DVD Interactive FAQ Version 1.0 By Motley6 Contact Info Version 1.O May 2003 An updated version of this faq can always be found at www.gamefaqs.com ======================================================================= Update Task List for future updates: +add more games and descriptions to titles available section +update programming and porting capabilities for format +include detailed history of DVD-I +section on The future of DVD-I ======================================================================= Menu ========================================================================== 1) Does the world really need an FAQ on DVD Interactive Software? 2) What is DVD-I? 3) What is NUON? 4) What is DVD-Extra? 5) Can all DVD Players play DVD-I? 6) What are the criteria for DVD-I 7) Are DVD Movies considered DVD-I? 8) What titles are available? 9) Aren't there a lot of adult "interactive" titles? 10) Where can I find DVD-I titles and information on them? 11) Can I play foreign DVD-I's (Japan, Europe, and Australia) on US players? 12) How do I control DVD-I games and other Interactive titles? 13) Can CD-I discs be played on DVD players? 14) What is the difference between DVD-I and DVD-ROM, can DVD ROM be played on a regular DVD Player? 15) Is DVD-I compatible with current DVD based game systems? ======================================================================= Contents ============================================================================ 1) Does the world really need an FAQ on DVD Interactive Software? If you had asked me that a couple of weeks ago I would have said no. But upon further research of the subject, I realized that everyone's cheap DVD player could be used as multimedia machine. DVD-I has the ability to do that if a grass roots development starts. The digital age that we live in allows the individual, either professional or not, the ability to create anything the inventor wants, hardware, software, programs whatever. And they don't have to answer to a conglomerate business if they do not want to. I am a firm believer in Internet Socialism, sharing knowledge without profit gain. "The first step toward success is knowledge" -- Nicola Tesla 2) What is DVD-I? DVD-Interactive or DVD-I is a generic word that I am using to describe the growing technology of games, reference, and music capabilities of the Digital Video Disc that are used on a regular DVD player as opposed to just the most common, DVD Movies. DVD-I is not a registered trademark like CD-I or VHS or any other type of media and is not owned by anyone, it is just a word that accurately describes the software for the conventional home DVD player. I hate to say that I coined the term because it is a logical assumption that sums up the technology, but I researched it and have not seen it elsewhere. The technology includes any title where instruction manipulation is the central idea, whether it be chasseing an option in a mystery game, or pointing a cursor on an enemy to fire at. Any title that you interact with the media through the remote or otherwise to progress. For a more detailed analysis, see the subsection on criteria. There are many other forms of DVD's that fall under the category. Nuon technology would fall under this category as well as the new British DVD-Extra, descriptions of which I have included in this faq. Nuon is large enough a topic that I will be writing a separate FAQ solely on that. 3) What is NUON? NUON is a chipset designed to enhance a standard home DVD player. DVD players powered by the NUON media processor meet and exceed consumer expectations by delivering a variety of spectacular interactive content. Games designed with use for the NUON processor (32 bit), DVD Movies, DVD Interactive, CDR, CDRW, DVD-Video, VideoCD, CD-DA, Dolby(tm) AC-3, Dolby ProLogic(tm), DTS(tm), LPCM, Spatializer(tm), MPEG audio, HDCD(tm), CD-TEXT, DVD Audio, MP-3, S/PDIF HTML, JAVAScript(tm), JPEG, GIF, Macromedia Flash(tm) are all supported by the format. This huge compatibility shows the limitless possibilities that a NUON DVD player can do. You can buy a controller for the system that is ideal for controlling DVD-I games. I recommend getting a NUON DVD Player to play DVD-I. Plus you can play the games that were released with the system (there were only 7). These games rival Sony Playstaion in their presentation and gameplay. The technology was recently abandoned when its creator, VM Labs, was acquired and then shut down. Fortunately there is a small grassroots movement to create independent software for the chipset. Apparently it is quite simple and can be done on a powerful home PC. This is in stark contrast to the licensing and expensive developing units needed for other game systems. NUON equipped DVD