Mountainfox419

A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, breaking up the gameplay. Such scenes could be used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the player, introduce new gameplay elements, show the effects of a player's actions, create emotional connections, improve pacing or foreshadow future events.^[2][3]

Final Fantasy Cgi Cutscenes

Cutscenes often feature 'on the fly' rendering, using the gameplay graphics to create scripted events. Cutscenes can also be pre-renderedcomputer graphics streamed from a video file. Pre-made videos used in video games (either during cutscenes or during the gameplay itself) are referred to as 'full motion videos' or 'FMVs'. Cutscenes can also appear in other forms, such as a series of images or as plain text and audio.

History[edit]

Credits to user 'TANK U 99'for making the original post on this topic. Thought it would make an interesting poll. Would you prefer halo 5 to go the H2A route with CGI cutscenes (cool amazing visuals, but can lead to increased expectation which will ultimately disappoint you for the ingame engine gameplay) or the original in-engine cutscenes (decreased visual quality, but fluent transition from. The Longest Journey (1999) All CGI Cutscenes. Bailey 340 دنبال‌ کننده 112 بازدید. Fixed CGI cutscene crashes. Fixed more un-subtitled in-game cutscenes. Fixed the Movie Set dungeon displaying Japanese direction signs. Fixed images shown on the TV screens. Fixed Hee Ho mart signs on Daitama OBS. Version 0.9.2 - Fixed Tsubasa's age in intro cutscene. The fact is, though, that these cutscenes look significantly worse than the actual game itself. This CGI sequence from Final Fantasy VIII did at the time. This was a time when, don’t forget.

Game designer Ron Gilbert is widely credited with the creation of the cutscene concept with non-interactive plot sequences in the 1987 adventure game Maniac Mansion.^[4]The Sumerian Game (1964), an early mainframe game, introduces its Sumerian setting with a slideshow synchronized to audio recording.^[5]Pac-Man (1980) is frequently credited as the first game to feature cutscenes, in the form of brief comical interludes about Pac-Man and Blinky chasing each other,^[6] though Space Invaders Part II employed a similar technique in the same year.^[7]

In 1983, the laserdisc video gameBega's Battle introduced animated full-motion video (FMV) cutscenes with voice acting to develop a story between the game's shooting stages, which became the standard approach to game storytelling years later.^[8] The games Bugaboo (The Flea)^[9] (1983) and Karateka (1984) helped introduce the cutscene to home computers. Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden for the Famicom in 1988 and NES the following year featured over 20 minutes of anime-like 'cinema scenes' that helped tell an elaborate story. In addition to an introduction and ending, the cutscenes were intertwined between stages and gradually revealed the plot to the player. The use of animation or full-screen graphics was limited, comprising mostly still illustrations with sound effects and dialogue written underneath, however the game employed rather sophisticated shots such as low camera angles and close-ups, as well as widescreen letterboxing, to create a movie-like experience. Other early video games known to use cutscenes extensively include Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken in 1983; Valis in 1986; Phantasy Star, Maniac Mansion, and La Abadía del Crimen in 1987; Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished – The Final Chapter, and Prince of Persia and Zero Wing in 1989. Since then, cutscenes have been part of many video games, especially in action-adventure and role-playing video games.

Cutscenes became much more common with the rise of CD-ROM as the primary storage medium for video games, as its much greater storage space allowed developers to use more cinematically impressive media such as FMV and high-quality voice tracks.^[10]

Types[edit]

Live-action cutscenes[edit]

Live-action cutscenes have many similarities to films. For example, the cutscenes in Wing Commander IV used both fully constructed sets, and well known actors such as Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell for the portrayal of characters.

Some movie tie-in games, such as Electronic Arts' The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars games, have also extensively used film footage and other assets from the film production in their cutscenes. Another movie tie-in, Enter the Matrix, used film footage shot concurrently with The Matrix Reloaded that was also directed by the film's directors, the Wachowskis. In the DreamWorks Interactive (now known as Danger Close Games) 1996 point and click title , The Neverhood Chronicles, full motion video cutscenes were made using the animation technique of stop motion and puppets sculpted out of plasticine, much like the game’s actual worlds and characters. The game’s creator, Douglas TenNapel was in charge of filming the cutscenes, as stated in the game’s behind the scenes video.

Pre-rendered cutscenes[edit]

Pre-rendered cutscenes are animated and rendered by the game's developers, and take advantage of the full array of techniques of CGI, cel animation or graphic novel-style panel art. Like live-action shoots, pre-rendered cutscenes are often presented in full motion video.

Real time cutscenes[edit]

Real time cutscenes are rendered on-the-fly using the same game engine as the graphics during gameplay. This technique is also known as Machinima.

Real time cutscenes are generally of much lower detail and visual quality than pre-rendered cutscenes, but can adapt to the state of the game. For example, some games allow the player character to wear several different outfits, and appear in cutscenes wearing the outfit the player has chosen. It is also possible to give the player control over camera movement during real time cutscenes, as seen in Dungeon Siege, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Halo: Reach, and Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.

