Whats wrong with FMV games and why aren't they back.

[MintyFreshBreathGuy]

Let me get something put out to the community right now, I too hate the Sega CD and the old FMV games. However, I can't hate them completely. They were an interesting idea that could have used a few more years of working with. I think the problem was that people couldn't hire the right people to do the job and that everyone was thinking about how they could make this new idea more cinematic than interactive. They had click and points, OK that's fine, but do we need a click and point in which the only thing I'm doing is clicking on the person in front of me so i can get to the next cut-scene (please see Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle Of Flesh! Not only that but they didn't think abotu how to incorporated the controls very well either. Some had the right idea, about putting you in control of an actor instead of an animated SGI character but even then the controls were so bad that you have to wonder why you'd even bother to play. Not to mention the character always had this white line out lining them.
The FMV games were littered with bad design and the fact was the quality was so bad that they make Wolfenstein 3D look like 360 game. Not to mention all the disks you'd have to use in order for the game to progress. Look its the next generation of gaming and I say we stop with what we've been doing and use our futuristic space technology to rejuvenate these games. I mean we have Crysis don't we why not try to make a Phantasmagoria 3. But hey let me hear your take on this.

 

[Space Spoons]

I guess most developers consider it a dead format, and given what I've seen of it, I can't say I disagree. Still, I think I could see the appeal of an FMV game done right (that is, with skilled actors and footage that isn't all grainy.).

 

[MintyFreshBreathGuy]

I guess most developers consider it a dead format, and given what I've seen of it, I can't say I disagree. Still, I think I could see the appeal of an FMV game done right (that is, with skilled actors and footage that isn't all grainy.).

Not to mention good controls.

 

[SmugFrog]

I think a FMV game could succeed, but it has to be done RIGHT - the chances of that are almost 0, because it is going to take considering expense and risk to create it. No one remembers the FMV games as being very good, so it will be a while before someone attempts that again. It could be the next big genre though.

 

[MintyFreshBreathGuy]

Just for the record do you think it'd be cheaper or more expensive to make an FMV video game?
Personally I think it all depends on what you want to be in the game.

 

[CyberAkuma]

FMVs are a thing of the past... FMVs were a way for the developers to fill the discs with content - since 600MB of data was a tremendous load of space on the media they used.

I don't want to sound like a Negative Nancy, but there's a reason why FMV games aren't made any more, and thank God for that. They were low-quality, terrible acting, terrible camera, terrible script writing and they added all that just to show off the "amazing graphics" the CD16-bit era had to "offer". They were consoles whose ntire videogame libraries where nothing but FMV games and for reasons known to everyone, I'm glad that the Philips CD-i ended up with the demise it did.

There's really no reason going back to the old ways of thinking when designing games in mind.

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

You know, it's not that I disagree with the format but that I question the actor's ability to really comprehend what's going on. The vast majority of the game is going to be filmed in blue screen so they won't have a real set or props to work with. I haven't even seen a good movie that does this well, much less a video game. We've all seen the Star Wars prequels and how much they struggled to be aware of their fantastic surroundings. If they're going to do it, I'd like to see at least one game film the actors on location.

 

[Gahars]

The problem is, nobody how well they're pulled off, they come off as cheesy, and ultimately pull you out of the experience.

 

[CyberAkuma]

The vast majority of the game is going to be filmed in blue screen so they won't have a real set or props to work with. I haven't even seen a good movie that does this well, much less a video game.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
While one might debate wether the movie is good or not, but it's not a terrible or bad movie.
The movie was filmed entirely in Blue Screen with live actors in it.

 

[MintyFreshBreathGuy]

FMVs are a thing of the past... FMVs were a way for the developers to fill the discs with content - since 600MB of data was a tremendous load of space on the media they used.

I don't want to sound like a Negative Nancy, but there's a reason why FMV games aren't made any more, and thank God for that. They were low-quality, terrible acting, terrible camera, terrible script writing and they added all that just to show off the "amazing graphics" the CD16-bit era had to "offer". They were consoles whose ntire videogame libraries where nothing but FMV games and for reasons known to everyone, I'm glad that the Philips CD-i ended up with the demise it did.

There's really no reason going back to the old ways of thinking when designing games in mind.

I see your point and i did state that I hate the old FMV games as much as everyone else does, but what I'm saying is that it can be done right. I think it's been long enough since then that, with our updated technology, we could possible fix those problems. It's true the designers would have to hire the right people to act and write (or if they have half a brain write it themselves and let an editor look at it). I think it's just a big coincidence no one could do it right. Maybe it's because people back then even thought it as a $#!# idea but I think it would definitely be an interesting experiment now.

 

[Gotham Soul]

Soo....who else remembers Phantasmagoria?

 

[waffletaco]

I liked Novastorm. It was a shooter type with probably one of the best soundtracks (on the pc version).

 

[CyberAkuma]

I see your point and i did state that I hate the old FMV games as much as everyone else does, but what I'm saying is that it can be done right. I think it's been long enough since then that, with our updated technology, we could possible fix those problems. It's true the designers would have to hire the right people to act and write (or if they have half a brain write it themselves and let an editor look at it). I think it's just a big coincidence no one could do it right. Maybe it's because people back then even thought it as a $#!# idea but I think it would definitely be an interesting experiment now.

Well, the modern equivalent of FMV-games doing it right would be my guess Metal Gear Solid 4 and to at least some extent (old) Final Fantasy that had a lot of lengthy cutscenes in it (serveral hours!) and even those games don't appeal to all gamers.
IN regards of acting and screenwriting, that is still being done today to some extent but the terrible acting is still there.
Anyone that has seen or read a review on Need For Speed Underground has seen it.