players also have the ability for broadband web browsing, interactive audio (Nuon DVD players come equipped with the Atari derived VLM or Virtual Light Machine which plays psychedelic light shows synchronized to your favorite cd.) NUON DVD Players were made in America by Samsung, RCA, and Toshiba and can be found quite cheap on the internet. The creator of NUON was quoted as saying, "NUON does two things: it expands DVD capability and it makes programmable architecture available to consumer OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers)." The future holds a huge independent programming movement for the system. But if for nothing else the DVD player is worth it for controlling DVD-I with a joypad and the VLM which has its own cult following in the gaming community. Everything else is just icing on the cake 4) What is DVD-Extra? According to the official website, "DVD-Extra(tm) unlocks the hidden interactive capabilities within standard DVD players and provides a completely new method of creating interactive DVD-Video titles. Discs created using DVD-Extra(tm) are compatible with the current DVD-Video specification, which means that they will play on standard DVD-Video players. It facilitates content that is richer, more complex and more varied than ever before; including puzzles, interactive game shows, board games, card games and quizzes. It is also possible to produce catalogues, educational titles, corporate titles and CD-rom-style multimedia." DVD-Extra is a new type of creating DVD-I titles that is geared to the easy transition of ideas to the format. This opens up the door to porting and emulating older but still significant games. The also it works on any DVD Player so NUON DVD Players and DVD Extra Authoring software could be used in conjunction with each other to form quite a tandem. Imagine porting Rise Of the Dragon or a Lucas Arts game to a DVD and then playing it on your TV. Limitless potential. There are only three commercial titles available using the format and all three are British Trivia games. The home site though offers anyone to submit programming inquiries to begin writing for the format. 5) Can all DVD players play DVD-I Yes all players whether they are video game consoles, computers, or standard home players can play these titles as long as they have a DVD player on them. The only exception would be DVD-I titles that are Region Exclusive, may not play on some DVD hardware in different regions without either modifications or hacks. Please check that subsection. DVD-I titles are not compatible with any hardware that does not also play DVD Movies, like the Nintendo Gamecube. 6) What are the criteria for DVD-I To be considered a DVD-I title the following are certain a) DVD-I titles include but are not limited to point and click adventures, graphic adventures, FMV games, and other menu-based games. Also things like DVD encyclopedias, bibles and similar reference tools. Instructional videos for guitar and piano, trivia games, music/graphic programs, and others. There are hundreds of different subjects as long as the minimum requirement for play is a standard DVD player and remote to control your options b) The title must be able to work on a standard DVD player that is usually used for movies. This means that DVD-ROM, PS2, XBox, Gamecube, and similar DVD based software do not apply, as they are media that are exclusive unto their respective hardware. A unique correlation to this rule is that all DVD-I titles can be played on those formerly mentioned systems, and may in some cases work better than using a regular DVD remote on a regular home DVD player but do not require anything other than a home player. DVD-I certainly is the universal DVD entertainment medium! 7) Are DVD Movies considered DVD-I? DVD Movies are not necessarily DVD-I although some sections in bonus discs could constitute certain elements. "Interactive Menus" commonly listed as a "feature" on all DVD's does not count. Although mini-games and virtual tours or whatever on certain movies would fall under DVD-I the main purpose of the movie is to watch it. For our purposes here, DVD Movies are not be included as the elements are not significant to realm. 