Have you ever heard the term “Full Motion Video games” or “FMV games”? Maybe you played them back in the 90s, or maybe you’ve never heard of them before. Either way, FMV games are an interesting part of video game history that are worth discussing.

So, what are FMV games? Simply put, FMV games are games that use live-action video footage instead of computer-generated graphics to tell the story and convey gameplay elements. In these games, real actors play out scenes that are then integrated into the game itself.

FMV games were popular in the early to mid-90s, when CD-ROM technology made it more feasible to incorporate video footage into games. The first FMV game was probably Night Trap, released in 1992 for the Sega CD. In this game, the player watched live-action video clips to control the gameplay.

Other FMV games from this era include Phantasmagoria, The 7th Guest, and Wing Commander III. These games were often praised for their graphics. Finally, the gaming world had something that looked as realistic as movies and TV shows.

But how do these games work? Fundamental FMV games are quite simple. Essentially, the game would play a video clip whenever the player reached a certain point in the game. Often, this was to further the story, show a cutscene, or provide information that the player needed to progress.

However, more complex FMV games had players interact with the videos using onscreen prompts. For example, the player might have to press a button when a character onscreen is about to do something, or they might have to click on an object onscreen to activate a hidden path.

One notable example of this kind of FMV gameplay was the game Night Trap, which was also the first-ever FMV game. Players controlled the security cameras of a house as they watched a group of young girls being stalked by creatures from another dimension.

It wouldn’t be fair to talk about FMV games without acknowledging their often cheesy or low-budget appearance. FMV games of the 90s weren’t always known for their high-quality acting or special effects. They often had a B-movie feel to them. Nevertheless, they remain an important part of gaming history, and they paved the way for future innovations in storytelling, such as Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead series, which uses a similar interactive storytelling format.