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FMV thriller 'Telling Lies' comes to PS4, Xbox One and Switch on April 28th
Telling Lies, the investigative FMV followup to the award-winning Her Story, is coming to the PS4, Xbox One and Switch next week.
‘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?
Facebook AI turns real people into controllable game characters
Facebook's AI Research team has created an AI called Vid2Play that can extract playable characters from videos of real people, creating a much higher-tech version of '80s full-motion video (FMV) games like Night Trap. The neural networks can analyze random videos of people doing specific actions, then recreate that character and action in any environment and allow you to control them with a joystick.
FMV game 'Telling Lies' to include stars from 'X-Men' and 'Westworld'
The sequel to the hit indie game Her Story will have a relatively star-studded cast. Creator Sam Barlow and Annapurna Interactive have revealed the main cast for Telling Lies, and you might just recognize some of them even if they aren't mega-stars. Logan Marshall-Green (Charlie Holloway in Prometheus) will play David, while Alexandra Shipp (Storm in X-Men: Apocalypse) takes the role of Ava. Kerry Bishé of Halt and Catch Fire fame will play Emma, and Angela Sarafyan (Clementine from Westworld) will play Max.
Hit indie FMV game 'Her Story' gets a spiritual sequel
Did you enjoy Her Story, the indie title that revived the use of full-motion video in games? You're not alone: Sam Barlow's game sold over 100,000 copies, a lot for a small-budget release, and won its share of acclaim, including multiple awards. And apparently, that's enough to help fuel a sequel. Barlow and Annapurna Interactive (the publishers of What Remains of Edith Finch) are producing Telling Lies, a "spiritual follow-up" to Her Story. While they're tight-lipped as to the narrative, the new game will rely on video to unfurl a plot "in the vein of a political thriller" with three or four key characters. Barlow likens it to a cross between Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation and Steve McQueen's Shame -- it'll look at the "intersection of government, society and individuals."
Interactive movie 'Late Shift' comes to consoles this April
Is it a movie, a video game, or a choose your own adventure book? I'm tempted to say it's a mixture of all three. Late Shift emerged last year as an interactive film where you, the viewer, can make choices in specific scenes. It was released as an iOS app (compatible with Apple TV) and shown in select theaters, allowing audiences to collectively vote on each decision. Now, it's coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, giving you another way to watch it at home and craft your own storylines with family and friends.
Solve an FMV mystery with 'Her Story' on Android
It took a year, but Her Story, Sam Barlow's mystery game, has been ported to Android. Her Story is a full-motion video game where you're tasked with piecing together a story through watching short excerpts of interviews. The only mechanic you have at your disposal is a search tool, which lets you bring up clips that contain certain words or phrases. There are hundreds of clips to search through, and by the end of the game you'll have unravelled a fantastic story. Her Story won many accolades, including the coveted Aaron Souppouris award for Favorite Video Game of 2015. Less prestigious organizations like the BAFTA Game Awards also recognized the game, handing out three prizes for best debut game, best mobile game, and game innovation. It's available from Google Play for $2.99, which is a couple of dollars less than its price on iOS.
Spy on a vampiric slumber party in the browser port of 'Night Trap'
There's a Night Trap fan group on Facebook. This isn't too surprising, considering Night Trap's storied past in the video game industry and its unabashed, nostalgic charm. It's a full-motion video game (FMV) -- meaning it stars real people, just like a live-action movie -- released in 1992 for the Sega CD and later ported to Sega 32X, 3DO, MS-DOS and Mac OS. Night Trap follows a group of young women at a slumber party that turns deadly when vampiric creatures show up, looking to feast on the girls' blood. Players, viewing the party via hidden cameras, attempt to trap the evil beasties and save the girls. For this unconventional premise, Night Trap holds a permanent seat in video game history alongside Doom and Mortal Kombat: These titles were partly responsible for the creation of the ESRB rating system, following a series of congressional hearings on "violent" video games in the early 1990s. Concerned groups accused Night Trap of encouraging kidnapping and featuring ultra-violent content, although compared with many modern, award-winning games, it's a truly tame experience. So, of course there's a Night Trap fan group on Facebook. It's precisely this Facebook group that Dave Voyles, a technical evangelist at Microsoft, turned to when he was seeking inspiration for his next programming project a few weeks back. Now, Voyles is knee-deep in Night Trap's code, reworking it to run in any browser for a new generation of fans to enjoy.
