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Because I Said So
January 12, 2000
By Ray Ivey
Come Back, Black Dahlia, All Is Forgiven
In Defense of Video
I love technology. I'm the opposite of a Luddite. Hey, do we have a term that means "opposite of Luddite"? Okay, "Techno-Weenie."
My point is, I don't resist new technology; I embrace it. I know that games can't remain the same technically. Yesterday's DOS 2D graphics become pre-rendered slideshows which become real-time rendered 3D environments.
But wait. Somewhere along the way, for a couple of years in the mid-90s, games based in video were all the rage. They purported to offer a dynamic, "interactive movie" experience. Suddenly adventure games came on a whole stack of CDs, because of the memory-hungry nature of digitized video. Despite the successes of two Sierra titles, Phantasmagoria and Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within, video quickly developed a terrible reputation. FMV became the whipping boy of the adventure game world. After a string of big-budget failures, like Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh from Sierra, The Daedalus Encounter from Virgin, and Ripper and Black Dahlia from Take 2, the death-knell seemed to toll for video.
People seemed to hate video. The biggest complaint I hear about it is, "I don't feel like I'm playing! I feel like I'm watching a movie!"
To all of those nay-sayers, I say phooey. I love video-based games.
Why? Several reasons.
First of all, in their own way, video-format games created a new level of immersion during an era of Myst-style slide show games. The use of actual photography and videography in the graphics reinforced a sense of reality to the atmosphere of the game.
Also, I found it really fun to be able to manipulate those hapless video sprites. It really felt like an interactive movie--in a good way. To be able to have my choices reflected in the "live" actions of these characters could be truly riveting.
And, as to the criticism that "watching video cutscenes makes you feel like you're not playing a game," again I say phooey. All games have cutscenes, video games being no exception. We all lose temporary control of a game during a cutscene, no matter what format it's presented in.
It's useful to remember that there were two sub-types of video games: first person and third person. Despite the fame and recognition of the third-person Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within, I maintain that the first-person games actually worked better. First of all, I think first-person games are more immersive and visceral by definition (video or not), and second, there's an inherent awkwardness in having to watch a video sprite stand at stiff "attention" waiting for our orders.
Don't get me wrong as I beat the drum for this lost format. I don't have my blinders on (they don't go with this outfit); I'm not saying there weren't big mistakes made in video-based games. Sierra made basic cinematic blunders, such as ugly washed-out-looking video (especially in The Beast Within), and sported characters who, to my great annoyance, never changed clothes. SouthPeak had trouble with fuzzy images and awkward navigation in Temujin, and with clunky presentation of conversation and distractingly exhausting disk-swapping in Dark Side of the Moon.
There were also some serious mistakes made in casting. Take 2 had an unfortunate habit of hiring name stars who just didn't seem to be taking the job seriously. This hampers Ripper severely and Black Dahlia to a lesser degree.
Despite these problems, however, I miss this format terribly. Some of my most memorable adventure game experiences have been with games in this format. Ripper and Black Dahlia were innovative, daring, and utterly engrossing. The Beast Within had a story that is justifiably legendary. Dark Side of the Moon created a world that felt startlingly complete and real.
The crowning achievement of the video game era is, for my money, a magnificent piece of work from the Discovery Channel called Byzantine. This thrilling game combined photo-realistic Istanbul locations with good conversation, a fascinating story, an innovative interface, and imaginative virtual reality elements to create one of the most memorable games I've ever played. After finishing Byzantine, I felt as if I personally had flown to Istanbul and foiled a nasty group of smugglers.
Ask most computer gamers today and they'll tell you video is as dead as a doornail. However, I do have one hope. SouthPeak, which debuted its innovative Video Reality engine with Temujin in 1997 and refined it for Dark Side of the Moon in 1998, has a major release coming up that may breathe new life in the video genre. I saw their 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: The Adventure Continues demonstrated at the E3 last May, and the further refinements they have made to their Video Reality engine were quite evident and quite exciting.
If I had one wish for adventure games this year, it would be that 20,000 Leagues sells so well that it sparks a resurgence of this underappreciated adventure game format.
So there.