Erica: A Live-Action Video Game Like No Other?

The Next Step In Interactive Gameplay?

Over the years video games have slowly begun to incorporate an almost cinematic quality to their narratives, especially in the form of cutscenes. You need only look at monumental hits like Uncharted 4, The Last of Us and Wolfenstein 2 to see the level of detail that has gone into facial animations, not to mention its top tier acting.

But then there are games that try to push things even further, games that use live-action in place of CGI. While this can sometimes act as a fun little distraction in-between gameplay sessions, like it was with the Commander & Conquer: Red Alert series, it can also bring the whole thing down. like last year’s Quantum Break. 

However, there are a select few games that try to blend the two styles to the point where the live-action segments make up the entirety of the game. Just take a look at what happened with Late Shift! 

Now it appears that an upcoming project, Erica, seeks to push things further still.

According to an article on Engadget –

Sony’s PlayStation 4 will never have the same widespread appeal as the Nintendo Wii. It’s a popular console with an extensive library, but it hasn’t captured the casual market quite like Nintendo’s machine did in 2006. Sony is trying to change that, however, with a slew of film-like experiences including Until Dawn and Hidden Agenda. The latest example is Erica, a live-action hybrid developed by London studio Flavourworks. It’s not quite a video game, but the level of control is also far beyond what classic FMV (full-motion video) titles usually offer.

 

The story follows Erica, a young woman haunted by a traumatic childhood. She’s contacted by an old family friend who believes her memories hold the key to catching a murderer. Everything gets more complicated, however, when the so-called killer contacts Erica directly and offers a different story. Suddenly, the game’s heroine is forced to investigate and find out the truth for herself.

Jack Attridge, creative director at Flavourworks, took me through a brief demo at Paris Games Week. He controlled everything with a PlayLink-enabled smartphone, though the final game will also support the regular DualShock 4 controller. It began with a simple Zippo lighter, which Attridge slowly opened and sparked to life with his finger. It then jumped to a scene with Erica standing in front of a fogged-up mirror. Attridge swiped to remove some condensation before wiping a tear from Erica’s cheek and brushing some of her hair away.

That last part made me uncomfortable — it’s the kind of thing a supervillain would do — but it showed the level of interactivity Flavourworks is shooting for. It’s certainly impressive, surpassing classic FMV titles like Night Trap and Dragon’s Lair, as well as recent examples like Her Story and Contradiction: Spot the Liar. There are no 3D models or big-budget CGI effects — according to Attridge, everything is “100 percent live-action.” But the game offers a degree of control that would be hard to pull off with smartly arranged video files. When Attridge opened the lighter, for instance, he could slowly drag it open, or stop and watch the lid bounce shut.

Attridge confirmed the game will have a branching storyline of sorts. The choices you make will subtly affect the characters you encounter and the information that’s relayed to you. That, in turn, will inform your decision near the end of the game and the final outcome. “Every decision you make gives you a different sort of view on the truth,” Attridge said. “It’s not about, ‘Do I go left, or do I go right.’ It’s literally that you will be fed different information and different biases.” Ultimately, however, it will be for you to decide who is telling the truth.

Erica is a curious game and movie blend. Flavourworks says it’s aiming for a “movie-night appeal” with a runtime of roughly two to three hours. That’s perfect for parties and people who might not be comfortably pouring hundreds of hours into a RPG. It does, however, put greater emphasis on the pricing. Erica will effectively compete with movie rentals, rather than the latest Bethesda shooter or Uncharted adventure. The game will have some replayability, Attridge stressed, but for many, I suspect, it will be one-and-done. Anything more than $20, therefore, could make it a hard sell.