I grew up enamored with the immersive possibilities for FMV (Full Motion Video) in the gaming world.
Games built around video content first appeared in arcades in the 1980’s thanks to the magic of LaserDisc technology. The video itself wasn’t digital, but the discs offered random seek access, allowing games to jump from scene to scene based on player inputs. Notable animator Don Bluth teamed up with game-obsessed inventor Rick Dyer to create Dragon’s Lair,and a whole new sub-genre of gaming was born.
After a short explosion of commercial success, FMV gaming went dark until the early nineties. I missed out on the initial 80’s wave since I was born in 1984, but I was fully onboard for this resurgence. The second FMV era was pushed forward by the adoption of optical disc tech into home consoles and PCs, so now games could appear on LaserDisc in the arcade, and on CD-ROM for the home.
The core game designs remained simpler than other competing titles since they had to use pre-recorded visuals for all their graphics — but their innate ability to suspend player disbelief was startling. Live action video could leap right past the relatively primitive nature of real time graphics, taking a shortcut into your brain’s fundamental…