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]
Kickstarter Simulator 2015 is a brief adventure from Frog Fractions dev
Those that follow crowdfunded gaming projects know the drill: As most developers' Kickstarter deadlines draw near, they like to remind you to pledge your monetary support so their visions can come to life, enticing you to do so by offering concept art or videos. In the case of Frog Fractions developer Twinbeard, with a week left to go in its Frog Fractions 2 campaign, it opted to launch a brief adventure game called Kickstarter Simulator 2015. Kickstarter Simulator 2015 is a browser-based "autobiographical game about running Kickstarters" that features videos of real-life friends of Frog Fractions creator Jim Crawford. Players click on the actors to keep them on track with the zany crowdfunding project so that it sees success a week from today. The point-and-click game is as quirky and hilarious as one might expect from Twinbeard, so it's worth checking out on the developer's site. The Frog Fractions 2 campaign is just under $9,000 away from its goal and ends on Wednesday, April 9. [Image: Twinbeard]
Fujitsu announces bevy of FMV Windows 8 AIO PCs, laptops along with WiFi-only Arrows tablet
Staggered product releases? Perish the thought with Fujitsu, who just launched twelve (count 'em) products into the Japanese market -- including laptops, AIO PCs and a tablet, all sporting Windows 8. For portable computing, Fujitsu's brought the Lifebook AH Series of 15.6-inch PCs, with Core i7-3632QM processors, 8GB memory and Full HD IPS touchscreens on the high-end models, along with niceties like Pioneer speakers and Blu-ray drives. Lower-end models in that range will feature Core i5 or i3 processors and 1360 x 768 LED touch panels. The Lifebook SH Series are 13.3-inch Core i5 models with 1366 x 768 non-touch panels, while the UH Series feature 13.3-inch and 14-inch models with Core i3 and i5 processors, respectively, along with 1360 x 768 non-touch panels and weighing in at a low of around 3 pounds. As for AIO models, Fujitsu's FH Series hits the high-end of its line with 2.40 GHz Intel Core i7 processors, 8GB memory and 1920 x 1080 touchscreen panels for the 23-inch models, and a non-touchscreen panel with the same resolution on the 21.5-inch offerings. The low-end EH-series will sport 20-inch, 1600 x 900 panels with AMD-E2-1800 CPUs and 4GB of RAM. All the laptop and desktop models will come along with Office Home and Business 2013, Fujitsu's My Cloud hybrid cloud service, and options like gesture control. Finally, Fujitsu has also announced a WiFi-only version of its 10.1-inch Arrows QH55/J Windows 8 tablet, which packs Full HD 1,366 x 768 resolution, a quad-core 1.7GHz Tegra3 processor dual-core Atom Z2760, stout 10,800 mAh 29 Wh battery and Office Home & Business 2010. The high-end laptops will arrive by the end of February, and the rest will arrive on February 7th, with no pricing shown yet. If that all sounds good, just remember -- you'll likely need to be in Japan to get any of it. Check the PR after the break for more info. Correction: Fujitsu actually launched two Arrows tablets today, the aforementioned WiFi Arrow QH55/J which packs a more Windows-friendly dual core Intel Atom Z2760 processor, and an Arrows FAR70B Android 4.0 tab, with a quad-core Tegra3 processor, 1920 x 1200 resolution and 10,080 mAh battery. Thanks to everybody who pointed it out!
Mad Dog McCree moseys onto PSN with Move support next week
The world's most preeminent pre-1995 full-motion video/ol' west sharpshooting arcade game, Mad Dog McCree, will be slinging steel and/or jingling jangles all across the PlayStation Network this Tuesday, January 22.The port includes remastered footage, PlayStation Move compatibility and support for up to four simultaneous players, in addition to an "all-new scoring system" accompanying the rest of the content featured in the original version. No official word on price, though we figure you can make back the purchase price by charging your roommates 25 cents per play, as is customary for this type of gaming experience.
Fujitsu's Windows 8 range for Japan includes eyeball-controlled Esprimo FH98/JD all-in-one
In addition to its gender-obsessed Floral Kiss range, Fujitsu has announced a gabble of Windows 8 form factors for its Japanese clientele. One of the more curious additions is the Esprimo FH98/JD all-in-one PC, which lets you pan across Microsoft's new UI using the very same eye-tracking technology we played with at CEATEC. There's also a slightly refreshed version of the 14-inch FMV Lifebook UH75 last seen running Windows 7 at CeBIT, which persists in its claim to be the "world's thinnest Ultrabook" at 15.6mm. Two more Lifebooks make similar promises in their respective non-Ultrabook weight categories -- the 13.3-inch SH76/J and the 15.6-inch AH78/JA, which both stretch to around 20mm at their thickest points. At the back of the convoy comes the 10-inch waterproof Arrows Tab Wi-Fi, which was already draped in Windows 8 colors when we went hands-on a few weeks back. It's mostly academic unless you'll be in Japan after October 26th, but the source link has plenty more pics and specs.
