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Why I love live actors in videogames
Anthony Burch07.23.08 - 4:46 AM 48 comments

tanyabarry

As gamers, we tend to hate live actors in our videogames. We’re fine if they do voice-over, but should they actually step in front of the camera and perform a scene, then God help them.

Videogames are a virtual world for virtual people; when living, breathing humans enter that world, they not only break the illusion, but their performances usually suck varying levels of ass, as well -- titles like Night Trap and A Fork in the Tale come to mind.

Yet with that said, I still enjoy live videogame actors a hell of a lot. Sometimes because they’re awfully fantastic, sometimes because they’re fantastically awful, and sometimes because I want to have a great deal of sex with them. Whatever the reasons, my humble opinion is this: real, live actors in videogames aren’t a bad thing.

Hit the jump to see why.

Good performances…every once in a while

Human performances, by their very nature, have the potential for a greater, more realistic range of expression than any virtual performers can or will have for at least the next ten years (Alyx Vance, and all other female protagonists who resemble her notwithstanding). Granted, this potential was almost never fully realized by games who relied heavily on live actors in the 80's and 90's, but a few games still managed to break away from the pack and feature legitimately compelling performances.

For example:

- Tex Murphy 

dfd

I’ll admit that Chris Jones’ performance as Tex Murphy left much to be desired in the first few games of the series (the word “much,” in this case, is a synonym for “subtlety”), but by its final entry, Overseer, Jones had managed to turn Murphy into the lonely, good natured loser he was always written as. He did have to go through one or two games of painfully awkward overacting to get there, but the fact remains: in the end, Tex Murphy was one badass live-action character.

- Drew Blanc

I’ve talked about Toonstruck in some detail before, but it has to be said that watching a live-action Christopher Lloyd run around a completely animated, Looney-Toonish sort of world was, is, and always will be, totally badass. Like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but playable, and with more cow bondage.

- Zork: Grand Inquisitor

Hey, look, it’s another link to an older article. This game included Dirk Benedict, Erick Avari, and the British guy from the Tombstone Pizza commercials -- and their performances were friggin’ hilarious.

-Wing Commander III, IV

I haven’t actually played either of these games, but both titles not only received generally positive reviews for their gameplay, but were also commended for their exception FMV sequences, which featured Mark Hamill, John Rhys-Davies, and Malcolm Goddamn McDowell. Anything that combines those three names and then adds Biff from Back to the Future is a-okay in my book.

- Kane

kucan

Just think -- without live actors, we wouldn’t have Kane. Or, we would have Kane, but he’d be a lousily-rendered, charisma-devoid shadow of his current self. Kane may be one of the coolest videogaming villains ever -- thanks mostly to the performance of Joseph D. Kucan, who (quite irritatingly) never seems to age throughout his many performances as the Brotherhood of Nod leader.

Making Kane a 3D rendered character, even with today’s technology, would still remove all of his enigmatic allure: his confidence, religious zealousness, and, yes, his goatee, would feel artificial, distancing, and ultimately worthless due to the generally expressionless nature of 3D characters (Alyx Vance, and all other female protagonists who resemble her notwithstanding).

 

Crap performances are still hilarious

Sewer Shark and Night Trap are, when all is said and done, memorable. They are, of course, memorable in the same way that being struck in the testicles with a ball peen hammer is memorable, but who cares? If you want to see some of the most awful, unintentionally hilarious cutscenes in modern history, one need look no further than the impromptu Night Trap musical number or the opening to Sewer Shark. And thanks to the wonder of YouTube, I’ve got both:

 

Had Ed Wood worked for a gaming company and been given a budget of approximately eighty dollars, he might have come up with something as soul-crushingly painful and/or hilarious as any of the scenes from these games. These cutscenes are the sort of things you watch and mock within your group of friends -- lord knows it’s been done -- but have graphic nightmares of for the next few weeks. That, ladies and gentlemen, is some serious cutscene staying power.

 

The Reward System 

Given my admittedly meager vocabulary and limited skill of description, it’s tough to explain what I call “the reward system” without sounding mildly insane. This doesn’t mean I won’t try, of course.

The reward system only applies to games whose live-action scenes take place periodically throughout an overarching campaign: the in-between cutscenes of the Command and Conquer games, or the gradual reveals of video footage in Evidence: The Last Ritual are good examples of this. Instead of serving as a mere means of moving plot along, explaining objectives, or giving clues, the live-action video also serves as a sort of reward for the player after he or she has completed a chunk of gameplay. The rhythm is set up early on in the game, and repeated throughout: mission, video, mission, video. This structure turns the videos into a treat, a break between missions that the player can use to relax and prepare for the road ahead.

