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Yeah, in-engine stuff has really gone a long way towards replacing FMV is recent games. Thinking back,the last few games I've played have had little (Kingdom Hearts, Prince of Persia, God of War) to no (Resident Evil 4, Jak, Ratchet and Clank, Metroid Prime) FMV. As game systems, both PC and consoles, have gotten more powerful, the increase in graphical quality obtained by using FMV is no longer offset by the loss of immersion that occurs when the entire graphical look of the game shifts. One of the big weaknesses of Eternal Darkness as an early GameCube game was its heavy reliance on FMV for many sequences, especially strange in that the FMV was obvious derived from in-engine footage then horribly compressed, so that it looked WORSE that the cut-sscenes that were done in-engine. If I had to guess I'd say it was a consequence of the game originally being targeted for the N64, but I'm not sure.

Really, these days it's easier just to use the game engine. The only time FMV works well is when the video is so different from the gameplay that you don't notice the difference.Wing Commander could get away with live actors playing the part because as soon as you got in your fighter, the entire look of the game shifted so there was no disconnect between cutscenes and gameplay. That's not to say that they don't pull tricks with stuff done in-engine. RE4 for example swaps the model of Leon used for normal gameplay out for an ultra-high polygon model that looks and animated substantially more smoothly that the gameplay model, but that's necessary for the increased number of moves Leon does in cutscenes vs gameplay. Ironically, the high-polygon model was complex enough the PS2 hardware couldn't keep up, necessitating the PS2 cutscenes to be FMV versions of the in-engine graphics. You don't notice the difference until you do something to alter Leon's appearance (tactical vest, alternate costumes on subsequent playthroughs), and then it's obvious. Go figure.

imikedaman wrote:

Easy:

FMV = pre-rendered video, still used in almost every game although to a much lesser degree (mainly during the game intro or credits).
real-time = the sprites or 3D models are scripted to move around and animate using the game engine.

I've written game engines before that had scripted real-time cutscene support and FMV support, so I'm not sure what you're trying to argue over.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about: if Call of Duty 2 had used the footage in the commercial in the game somewhere (the commercial reminded me of those flashy introductions that appear before the main menu loads), would they have still been able to get away with it?

Put it in the ad, just put a tag under it saying "not actual gameplay"

This is the exact same thing that happened with toys in (as I recall) the late 80's. For example, kids used to be able to see ads with plastic toy planes flying around and kicking ass on their own.  Advertisers can still do this, but they need to put a disclaimer in the ad... or they simply need to show the toy being held and operated with a hand.

I've definitely known idiots that bought games expecting advertised FMV to be gameplay footage. However this mix up always gets popular when next gen hardware comes out. A lot of people mistake FMV for next gen realtime footage.

Oh, and as for this debate: I understand where the ASA is coming from. We're reaching a point in graphical development that it's conceivable to be confused between cutscene and real-time footage. Ten years ago, you show the CoD2 commercial, only complete morons would have assumed it was in-game. These days, with EA putting out those ridiculously optimistic Madden screens, and Final Fight blowing people's minds, the line is awful blurry, and the opportunity for consumer confusion is ripe.

For that reason, I do think a fine-print notice on pre-rendered game commercials is more necessary now than before. Game companies should take it upon themselves to recognize this need and do it without arm-twisting, just like they have been boasting "actual in-game screenshot" on print ads for years, unless they want disappointed instead of terribly-pleased consumers.