Thoughts on FMV that May Add Something to the Discussion
In researching the possible acquisition of the Japanese-only NEC PC-FX console (released December 1994, last new game of only a handful, roughly mid-1998), the pseudo-successor to the wildly successful (over there) NEC PC Engine series systems (known as the Turbo-Grafx/Duo here), I took note that most of the games were FMV-based. In fact, it was an NEC mandate that all the action-y and related stuff (traditional sprite-based, polygon-based) be pretty much left for the PC Engine systems, I think. In any case, my point is, is that one of the first games for the system, Battle Heat, intrigues me in that it's a fighting game based around the use of FMV, in this case anime'. While obviously this has been done before, specifically in games from Digital Pictures like Prize Fighter (Sega CD, 3DO, etc.), among others, this apparently was one of the few times, if ever, where true real-time interaction with video was achieved (anyone who's played games like Prize Fighter or Scotty Pippin's Slam City know what I mean about the sluggishness). Yes, a one-on-one fighting game that uses animation cells and is apparently just as responsive as any Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat-like game. Hopefully I'll be able to acquire it at some point, though it's a VERY Japanese system and I tend not to like those considering I can't play games with heavy Japanese language/text for obvious reasons.
The couple of recent "Need for Speed" games (I believe the latest two in the series) use an interesting mix of FMV and CGI, sort of making the FMV actors look a bit computer generated. It's a stylized effect, but certainly one of the very, very few mainstream games of any remotely recent vintage to use actual FMV video footage of real people in their cut scenes instead of FMV that's CGI-based.
So, what's my point? I think if a game as "old" as 1994 on a system from 1994 can do REAL-TIME FMV interaction and Electronic Arts (the publishers of the Need for Speed series) is selectively bringing back FMV actor-based cut scenes, is the marriage of the two in the modern age in a mainstream game far behind? It would certainly be interesting to finally see what FMV can truly achieve rather than the hints from games of the past (like "Thayer's Quest" (arcade) and "A Fork in the Tale" (PC))...
In researching the possible acquisition of the Japanese-only NEC PC-FX console (released December 1994, last new game of only a handful, roughly mid-1998), the pseudo-successor to the wildly successful (over there) NEC PC Engine series systems (known as the Turbo-Grafx/Duo here), I took note that most of the games were FMV-based. In fact, it was an NEC mandate that all the action-y and related stuff (traditional sprite-based, polygon-based) be pretty much left for the PC Engine systems, I think. In any case, my point is, is that one of the first games for the system, Battle Heat, intrigues me in that it's a fighting game based around the use of FMV, in this case anime'. While obviously this has been done before, specifically in games from Digital Pictures like Prize Fighter (Sega CD, 3DO, etc.), among others, this apparently was one of the few times, if ever, where true real-time interaction with video was achieved (anyone who's played games like Prize Fighter or Scotty Pippin's Slam City know what I mean about the sluggishness). Yes, a one-on-one fighting game that uses animation cells and is apparently just as responsive as any Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat-like game. Hopefully I'll be able to acquire it at some point, though it's a VERY Japanese system and I tend not to like those considering I can't play games with heavy Japanese language/text for obvious reasons.
The couple of recent "Need for Speed" games (I believe the latest two in the series) use an interesting mix of FMV and CGI, sort of making the FMV actors look a bit computer generated. It's a stylized effect, but certainly one of the very, very few mainstream games of any remotely recent vintage to use actual FMV video footage of real people in their cut scenes instead of FMV that's CGI-based.
So, what's my point? I think if a game as "old" as 1994 on a system from 1994 can do REAL-TIME FMV interaction and Electronic Arts (the publishers of the Need for Speed series) is selectively bringing back FMV actor-based cut scenes, is the marriage of the two in the modern age in a mainstream game far behind? It would certainly be interesting to finally see what FMV can truly achieve rather than the hints from games of the past (like "Thayer's Quest" (arcade) and "A Fork in the Tale" (PC))...
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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
[ My collection ]
[ http://www.MythCore.com ]
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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.