a movie consisting solely of pages from a novel. Bits and pieces of these formats may work, sure, but as an extra, not as the entire foundation of the product.

There are point and click games I really enjoy, like D, and there are games of other genres that use a sizable amount of FMV, like the FPS Congo on the Saturn, but those games that are all video or manipulating video or shooting at video, ugh, never again please. For the love of Corey Haim in Double Switch...never again.

[Fanboy]

Well, there's a lot of quick time events in games now that pretty much play like Dragon's Lair.

That's my first thought. FMV games have evolved into QTE games.

[TonyTheTiger]

Maybe they should do a new 2D mortal kombat with digitized actors for a start?

I think what's more likely to happen is the technology Warner Bros. used for Jor-El in Superman Returns will be applied to video games. They'll film an actor and turn his face and body into a texture so you'll get a digital character that looks as realistic as possible.

[Mathius]

I want my Sewer Shark 2. I genuinely like that game.

I enjoyed Sewer Shark also! Damn fine game in my opinion. However, some of you noted that FMV games lose/miss the point on what makes video games so cool, and unique. I completely agree. But, I am a huge fan of point-and-click adventures, and I think that's the only area FMV had any right being in.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I think what's more likely to happen is the technology Warner Bros. used for Jor-El in Superman Returns will be applied to video games. They'll film an actor and turn his face and body into a texture so you'll get a digital character that looks as realistic as possible.

I'm pretty sure that's already happened. ;p

[Greg2600]

FMV-only games really stunk, a lot. I do miss the days of having FMV cutscenes like Starfleet Academy, Wing Commander, X-Files, and Dark Forces II. I can't stand animated cutscenes.

[Ed Oscuro]

I've heard very good things about the Casebook (http://areo.areograph.com/) series. The story sequences are performed by real actors, in classic FMV style.
That was pretty nifty, although I don't like the modern style of film transitions. Everything else looks pretty sharp (well, aside from the medals in that trunk, in the free episode preview). This may be the future (or at least the near future) of cinematic games.

Anyway, what about Galloping Ghost's Dark Presence? (http://www.gallopingghostproductions.com/dark_presence/index.html) Sure, the production values are highly questionable (specifically the backgrounds ruin it for me, plus look at that cabinet), but it's definitely a revival of the Midway Mortal Kombat style of game.

[Kitsune Sniper]

That was pretty nifty, although I don't like the modern style of film transitions. Everything else looks pretty sharp (well, aside from the medals in that trunk, in the free episode preview). This may be the future (or at least the near future) of cinematic games.I haven't really seen the game yet. The download keeps cutting off halfway through. :(

[Iron Draggon]

well if they'd make more games like Time Gal, Revenge of the Ninja, Road Avenger, and Cobra Command, I'd be all for it, but otherwise who needs it?

[Zap!]

Forget total FMV, but why not partial FMV? Wouldn't it have been better if in the Wii version of Punch-Out!!, during the scenes Doc Louis and Little Mac had been real actors?

[j_factor]

Although I enjoyed some FMV games, like Sewer Shark, Night Trap, Time Gal, and Mansion of Hidden Souls, I don't really see any reason they'd return. If some developer wanted to make a game that played exactly like Night Trap, they don't really have any reason not to use conventional graphics.

[The 1 2 P]

I actually liked the second Star Wars: Rebel Assault game. The FMV just added to the story for me. As for the first game, they can keep that.

[smork]

Railfan for the PS3 is sort of FMV, as all the train graphics are actual hi-def footage.

[Nes]

Can we also bring back the point and click genre? I loved playing games like Sanitarium and Blade Runner.

[Jorpho]

Aren't the Phoenix Wright games basically FMV games in the end?

[Greg2600]

I actually liked the second Star Wars: Rebel Assault game. The FMV just added to the story for me. As for the first game, they can keep that.
Yeah that was a good one.

[Baloo]

Aren't the Phoenix Wright games basically FMV games in the end?

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On another note, Mad Dog McCree is a pretty good FMV shooter game. The gun parts are pretty well done, and the FMV makes it really realistic. I love the showdowns, they make you feel like you're really in the Wild West.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Although I enjoyed some FMV games, like Sewer Shark, Night Trap, Time Gal, and Mansion of Hidden Souls, I don't really see any reason they'd return. If some developer wanted to make a game that played exactly like Night Trap, they don't really have any reason not to use conventional graphics.

Cheese factor, my friend. That and it may be cheaper to hire some random dude off the street than modeling a full character and animating it. :p


Can we also bring back the point and click genre? I loved playing games like Sanitarium and Blade Runner.

The genre never really went away. The Adventure Company kept the genre alive, and it's been having a huge resurgence thanks to series like Sam and Max, Wallace and Gromit, and Strong Bad's Game for something or other.

[Iron Draggon]

Railfan for the PS3 is sort of FMV, as all the train graphics are actual hi-def footage.

Railfan for PS3, eh? so it actually has a game that I'm interested in now... not enough to buy one, but it's still cool it has a game that I'd enjoy now!

[Kiddo]

This thread's gone pretty long without the mention of Battle Heat on the PC-FX.

I guess it's on the more obscure side for it's import-only-ness (Very few of the games mentioned here are Japan-style FMV games.), but I actually got to play it and I thought it was the most interesting direction the genre has took. It's attempt to interpret a 2D Fighter as a FMV Fighter made it different from other FMV games, which I feel means it should be judged on it's own rather than clumped in with "Dragon's Lair" or "Sewer Shark".

There were also a few Japan-only games which give an FMV-game presentation on visual-novel style games.

[The 1 2 P]

I also kind of liked Wing Commander IV. However, I've only gotten about a quarter of the way thru it. One of these days I need to go back and finish that one.