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‘The Complex’ is almost a good FMV game
There are countless examples of the real world intruding on art, making something that was fine a day ago a grisly mistake now. The pilot episode of X-Files spin-off The Lone Gunmen, which aired six months before 9/11, featured a terrorist plan to fly a plane into the World Trade Center, for instance. And it's likely that The Complex, an interactive movie about dangerous biotechnology, skirts the same issue. After all, nobody wants to fixate on doctors in a life-and-death race against disease when there's a pandemic raging, do they?
Night Trap creator planning re-release for current platforms
Full-motion video game pioneer James Riley is seeking a re-release of the infamous Sega CD launch title Night Trap for modern platforms, CVG reports. "I do plan to re-release Night Trap and have been talking with a number of interested parties to do so," Riley revealed in a comment at the game's closed-access Facebook fan page. "However, the specific platform(s) have not been confirmed (including online) and I will let you know once we have a definite plan and release schedule." Riley continued: "Night Trap will come back, in better resolution and game play than before, we just want to be sure it's the best strategy for all involved." Released alongside the 16-bit Sega CD add-on in 1992, Night Trap is an interactive B-movie that challenges players to switch between multiple security camera feeds to capture vampiric creatures stalking a slumber party. Despite featuring little in the way of objectionable content, Night Trap caused a stir in the U.S. Senate soon after its release, resulting in the game's temporary removal from store shelves and the introduction of a content ratings system for video games. [Video: Digital Pictures / hassel2000]
Night Trap, Sewer Shark developer Ken Melville passes away
If you've ever played Sewer Shark or other beloved full-motion video games of the '80s and '90s, then you're likely familiar with Ken Melville's work. Today we regret to report the famed FMV developer and Digital Pictures founder has passed away at the age of 65. Melville not only produced Sewer Shark, but he also created numerous other FMV games such as Make My Video: INXS and Make My Video: Kriss Kross. Melville also helped create the controversial Sega CD game, Night Trap. By the late '90s, FMV games fell out of prominence. During the genre's heyday, Melville worked on over a dozen FMV games overall. Our sympathies go out to Melville's family and friends. [Image: Digital Pictures]
Night Trap's original cover art for sale on eBay
Have you ever dreamed of having the original cover art from a video game hanging on your wall? How about the original cover art from Digital Pictures' Sega CD vampire-hunting game, Night Trap? If so, passion burns and danger calls you to eBay where, for around $250 (the current bid), you can own the 15" by 25" painting used for the Sega CD box, retrieved from Sega of America's art department. If you're not sure whether you want this real gaming history for yourself, mull it over while you watch Night Trap's party scene, after the break.
Counting Rupees: Does controversy sell?
Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming: Another day, another video game banning controversy. Proponents of the ban, unsurprisingly, argue that eliminating the sale of controversial games prevents them from harmful exposure. Yet one of the main arguments against banning games is that they make them even more popular, causing people to take notice of the title and thus spurring more sales than if it had been ignored in the first place. So, what exactly is the impact of game bans on sales in the first place?Ideally, we'd be able to compare the sales of games pre- and post-ban and see how the regulation impacted them ... after accounting for all the other factors that might have also influenced sales at that time. The data we have don't really let us do that, though, so this is a slightly less scientific attempt to answer the same question, using some of the most controversial games of the past few years.
Touch! criminals in CCTV
Nikitova Games, who works on licensed games such as Casper Scare School, has announced two original projects for the DS and Wii. One is Mind Games, which is ... some training thing. But the other one, CCTV, sounds pretty neat!The game seems to involve watching security footage and picking out perpetrators from a crowd, as well as X-raying luggage in an airport. The game's description hints at more tasks: "... this fast paced game of observation, identification & interrogation." Success gets you promoted from mall security up to "international head of security".We're glad to see an original game idea, and we're always happy when a developer of licensed games moves on to something more ambitious -- even if it's a more ambitious licensed game. We're also thrilled to see a game based on watching security cameras, if only because it reminds us of Night Trap. Maybe with the security camera gimmick used for something other than delivering FMV, a good game can come from the idea![Via Siliconera]
Friday Video: Passion burns and danger calls
We'll admit it: the video in this week's spotlight is a bit of a stretch, but bear with us and we think you'll agree that it's simply perfect. With this week's controversy over Manhunt 2, our colleagues over at GayGamer decided to delve into the history of controversial games, and they've dubbed this Night Trap week. Night Trap was an FMV-based game starring Dana Plato that is infamous for its overacting and horrible scenes. No, wait ... that's just our opinion now. At the time, Night Trap was considered sexist, ultra-violent, and downright shameful. My, how far we've come. Night Trap seems far less horrific than the slasher films we grew up watching, and these days, this sort of "violence" would be considered laughable in games. Check out this little slice of history after the jump.
