The best FMV games offer a mix of invention and technical wizardry but just what are they? For the uninitiated who do not share my multi-disc, misspent youth, I’ll first answer the obvious question: 'What is FMV?' The initialism stands for Full Motion Video (remember when that was swish, newfangled tech?), and generally refers to games that feature live action footage. It’s a whole niche that largely shuns computer generated assets in favour of live actors and physical sets.
Once upon a time, FMV games were widely regarded as ludicrously expensive, interactive B-movies. But these days you'll need to master the best video editing apps, have a good video camera (you can use an iPhone 14) and now how to out it all together in a game engine or the best digital art software. And while that’s 'cheese' is very much still part of a FMV game's charm, recent years have seen a slew of award-winning indie flicks. For instance, last year developer Half Mermaid took home a BAFTA for their game Immortality – and I’ll cover why a little ways down this list.
