Q: What is an FMV game?
A: FMV stands for Full-Motion Video. When a video game features live-action or animated video, that video is called FMV and the game is categorized as an FMV Game. These games are also called INTERACTIVE MOVIES, INTERACTIVE FILMS, or LIVE-ACTION INTERACTIVE.
Q: Isn't all video full-motion? Why are these games called Full-Motion Video?
A: In the 1980s, live-action and animated video was popular in laserdisc arcade games but had not yet made it to home consoles. In the late 80s, when home computers became powerful enough, developers began to tinker with the idea of adding live-action video to consumer video games. Initially, developers simply used photographs converted to digitized sprites, then showed the photos quickly in succession and called it "video." These were essentially quick photo slideshows or, what we refer to as, PARTIAL-MOTION VIDEO.
Once CD-Rom technology was brought to home computers and consoles, developers used the technology to add real video files into games. The term FULL-MOTION VIDEO was used to differentiate between the "partial-motion" videos of years past and the "full-motion" videos used in CD-Roms.
The term "FMV" only makes sense from this historical perspective, but it has not gone away and is still widely used to categorize games with live-action video.
Q: What is FMV World?
A: FMV World is a website dedicated to showcasing Full-Motion Video Games and Interactive Films.
Q: There are plenty of FMV games that are not on your Games List. Why?
A: Our list is not a comprehensive list of FMV games, but we are constantly working to add more games.
If you'd like to bring a game to our attention, please let us know at [email protected].
Q: Why are some FMV games entirely video, like a movie, while others are just regular video games that have a video introduction?
This refers to any pre-recorded content that is in a video game. It can be live-action or animation but does not use an in-game engine.
Although all 3 types are called FMV Games, it is much more useful to categorize each type based on the products Video Interactivity.
VIDEO INTERACTIVITY or "VI" refers to the interactivity of the full-motion video as opposed to the interactivity of the game as a whole.
These are FMV scenes within a video game that help tell the story but do not necessarily impact gameplay. They are played when you reach a certain checkpoint or finish a level. You could, in theory, skip the cut scenes and still finish the game. These games are referred to as "Video Games with Cutscenes" (also sometimes referred to as: Video Games with Cinematics).
Examples: Need For Speed, Command and Conquer, Street Fighter IV.
2) viewing the video is a necessary part of understanding the story and/or finishing the game.
An interactive movie with minimal video interactivity would be a "choose-your-path" film, or Navigational Cinema, in which you make a choice which prompts a new scene to play.
In these games viewing the FMV is the primary gameplay.
An FMV game with medium video interactivity would be a game in which less than 75% of overall gameplay is video and the video is an integral part of the gameplay.
An FMV game with maximal video interactivity would be a game in which 75% or more of overall gameplay consists of video.