Sam Barlow, the acclaimed writer and director of the recent indie hitImmortality, says in an interview that his next game could be pretty different from his previous work, in one way in particular. Barlow specializes in Full Motion Video games, or FMVs.Immortality, like his previous games, 2015’sHer Storyand 2019’sTelling Lies,all feature pre-recorded footage of live actors performing the actions of the game, which is all navigable through various mechanics.
InImmortality, live-action footage of actors performing roles in three fictional movies can be scrubbed through by the player as if they were using an old Moviola film editing machine to figure out why these films starring the same ageless actress were all unreleased. InHer Story, players use a mid-1990s desktop PC interface to scrub through live-action footage of a woman being interviewed by police.FMVstend to have a lot of non-linear Choose Your Own Adventure elements, and has been a niche but longstanding genre. Barlow’s games have all the hallmarks of the genre, down to the live-action footage, withImmortalityperhaps representing the peak of the form. That makes Barlow’s potential next game such a radical departure should he continue its development.
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In an interview with IGN, Barlow said he and the indie studio he founded, Half Mermaid, began pre-production work on a game that did not feature live-action footage of actors reciting dialogue on sets,as is the FMV tradition. It was a 3D character game, presumably created entirely with an engine like Unreal or Unity, though he did not specify the software. Development on the game was paused so Barlow and the studio could work onImmortality.
The new direction featuring computer-generated images instead of live actors stems from Barlow’s desire to not exclusively be known as “the FMV guy,” as he explains. He went on to say that the game was a melding of a 3D character game, where players move a fully digital character through environments in either first or third-person perspectives, with the mystery and gameplay elements of his previous indie work. “All of thatHer Story,Immortalitystuff,” he said.
This would certainly represent a departure from Barlow’s recent work, but wouldn’t be a first for his career. Before going fully independent, Barlow worked on a handful of digital 3D games within a few well-known series. Barlow was the lead designer and writer for twoSilent Hillgames, 2007’sOrigins,and 2009’sShattered Memories. Before that, he performed the same role on a PlayStation2 Ghost Ridergame. He even took the lead role on a spin-off of theSerious Samseries in 2004’sSerious Sam: Next Encounter.
Immortalityis out now on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and mobile devices.
MORE:How Immortality’s Story and FMV Design Deliver Its Themes