This sort of structure is present in many, many other games that don’t happen to include live actors, but I personally feel that the cutscenes I most look forward to watching are those with real people. In terms of the C&C series, this is why Generals was so utterly uninvolving; the lack of the series’ trademark live-action cutscenes reduced the incentive to play through the game. No gamer in their right mind would ever stop playing a game solely because they didn’t like the cutscenes (videogames tend to be for, you know, gaming), but even so, I had a much better time playing through Red Alert 2 when I knew that each mission would end with Barry Corbin, in all his balding, Wilford Brimley-esque glory, congratulating me in a job well done.

I liked his scenes so much, in fact, that I wrote the following haiku:

Oh, Barry Corbin

You don’t have diabeetus

But I still love you.

 

Empathy through erections

erec

In all honesty, this particular aspect of live-action cutscenes is totally unfair, and I’m one I’m not particularly happy to point out. But it stands to be said that in a game like Evidence: The Last Ritual, where the female protagonists are played by unusually (but realistically) attractive women, the (assumedly male) player develops a greater emotional attachment to said protagonists through his desire to bump uglies with them. Even given the fact that the female actresses aren’t particularly good in Evidence (though, to their credit, this isn’t entirely their fault: for the English version of the game, the two French women had to re-shoot all their scenes in a language obviously not native to them), it’s hard not to worry about their fate, due to how cute and unassuming they are. Where Lara Croft and Bloodrayne’s sexuality is overt, unnecessary, and generally pretty immature, the slightly less pretentious practice of putting realistically attractive people in front of the camera and forcing the player to care for them is much more effective in terms of simple empathy.

As I said, it’s an unfair, irritating and purely incidental strength of the medium (and one I am not proud to consider myself affected by), but it’s a strength nonetheless. Casting cuddly, attractive actors in live-action cutscenes is an easy, effective, and really infuriating plot device that works on an emotional level, but also makes you feel sort of dirty as a result (see also: an episode from the most recent season of 24, wherein a mentally handicapped computer hacker is caught in a sniper's crosshairs).

 

Jennifer Morrison

jenmor

Yes, she gets her own bullet point. And the reason she gets her own bullet point is because, as Lt. Kirce James in Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, she represents the combination of many of the other factors that contribute to my enjoyment of live actors in videogaming.

As a supporting actor on House MD, she prompts a, “hey, it’s that chick” response when she first appears; as she seems to take her performance so seriously, watching her act is alternately awkward, adorable, painful, hilarious, and pleasing; because said performance is so wildly inconsistent throughout the course of the game, it becomes worth finishing each mission just to see what Morrison will do next; and since she’s drop-dead gorgeous, the player grows to care about her, thereby wanting to see more of her.

And, for the ladies, Josh Holloway should elicit a similar response. Hell, I’m straight and he elicits the same response from me.

 

But seriously

I don’t wish to say that using live actors in full motion video is a movement that should necessarily come back, but it has to be said that the trend, for its innumerable faults, most assuredly had some upsides. Spycraft used live actors to create a much more realistic and immersive experience. Under a Killing Moon utilized its FMV moments to create sometimes-goofy, sometimes-genuinely compelling dramatic scenes. Command and Conquer channeled all the cheesy B-movie quality of its live cutscenes into an oddly intriguing franchise trademark.

Given that virtual characters are often extremely difficult to empathize with (A.V.,a.a.o.f.p.w.r.h.n), live actors occasionally represented a more effective manner of connecting player to character, thereby making the story more interesting. The worst moments of live-action FMV’s were those of a medium in its infancy: crap like Sewer Shark and Night Trap came about due to developers who were testing the limits of what, at the time, was brand-new technology. With some more experience and maybe some better directors, who knows what could have resulted?

Of course, live actors can’t truly come back in any real way: given some of the recent virtual actor technology we’ve seen (Heavy Rain), now is the time for programmers to explore the possibilities of how realistic and empathetic virtual actors can be -- and at this point, the last thing developers need to do is try to openly emulate another medium. Long and hard is the road that leads out of the uncanny valley, but it must be done, nevertheless. I only hope that maybe -- just maybe -- the old days of  live actors in front of green screens might help the transition.

 

 

Then again, maybe not.