8) What titles are available? This section will go by developer and will give brief descriptions. I will also list significant other DVD-I titles that are not games. This is not a complete list and if you have any contributions email me at Infinite Ventures -------------------------------------------------- ---Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective Probably the first DVD-I game released along with Dragon's Lair, this game is a port of the interactive detective game that appeared on CD-I, 3DO, and Sega CD. You star as old Sherlock looking for clues and solving three different case files. Gameplay is part FMV part digital animation, and part text. A sequel was made called Volume II for the previously stated consoles but has not surfaced as a DVD-I title yet. ---Dracula Unleashed Similar to Sherlock, you must find Dracula and chose different paths to destroying him and keep him from killing everyone This is a very long game and from reports difficult. Uses numerous FMV cinemas and gameplay elements. Was also released for Sega CD but it took up two discs because of it size. Digital Leisure ------------------------------------------------------------------ ---Dragon's Lair The original legendary game that first appeared in the arcades as a Laserdisc game. Dirk the Daring stars as a knight that must save his damsel in distress from a dragon. The adventure has beautiful animated cinemas and the gameplay involves you chasseing decisions for Dirk to avoid death. Great game and the fact that it was originally created almost 20 years ago is unbelievable. Also released for CD-I, 3DO, and Sega CD ---Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp The sequel. Princess Daphne has been kidnapped by the Evil Wizard Modroc and taken through a wrinkle in time. The player, as Dirk, must follow and attempt to rescue the Princess before Modroc slips the Death Ring on Daphne`s finger and she is lost forever. ---Space Ace Similar to Dragon's Lair series. Armed with only a laser gun, Ace must find and destroy the Infanto Ray, rescue Kimberley and save the Earth. Again beautiful animation by Don Bluth. ---Dragons Lair Anniversary Box Set Includes previous 3 games and previously unreleased playable scenes right from the cutting room floor. Increased video quality, optional hint or expert mode and authentic scene order. Worth the dough if you've never played these games ---Shadoan Sequel to old Laserdisc Thayers Quest, this is a new one from the dudes at DL. Explore the mysterious and intricate J.R.R. Tolkien type world of Shadoan. Gather the five lost pieces of an ancient amulet and discover its magical powers. Finally, you attempt to destroy the evil wizard Torlock, allowing Prince Lathan Kandor and the beautiful Princess Grace Delight to be reunited. Well animated ---Reaches Adventure game with over 200 locations to explore. Gorgeous animation was highly touted by the mainstream press when it was released. Supposedly out of print. ---Hologram- Time Traveler Apparently, the first 3D game ever; this was a legend in the arcades in the mid-80's. Futuristic warrior battles through time to save a princess. Designed by Rick Dyer, the guy that created all of the previously mentioned games. Game includes 3D glasses. ---Mad Dog McCree That lowdown dirty sidewinder Mad Dog McCree and his band of cutthroats have ridden into town, kidnapped the Mayor and his daughter, and taken them to his hideout. Stop him before he orders another bottle of whiskey! This is a classic arcade shooter. Playing this game with a PS2, Xbox, or Nuon DVD Player makes it easier to play. FMV shooter that takes place in the old west (Ye Hawh!) Very fun game that is very popular. This title has been released on CD-I, 3DO, PC, Sega CD. ---Mad Dog McCree II: The Lost Gold Sequel. Same gameplay FMV shooter, this time it time to steal the hidden treasure of the old west....soap on a rope. ---The Last Bounty Hunter Similar to Mad Dog McCree series. FMV Shooter, adds some other interactive elements. Takes place in the Old West. This and previous two titles were part of the American Laser Games Trilogy that was released on CD-I, and 3DO. ---Who Shot Johnny Rock? Another FMV Shooter that originated on the old CD game consoles. This is actually half interactive detective story as well. Takes place in the 30's in Chicago, you are searching for a safe combination that the recently deceased Rock had to a fortune. You have to shoot numerous gangsters along the way. ---Drug Wars: Crime Patrol II Fight the War on Drugs yourself in Crime Patrol II: Drug Wars ! Targeting the entire illegal drug distribution chain is a truly international war. Drug Wars will take you through it all from small town traffickers to big city organized cartels. You will be involved with the boarder patrol tracking international drug runners. FMV Shooter with some detective elements. Miami Vice inspired. *Note from Digital Leisure. "Apex Digital's 500W, AD-600A & AD-700 are the first DVD movie players that we've found that eliminate the pauses at decision points throughout our DVD-Video games" DVD International ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ---Tender Loving Care The creators of The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour bring you the first interactive, full-length