My point is that some remnants of FMV "games" still eist to this day, but in a different form, and even then that doesn't appeal to all gamers. That is one of the many reasons why FMV-games were doomed 15 years ago back then and still doomed if introduced today.

Soo....who else remembers Phantasmagoria?

Yes. I have in fact that game and 'Under A Killing Moon...' and 11th Guest and 9th Hour and all those games here.
I purchased those games a couple of weeks after I purchased my very first CD Optical Reader drive that cost me a good $300 back in those days. Was a 2x drive and it took quitte a long time for it to load those games.
Those game were very good for their era, but even if reincarnated today, those games are sadly not in par with todays gamers standards. MYTH and those games aren't too much fun anymore compared to the modern day videogames.

 

[ThaBenMan]

I don't want to sound like a Negative Nancy, but there's a reason why FMV games aren't made any more, and thank God for that. They were low-quality, terrible acting, terrible camera, terrible script writing and they added all that just to show off the "amazing graphics" the CD16-bit era had to "offer". They were consoles whose ntire videogame libraries where nothing but FMV games and for reasons known to everyone, I'm glad that the Philips CD-i ended up with the demise it did.

There are plenty of non-FMV games like that too, though. That stuff isn't endemic to those sorts of games.

I think it could be cool if pulled off right. Sure, all kinds of games these days are dubbed "cinematic", but if the game actually was a movie with real actors, then it would truly be befitting of that title. And with the technology these days, I think it could be really awesome.

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

The vast majority of the game is going to be filmed in blue screen so they won't have a real set or props to work with. I haven't even seen a good movie that does this well, much less a video game.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
While one might debate wether the movie is good or not, but it's not a terrible or bad movie.
The movie was filmed entirely in Blue Screen with live actors in it.

Lemme think...Angelina Jolie right? Yeah, alright. It's not like there aren't plays where the stage is totally black and the actors are relying completely on each other to generate the drama. They should definitely ditch the Hollywood roster and scout out the Shakespeare theaters for this kind of project though. They certainly make the best comic book actors.

 

[CyberAkuma]

Lemme think...Angelina Jolie right? Yeah, alright. It's not like there aren't plays where the stage is totally black and the actors are relying completely on each other to generate the drama. They should definitely ditch the Hollywood roster and scout out the Shakespeare theaters for this kind of project though. They certainly make the best comic book actors.

Sure you could, but the question is why would you want to?
It's way cheaper and requires way less effort and time for a developer to in-game render the scene and game characters and ask actors to voice-over the dialogues which is the way that is most commonly used today.

Interestingly enough, the entire movie Sky Captain was filmed with one measly High-Def Video Camera and in 25 days, all on one blue-screen with the actors in it. The entire job was cut, edited and finished on a Mac with Final Cut Pro and some After Effects. If I would have known that that was how the film was made I would have easily bought the movie to support such unconventional and cunning film-making. But 'tis a little bit too late for that now

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

Lemme think...Angelina Jolie right? Yeah, alright. It's not like there aren't plays where the stage is totally black and the actors are relying completely on each other to generate the drama. They should definitely ditch the Hollywood roster and scout out the Shakespeare theaters for this kind of project though. They certainly make the best comic book actors.

Sure you could, but the question is why would you want to?
It's way cheaper and requires way less effort and time for a developer to in-game render the scene and game characters and ask actors to voice-over the dialogues which is the way that is most commonly used today.

Maybe...the film was based on serial graphic novels which inherently relied on two dimensional characters with little depth. If you're going to have a videogame go beyond that, you'd need a pretty sharp actor.

For some weird reason, Shakespeare actors are really good at doing fiction settings. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Robert Downey Jr., or Christian Bale all got their start in theater doing high drama. They are also the main reason all of the comic book based films that have come out recently have been fantastic. I don't know enough about acting to really understand why, I think they're just used to saying really outrageous lines in a believable and empathetic way.

It's something to keep in mind anyhow, even if it's just for voice acting.

 

[Altorin]

the ONLY good format for an FMV game is the Dragonquest build, that's basically a "choose your own adventure" with death at every turn... basically a interactive movie with a lot of death.

But that's now how they are usually protrayed, they're either adventure games, like Maniac Mansion, or basically QTE games.

The problem is video is a static medium. Once something's put to film, it's there forever, and there is very little room for interactivity.

 

[Ralackk]

I kind of liked some of the FMV games I had on my Sega CD. I didn't have many and from what I gather from this thread I must of lucked out on the ones I did get. I had sewershark which was fun and the poor acting actually suited the game. Mad Dog McCree another very poorly acted game but it was fun non the less.

I also had cobra command which was great for the time. It was another rail shooter like sewershark but done in a fairly nice animation style. Blowing things up was satisfying as the explosions looked great.

So its probably that I have poor taste in games but not all of them were bad, at least not for me.

 

[Railu]

the ONLY good format for an FMV game is the Dragonquest build, that's basically a "choose your own adventure" with death at every turn... basically a interactive movie with a lot of death.

But that's now how they are usually protrayed, they're either adventure games, like Maniac Mansion, or basically QTE games.

The problem is video is a static medium. Once something's put to film, it's there forever, and there is very little room for interactivity.

You basically summed it up right there: There is no interactivity.

I know there are people out there who pine for the old rotary phones and 8-tracks but, aside from nostalgia, is there really any reason to go back?

Think about this: A movie plays for 2 hours. A game can last 10-20 hours. How many people do you know who are willing to sit through a 20 hour movie? You say 'if it's done right'. That's a fine line. There are 2 or 3 ways to get it done right and about 10,000 ways to do it wrong.

More and more people are chosing to play games than watch movies nowadays because it offers a level of escapism that can't be matched from the silver screen. You take away that level of immersion and interactivity and you essentially create a long movie.