MORE IN OUR Video game films SECTION

Latest comment by enigma343 |view all 48 comments
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. I think the live action cutscenes are the best to date; they even have a cool looking Gran in the opening. The asian chick was anno......



Ryan 2502's Avatar
Ryan 2502 at 07/23/2007 05:00

Brilliant article. and you are right

I had more fun playing through Red Alert 2 than I did StarCraft, just because the cutscenes were SO rewarding, and thoroughly enjoyable. I loved them.

These days I am a MASSIVE fan of C&C, probably my fav series of games. But without those cutscenes, I'm not sure C&C would be quite as enjoyable.

Also, Jennifer Morrison's acting was SO bad in C&C3, absolutely fake. She'd emphasize way too much, or talk down to you like you're a child. I loved it. She made the briefings really enjoyable, just because they were a laugh.
Ryan 2502's Avatar
Ryan 2502 at 07/23/2007 05:00

Brilliant article. and you are right

I had more fun playing through Red Alert 2 than I did StarCraft, just because the cutscenes were SO rewarding, and thoroughly enjoyable. I loved them.

These days I am a MASSIVE fan of C&C, probably my fav series of games. But without those cutscenes, I'm not sure C&C would be quite as enjoyable.

Also, Jennifer Morrison's acting was SO bad in C&C3, absolutely fake. She'd emphasize way too much, or talk down to you like you're a child. I loved it. She made the briefings really enjoyable, just because they were a laugh.
Ryan 2502's Avatar
Ryan 2502 at 07/23/2007 05:02

See? I loved this article so much, I double posted.

That's dedication you only get with The Fig Biscuit of Death ™
Ryan 2502's Avatar
Ryan 2502 at 07/23/2007 05:04

I see someone else loved the article even more than me, eh Tlack?!
Tlack's Avatar
Tlack at 07/23/2007 05:06

Sorry about that fig, testing out the comment interstitial page there.. :) Should be done now! (Maybe.)
Ritalin Twitch's Avatar
Ritalin Twitch at 07/23/2007 05:07

Kari Wuhrer

That is all
FrogWhoIsFinal's Avatar
FrogWhoIsFinal at 07/23/2007 05:14

One of my favorite games ever none of you have probably ever heard of. Journey Man 3: Legacy of Time. It was essentially one of the many games that tried to play off Myst's popularity by having the first person view puzzles and all. But it RAWKED hardcore. To date it is the only game my entire family has played and enjoyed--that's my sister (who hasn't played any console game since Banjo Tooie), my mum (who never plays games), and my dad (who gets motion sickness from Tomb Raider). I'd attribute it's success with us to several things: Hilarious dialogue and commentary on everything you encounter from the AI unit in your armor named Arthur, Cool time travel story, and great live acting. I'll admit that at times it was cheesy, but it meshed so well into the world.
Tron Knotts's Avatar
Tron Knotts at 07/23/2007 05:33

I agree with the Rev that video games need to stop imitating movies.

I havent'y really enjoyed a game with visually realistic characters in a while. MGS3 and RE4 are about as realistic as my tastes get.

I personally wouldn't care if game characters ever got more realistic than that. Realism in games, as in animation and fine art, is WAY over rated.

As for live actors, they always make things worse for me, but sometimes in a funny way. The intro to Resident Evil 1 comes to mind.

UglyPhil 's Avatar
UglyPhil at 07/23/2007 06:08

Okay, well, we all know about Fatality. At least we should do.

Go to gametrailers, find a RECENT trailer that you like and talk about it.
Tron Knotts's Avatar
Tron Knotts at 07/23/2007 06:16

Holy shit! That girl's name is Falco?

What came first, Sewer Shark or Star Fox?
Darkhart's Avatar
Darkhart at 07/23/2007 06:28

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Jennifer Morrison.


Mmmm.
Professor Pew's Avatar
Professor Pew at 07/23/2007 06:33

Sweet, I totally forgot about that C&C: Red Alert cutscene!
Still waiting for Wii Zapper versions of Mad Dog McCree and Rebel Assault btw..
Creamsnake's Avatar
Creamsnake at 07/23/2007 06:34

Mmmmmm... a million pounds of tube steak.
bluemeep's Avatar
bluemeep at 07/23/2007 07:17

Ever since I played Under a Killing Moon, I've had a mancrush on Tex Murphy. That's a fella that can grow quality detective stubble.

