Full Motion Video

A Full Motion Video (English, short FMV, Germanized and full motion video) refers to a film sequence in a computer game that is not calculated in real time and thus often qualitatively different from the game graphics.

The videos can often serve as an appetizer and an introduction to the game and are often shown as a reward for the successful completion of the game or of sections of the game. Particularly suitable as a stylistic device are FMVs for games with a large proportion narrative.

Nowadays the normal game graphics often achieved already the quality of older FMVs. Current FMVs can show each even higher level of detail and special special effects anyway.

Known examples of computer games that use FMVs, the " Command & Conquer " parts one to four, of which part one to three further comprise rendering videos, Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy cycle, from which several computer- generated films emerged ( Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children ). Worth mentioning ( Privateer 2) is also the Wing Commander series, the cutscenes with well-known actors such as Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell ( Wing Commander 3 ) and John Hurt, Christopher Walken and Clive Owen contained. Also the game Chaos Control for the Philips CD -i is mainly based on full-motion video.