[Simo Sakari Aaltonen]

Though I have not played it, it is my impression Myst V does not use the process I mean. I doubt we have the technology or storage space necessary... yet.

3DFMV will be shooting the actual actors and surroundings in such a way as to make possible the creating of fully three-dimensional models and environments with photorealistic detail, as with the "bullet time" scenes in The Matrix, only interactive and in normal motion as opposed to slow motion. The character models will be fully articulated like old-fashioned 3D models. The game worlds will be in full, real-time 3D. The player will be able to move in these environments as you do in first-person games. Full Motion Video where you can pan and zoom in three dimensions.

Technology needed: a heck of a lot of co-ordinated cameras and quite a bit of processing power and storage space. These are conquerable obstacles, in fact, obstacles that will inevitably be conquered.

This new technology will have implications far beyond just the graphics, but certainly it will not replace good design and writing. These are abundant resources many of the developers simply fail to cultivate due to lack of vision. Graphics never will save adventure games. But it is my belief that when 3DFMV is perfected, it will mean an enormous outpouring of enthusiasm especially for the adventure genre, from audiences and creators alike. Instead of having the reputation, at best, of the poor cousin of television, this form of FMV will be infinitely more attractive and career-boosting to actors, for one, than the old-fashioned form.

Instead of trying to mimic life with ever more polygons, we can simply cinematograph it. Actors will bring life to characters with their very pores, each detail of their being replicated in three dimensions. Writers, animators, world creators, sound designers will have the flexibility 3D allows. When the system is perfected, as it will be, teams no longer need spend hours and hours creating and animating a character model. They can simply shoot it on multicamera.

But this is just one development that will take place one day. There are many others. None of them can take the place of good design.

(Good design is a commodity we have had in plentiful supply since the advent of adventure gaming. Good design has always been just a phone call or an e-mail away. There are Jane Jensens and Al Lowes and Ron Gilberts and Coles out there with the talent, skill, and experience to create fantastic adventure games. Developers have not contacted them because they have wanted to try their own hand at writing or designing: the problem is finally ego.)