I think one of the best uses of live actor FMV that I can name would be the original S.W.A.T., back when it was a bizarre experimental offshoot of the Police Quest series. The introduction was a briefing by your superior officer welcoming you to the force and giving you a briefing on where to go for training. If you happened to be the impatient sort and tried to click through the FMV, you'd get a second one of him being totally pissed at you for cutting him off and chewing you out for it.

Very memorable to me just because it was so unexpected.
Skallah's Avatar
Skallah at 07/23/2007 07:27

Holy crap, it's Whitey Durham from TV's One Tree Hill.
ZMTToxics's Avatar
ZMTToxics at 07/23/2007 09:17

Welp. I reckon that C&C just wouldn't be what it is without the FMVs.

Just beat tiberium wars.

Fuck Jennifer Morrison is hot.
Lolthien's Avatar
Lolthien at 07/23/2007 09:30

I'm surprised Privateer 2 didn't show up on your list.
With John Hurt, Clive Owen, Cristopher 'Fucking' Walken, and Amanda Pays (just to name the top few). It was one of the first games I ever played where I was able to suspend my disbelief while the actors were on screen.
Lolthien's Avatar
Lolthien at 07/23/2007 09:33

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117391/fullcredits
Lolthien's Avatar
Lolthien at 07/23/2007 09:33

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117391/fullcredits
Niero's Avatar
Niero at 07/23/2007 09:38

Bacos are disgusting.
boltox's Avatar
boltox at 07/23/2007 09:45

Do you remember the FMV intro they shot for Resident Evil on PS1? The live action actors were hilariously bad and whoever thought this was a good idea was my kind of asshole.

You can't unsee this sort of thing.

RJG's Avatar
RJG at 07/23/2007 09:58

It just wouldn't be C&C if the acting was good. I mean, Kane does a great job, but villains are supposed to be over the top, and the ultimate reward from the original was bloody amazing.

Jennifer Morrison played her role perfectly. I wish she was still in House though. =(
Ritalin Twitch's Avatar
Ritalin Twitch at 07/23/2007 11:00

Was I the only one who was disapointed that they didn't use live action cut scenes when Resident Evil 2 came out? I thought it lended a certain B movie quality to the games.

Im also probably the only guy who played the first one on the PC and not the playstation. The opening movie had a few more seconds of blood in it, and the hand they find in the grass has a nice bloody stump on the end. My brother saw that and figured they had added that back in the cutscene when the directors cut came out for the playstation, was pissed when he bought it and found out they didn't.
NobleArc's Avatar
NobleArc at 07/23/2007 12:15

Yay for Kane! Kaaaaaane! Yay!
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 07/23/2007 12:36

If anyone's itching for some Kari Wuhrer - and who isn't? - this video and this video should satisfy your cravings. And if anyone wants to make me an animated gif of "WOOO! Shake it, baby!" then I wouldn't be opposed to that either.
greenmachine's Avatar
greenmachine at 07/23/2007 15:14

Whoa - how could you miss Solar Eclipse for the Sega Saturn? Not only was that a pretty good game, but the FMV sequences were pretty well acted and actually added a lot to the tension and feel of the game, especially in the last couple of levels as things got desperate.

Plus, Claudia Christian from Babylon 5!!!
Ratcliff's Avatar
Ratcliff at 07/23/2007 18:59

Sewer Shark was the shit

"Catfish to HoleHog, somethin's breathing down here..... uh oh! I'm Ratagator bait!"
Im OK's Avatar
Im OK at 07/24/2007 00:33

Yeah, live action Kane is much better than this CGI piece of crap:


Also, I'd like to just mention what I personally consider to be the epitome of live action in a game: The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery.
Im OK's Avatar
Im OK at 07/24/2007 00:41

@FrogWhoIsFinal

Journeyman Project. Yes. The entire series was awesome. Too bad Arthur wasn't introduced until the second game though.

Another good one (spoiler alert for the following link) is Phantasmagoria. I haven't played the second game, but the first one was pretty cool.
Im OK's Avatar
Im OK at 07/24/2007 00:59

And while I'm on a roll here...

As for the infamous SegaCD FMV games, while I thought Sewer Shark was hilariously bad and Ground Zero Texas actually wasn't too bad from what I remember (at least as far as the FMV itself went, anyway, since the gameplay still sucked), my personal favorite was by far Supreme Warrior.
enigma343's Avatar
enigma343 at 07/26/2007 11:52

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. I think the live action cutscenes are the best to date; they even have a cool looking Gran in the opening. The asian chick was annoying though. Anyone else play that game?

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