Audiovisual Strategies in Interactive FMV Projects for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer Platform
Baltic Journal of Legal and Social Sciences
Стаття розглядає аудіовізуальні стратегії інтерактивних FMV-проєктів для платформи 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. На порівняльному аналізі дванадцяти кейсів (емулятор Opera / libretro) досліджено взаємодію кіномови, інтерактивних механік і апаратних обмежень консолі. Виділено три архетипи організації досвіду: action reflexivity, interactive drama і spatial immersion. Тип інтерактивності перетворює монтаж на подію інтерфейсу, а саунд-дизайн бере навігаційну роль. Обмеження Cinepak і CD-ROM трактовано як продуктивні формотворчі чинники «цифрової патини».
Argument and scope
The paper explores the audiovisual systems of Full-Motion Video (FMV) games on the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer console, examining the intersection of cinema and digital interactivity under early CD-ROM hardware constraints. Based on a frame-by-frame analysis of twelve cases, the study maps how traditional filmmaking grammar was adapted to a game platform.
Three primary strategies organize the audiovisual experience: 1. Action reflexivity — where interaction demands immediate player reaction to video events (quick-time events, arcade logic). 2. Interactive drama — where narrative choice overrides reflex tests, shaping plot progression. 3. Spatial immersion — where video segments serve exploration and architectural navigation.
Hardware limits, specifically the Cinepak compression codec and CD-ROM seek times, are reframed as productive aesthetic boundaries. Rather than viewing artifacted low-resolution video as a deficit, the paper examines how they created a distinct "digital patina" and aesthetic reduction characteristic of 1990s multimedia.
Conclusions
Interactive FMV projects on the 3DO console represent a cohesive historical attempt to adapt cinematic editing into interactive events. Montage in these systems is transformed from a device of passive progression into an interface event itself, often supported by sound design as a navigational cue. Future work points to a comparative study of FMV aesthetics across other 1990s platforms (such as Sega CD, CD-i, and early PC).
Full text: Baltic Journal of Legal and Social Sciences (Vol. 2, 2026). http://baltijapublishing.lv/index.php/bjlss/article/view/4205
@article{poberailo2026audiovisualstrateg,
author = {Poberailo, Oleksandr},
title = {Audiovisual Strategies in Interactive FMV Projects for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer Platform},
year = {2026},
journal = {Baltic Journal of Legal and Social Sciences},
url = {http://baltijapublishing.lv/index.php/bjlss/article/view/4205},
language = {en}
}← Усі дослідження