8 Popular Video Game Trends That Were Never Built To Last

by Jamie Kennedy

1. Full Motion Video Games

Night Trap
Acclaim Entertainment

Take yourself back to a time before on-demand streaming services, or even before DVD. That was a world gamers of the 90's existed in, and that's why so many got so excited about the prospect of 'Full Motion Video'. FMV for short, this feature usually meant you'd see video clip cutscenes in between levels.

The Sega Saturn didn't limit things to that extent though, that console boasted about full-blown FMV games like Night Trap and Sewer Shark. These 'interactive' experiences relied on the gimmick too much and can't properly be passed off as video games. On this occasion, the 'video' part of the medium was taken too far.

Games today rarely (if at all) include scenes like this, because somewhere along the line developers realised that the quality was so poor. Who wants to watch stripped-down, hazy clips when the actual graphics are more visually appealing to begin with? This is one trend that didn't have legs, and it's no surprise FMV games are a thing of the past.

--

What other video game trends have you seen burn out or fade away? Let us know down in the comments section below!

Advertisement
In this post: 
Night Trap
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.