Mixed media cutscenes[edit]

Many games use both pre-rendered and real time cutscenes as the developer feels is appropriate for each scene.

During the 1990s in particular, it was common for the techniques of live action, pre-rendering, and real time rendering to be combined in a single cutscene. For example, popular games such as Myst, Wing Commander III, and Phantasmagoria use film of live actors superimposed upon pre-rendered animated backgrounds for their cutscenes. Though Final Fantasy VII primarily uses real-time cutscenes, it has several scenes in which real-time graphics are combined with pre-rendered full motion video. Though rarer than the other two possible combinations, the pairing of live action video with real time graphics is seen in games such as Killing Time.^[11]

Interactive cutscenes[edit]

Interactive cutscenes involve the computer taking control of the player character while prompts (such as a sequence of button presses) appear onscreen, requiring the player to follow them in order to continue or succeed at the action. This gameplay mechanic, commonly called quick time events, has its origins in interactive movielaserdisc video games such as Dragon's Lair, Road Blaster,^[12] and Space Ace.^[13]

Criticism[edit]

Director Steven Spielberg, director Guillermo del Toro, and game designer Ken Levine, all of whom are avid video gamers, criticized the use of cutscenes in games, calling them intrusive. Spielberg states that making the story flow naturally into the gameplay is a challenge for future game developers.^[14][15] Hollywood writer Danny Bilson called cinematics the 'last resort of game storytelling,' as a person doesn't want to watch a movie when they are playing a video game.^[16][17] Game designer Raph Koster criticized cutscenes as being the part that has 'the largest possibility for emotional engagement, for art dare we say,' while also being the bit that can be cut with no impact on the actual gameplay. Koster claims that because of this, many of the memorable peak emotional moments in video games are actually not given by the game itself at all.^[18] It is a common criticism that cutscenes simply belong to a different medium.^[19]

Others see cutscenes as another tool designers can use to make engrossing video games. An article on GameFront calls upon a number of successful video games that make excessive use of cutscenes for storytelling purposes, referring to cutscenes as a highly effective way to communicate a storyteller's vision.^[17] Rune Klevjer states: 'A cutscene does not cut off gameplay. It is an integral part of the configurative experience', saying that they will always affect the rhythm of a game, but if they are well implemented, cutscenes can be an excellent tool for building suspense or providing the player with helpful or crucial visual information.^[20]

See also[edit]

• Computer animation – Art of creating moving images using computers
• Machinima – Use of real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production
• Scripted sequence – Series of events rendered in real time in a video game's engine

References[edit]

1. ^Matteson, Aaron. 'Five Things We Learned From Pac-Man'. Joystick Division. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2012. 'This cutscene furthers the plot by depicting a comically large Pac-Man'.
2. ^Hancock, Hugh (April 2, 2002). 'Better Game Design Through Cutscenes'. Gamasutra. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
3. ^Aaron, Marcus (2014). Design, User Experience, and Usability. User Experience Design for Diverse Interaction Platforms and Environments. Springer. p. 662. ISBN978-3319076263. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
4. ^Buecheler, Christopher. 'The GameSpy Hall of Fame'. GameSpy. Archived from the original on March 11, 2011.
5. ^Willaert, Kate (September 9, 2019). 'The Sumerian Game: The Most Important Video Game You've Never Heard Of'. A Critical Hit. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
6. ^Gaming's Most Important EvolutionsArchived June 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, GamesRadar
7. ^Space Invaders Deluxe, klov.com. Accessed on line March 28, 2011.
8. ^Fahs, Travis (March 3, 2008). 'The Lives and Deaths of the Interactive Movie'. IGN. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
9. ^'Bugaboo, un hito en la historia del software español', Universidad de Extremadura, 2009, p.33. (Spanish).
10. ^'The Next Generation 1996 Lexicon A to Z: Cut Scene'. Next Generation. No. 15. March 1996. p. 32.
11. ^'Killing Time'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 76. Ziff Davis. November 1995. pp. 142–143.
12. ^Rodgers, Scott (2010). Level Up!: The Guide to Great Video Game Design. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 183–184. ISBN978-0-470-68867-0.
13. ^Mielke, James (May 9, 2006). 'Previews: Heavenly Sword'. 1UP.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2007. Some points in key battles (usually with bosses) integrate QTE (quick-time events), which fans of Shenmue and Indigo Prophecy might like, but which we've been doing since Dragon's Lair and Space Ace. Time to move on, gents.
14. ^Chick, Tom (December 8, 2008). 'A Close Encounter with Steven Spielberg'. Yahoo!. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
15. ^Dutton, Fred (November 17, 2001). 'Del Toro, Levine speak out against cutscenes'. Eurogamer. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
16. ^Brown, Nathan (September 3, 2011). 'Bilson: Cutscenes Are Gaming's 'Failure State''. Edge Online. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
17. ^ ^abSterling, Jim (November 3, 2011). 'In Defense of the Videogame Cutscene'. Gamefront. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
18. ^Koster, Raph (December 7, 2005). 'The Pixar Lesson'. Raph Koster's Website. Raph Koster. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2008. Well, that would leave the part that has the largest possibility for emotional engagement, for art dare we say, in the bit that can be cut with no impact to gameplay whatsoever. This is why I say that many of the peak emotional moments we remember in games are actually 'cheating' – they’re not given to us by the game at all, but by cutscenes.
19. ^Holmes, Dylan (2012). A Mind Forever Voyaging: A History of Storytelling in Video Games. Dylan Holmes. p. 92. ISBN978-1480005754. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
20. ^Klejver, Rune. 'In Defense of Cutscenes'. Retrieved November 19, 2014.