Tex Murphy's familiar faces and the appeal of FMV in a CG age
The Tex Murphy: Project Fedora Kickstarter is fully funded, and even looks in reach of surpassing its $450,000 goal by a solid $100,000 when the campaign expires on Saturday, June 16. Then the real work begins.Project Fedora will be shot in Tex Murphy's classic full-motion video, with series creator Chris Jones returning as the man in the hat. Not that it's the same hat."Unfortunately, the original fedora has been crushed so many times it makes me look like Jed Clampett about to go to his favorite fishing hole," Jones tells Joystiq. Never fear, keepers of continuity: Project Fedora's trench coat is the same one from the previous Tex Murphy titles. Germophobes, maybe ignore that bit of insider information.Along with a slightly updated wardrobe, Project Fedora is taking advantage of technological advances in FMV that weren't accessible 20 years ago. "CG is used in action movies more often than not these days and I have no doubt that FMV could be integrated much more effectively – and with less effort – than back in the day," Jones says. "Today, with fewer restrictions and limitations, we can do it even better."
Metal Gear Rising vid may show the surgical origins of 'Revengeance'
What we have here is the full version of last week's Metal Gear Rising FMV teaser. What we don't have is clear grasp of what's going on in it. Perhaps it's the initial rebuilding process of the game's main character, Raiden? Perhaps it's violent torture, and the seed for "Revengeance"?
FMV light gun game Mad Dog McCree coming to 3DS
Engine Software is porting the classic arcade laserdisc game Mad Dog McCree to 3DS, for release on eShop. That merits at least a reserved "Yee-haw." Engine's VP of development Ruud van de Moosdijk told Nintendo World Report that the downloadable six-shooter shooter will be released "very soon." Engine tracked down publisher Digital Leisure and asked for the rights to create a 3DS version.You might be thinking that it seems prohibitively expensive to remaster a random arcade game like that, full of real recorded video, in 3D. You're probably right. Whatever the reason, Engine is opting not to use stereoscopic 3D for the port. " "There's really no 3D in the 3DS version," van de Moosdijk said, "because how were you gonna do that?"
QNX shows off its versatility, powers OnStar accessories as well as floundering tablets
Back in April of 2010, RIM snatched up a little known property called QNX, which primarily powered in-car infotainment systems. As we all know, that little OS eventually became the platform on which the PlayBook was built -- but QNX hasn't left the dashboard behind completely. Turns out the software inside OnStar's FMV, which went on sale in July, is actually QNX's Neutrino RTOS. Why are we only finding out about it now? Who knows, but maybe there's some sweet BlackBerry and OnStar integration coming once RIM puts QNX in phones. Check out the PR after the break.
Watch the first 15 minutes of The Gunstringer's FMV DLC, 'Wavy Tubeman Chronicles'
Twisted Pixel's foray into the motion-tracking, depth-sensing world of Kinect may not be out until tomorrow, but The Gunstringer's first batch of DLC is already locked and loaded, waiting patiently in the wings for its chance to shine. And oh, how it shines; glinting in the sun like a sheriff's badge at high-noon. Wavy Tubeman Chronicles is an entirely FMV experience, the first fifteen minutes of which you can watch above via G4TV. To the more ancient astute of you, Twisted Pixel's masterwork may seem a bit familiar, and for good reason: The full-motion adventure was inspired in no small part by Mad Dog McCree, an FMV laserdisc/arcade/3DO/Sega CD western from 1990. We had hoped that watching would somehow satiate our unquenchable thirst for FMV games, but it ended up having the opposite effect.
BAE's infrared invisibility cloak makes tanks cold as ice, warm as cows
Warfare's constantly evolving. Daylight battles became late-night duels, and pre-noon skirmishes shifted to sundown slaughters -- some might say we're just getting lazy, but either way, thermal imaging now plays quite the vital role. Now BAE and the FMV -- Sweden's equivalent to DARPA -- have a way to mask the heat signature of heavy machinery. Adaptiv is a wall of 14 centimeter panels that monitor the ambient heat and match it, so it can't be picked out from the background radiation. The tech can also be used to replicate the profiles of other things -- you know, like a spotted calf or a Fiat 500. BAE believes the tech is scaleable for buildings and warships, the only downside being that all future commanders will have to make sure their operations are finished before dawn. Wouldn't want your soldiers to see that five o'clock (AM) shadow, now would we? [Thanks, Rob]
E Ink develops flashing displays for cloth and Tyvek, experiments with color FMV (video)
Yesterday, we found out that E Ink Holdings won't be releasing a new electronic paper display until 2012 and now, we know why. Turns out, the Pearl manufacturer has been busy refining its screen tech acumen, and extending it to a variety of different surfaces. The Digital Reader recently caught up with Sriram Peruvemba, E Ink's VP of global sales and marketing, who confirmed that his company has developed a SIRF display that can be printed on cloth, effectively turning any t-shirt into a flashing, black-and-white billboard. E Ink's engineers have taken a similar approach to Tyvek cloth, creating a display that could make your vanilla postal envelopes a little more dynamic. And, as you might expect, the company has been experimenting with an e-ink screen capable of supporting colorful, full-motion video -- though it looks like E Ink still needs to smooth out some of the grainy kinks in that one. All three demo videos are available for your viewing pleasure, after the break. [Thanks, Nate]