The first in a long line of portable Kingdom Hearts games, where Sora ends up losing his memories after unexpectedly stepping inside a mysterious castle and is forced to play a tactical card game to fight his way out. It was remade for the PlayStation 2 as Re:Chain of Memories, and then ported to the PlayStation 3 as part of 1.5 HD ReMIX.

• 6Unused Graphics

US/JP Debug Menu

The CodeBreaker code 3203493C 0006 will enable quite an extensive debug menu in the US and JP versions, accessible following the opening cutscene. The options are as follows:

• MAIN: Resets the game.
• OBJECT: Graphics Test.
• MAP: Map Select. It also allow you to generate a map using certain specifications.
• EFFECT: Battle Effect GFX viewer.
• SOUND: Sound Test.
• EVENT: Battle and Non-CGI Cutscene Selector.
• LINK: Goes to the multiplayer setup screen.
• BATTLE: Battle debug menu, allows you to fight boss battles and individual enemies, while it also allows you to toggle health.
• POOH: Warps to the One-Hundred Acre Wood, during the scene when you guide Pooh.
• FLAG: Flag editor, containing toggles for invincibility (Muteki), max level, all abilities, all cards, and more.
• LOGO: Area intro viewer.
• DEL SAVE: Deletes saved games.
• OPE SAVE: Opens saved games.
• MOVIE1-5: It displays CGI cut-scenes, but the codebreaker code messes with its normal behavior.

Additionally, a build date (04/10/01) formatted with the year coming first can be found at the top. The Japanese version, although being a slightly later version of the game, features the same date.

EU Debug Menu

The CodeBreaker code 320348DC 0006 will enable a much more sophisticated debug menu than the US/JP versions, with the following options being added:

• MOVIE: Selects CGI sequences to display.
• ENDROLL: Displays rolling credits.
• LANGUAGE: Sets the game's language.
• JOURNAL: Lets you browse a complete version of Jiminy's Journal.
• WORLDSEL: You can start any world card.
• CONTINUE: Displays the Game Over screen.

Dummy Cutscene

There is an unused Riku related cutscene, labeled 'Dummy Crossroads', you can access in the EVENT section of the debug menu. After playing it, the game locks.
While this cutscene is available in every version of the game, only the Japanese prints out readable text, which is placeholder dialogue translating to 'Crossroads scene movie.'

TEST Enemy

In the BATTLE section of the debug menu you can fight this stationary barrel which has a lot of HP to spend.

Song Oddity

The song The Force In You has a wrong volume event which causes the first channel to be muted, leaving you with one less audible track. You can force that channel's volume not to mute and the music will play as it should.

Unused Graphics

Inside the ROM, there are several unused sprites which are likely placeholder graphics or were later changed.

New Icon

A simplistic icon, which was most likely used in the Journal section. This graphic would be later replaced by a even more simplistic icon, which was merely white text on a red background. The correct palette for this graphic is unknown, but it could have used the same palette as the final 'New' icon.

A quick mock-up showing the differences in the two icons.

OK Icon

An unused 'OK' icon in both unfocused and focused states. Menus in the game never ask you to confirm an action, so it is difficult to know exactly where this icon would have been used. Correct palette is unknown.

Debug Geometry

These appear to be floor tiles used during testing. The tiles are marked '0,0', '256,256' and '512,512' respectively to show field size. It appears a good portion of the tiles have been removed. Correct palette is unknown.

Unused Font

A simplistic block font with shading. Purpose is unknown, as is the palette.

Card of Spades Graphic Oddity

When modifying your deck in the debug menu of the American version, a red (Attack) card with Captain Hook's icon and a map card description appears, titled 'Card of Spades'. Taking this card doesn't add it to your deck, however, it does still increase the number of cards you're holding. It also uses a lot of CP and crashes the game if you're curious enough to look at your deck after adding it. Looking at the other default decks also makes the game crash.

In the Japanese version, this card becomes a simple Kingdom Key card, although its effects are the same as the one above (minus the crashing). The other default decks don't make the game crash, but you can't really see their content.

In the European version, this deck menu correctly features all of the game's cards (allies included), so the odd, former one went unused.You can also check the actual cards inside the other two default decks, which are confirmed to be used for testing sleights.

Regional Differences

Cgi Cutscene

The Japanese version has voiced dialogue, which was replaced with English voices in the international versions.

Video Game Cgi Cutscenes

Cgi Cutscenes Sonic Adventure 2