motion picture designed specifically for DVD . TLC is about a young couple suffering the aftershock of a terrible tragedy and the mysterious psychiatric nurse who moves into their home and turns their world into a living hell-or, is it heaven? An enticing exploration of the human psyche. A chance to look inside yourself. Academy award nominee John Hurt (The Elephant Man, Contact, Rob Roy) is your guide on this seductive journey of fear and desire. Pretty cool game and won a shit load of awards. One of the best of the Interactive Movie genre. Over 240 minutes of video ---I'm Your Man Climb into the director's seat and make the movie you want to see! You pick the characters and choose what happens to them. You control everything with the push of a button. Multiple plots, multiple endings - its interactive moviemaking so real the only thing missing is the studio accountant. Stars Kevin Seal of MTV VJ fame. Original music by Joe Jackson. Supposedly the first Interactive Movie released. ---Point of View From the creators of Tender Loving Care. POV is a contemporary, edgy urban story about obsession, art, eroticism and murder. It follows the story of a beautiful and mysterious artist named Jane. She is a recluse who avoids all real human contact, expressing herself only through her art. she develops an attraction for a neighbor named Frank on whom she spies from her apartment window. Interactive movie, has a lot of supplemental material ---Aquaria Virtual Ocean. Pretty stunning visuals of undersea life. Fish Identifying feature. Also has music tracks relaxation, sleep etc. ---The Red Planet Mars Interactive tour of the Planet Mars. Interactive maps, animations, Interactive Mode" is available for users who want to explore. The title is highly interactive with over 1,000 individual media elements that can be displayed. ---King James Version Holy Bible New Testament DVD The words and images of the Complete King James/New Testament Version of the Bible are brought to life for the first time ever on DVD, with over 17 hours of dramatic presentation. Text, audio, and video interactive. Interesting use of the format. DVD is packed to the limit with information Other Developer Unknown ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---Phantom of Inferno The story takes place in the seedy parts of Los Angeles. After witnessing a murder, a young man finds himself in captive by Inferno, a powerful underground crime ring. His memory was erased and he was given a chance to either die or join them. He has no choice but to comply. He becomes the assassin "Zwei." Pretty nice looking game and is pretty fun too. Great voice acting. Original had more adult content though ---Stab in the Dark Interactive mystery game where you have to find out between 6 suspects who committed the murder. You are a detective who must search for clues and interrogate the suspects. Fun game except that it is too short, has only an hour of video. Full Motion Video ---Silent Steel One of the more popular titles in the Interactive movie genre of games. It takes place on a Cold War submarine and you may or may not be called upon to fire your nuclear missiles. Great cold war thriller and similar to Hunt For Red October. Worth the dough ---Virtual Prey You are a young girl Raven that is being stalked by a killer. You must make different choice to escape and finally find this madman. Interactive movie has some cool features. Sequel is in the works. DVD-Extra ---------------------------------------------------------- ---Pepsi Chart Music Quiz The Pepsi Chart Music Quiz is a multi-player game for pop fans on DVD video. There are three game modes where you can either race in teams, play with family and friends or have an individual, quick pop fix playing the arcade game from positions 10 down to 1. All this is hosted by Pop Idol`s (show American Idol ripped off) Neil Fox Created using DVD-Extra, The Pepsi Chart Music Quiz is one of the most original titles to appear on DVD video: containing nearly 3000 challenging questions over 7 different fun-packed rounds with over an hour of specially shot footage featuring Foxy himself, this is a great game to play solo or with a bunch of friends. British Pop music scene is a little different, so expect more Oasis and INXS questions than Backstreet Boys and Elton John. This is a Region 2 disc ---Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? Game based on the original millionaire show that deputed in England Same format as the show here. Massive trivia game with over 3000 questions Very fun game for parties or by yourself. Worth the cost of importing. Region 2 disc. ---Q- The Music Quiz Another music quiz based on Q Magazine in Britain. A little more diverse than Pepsi Quiz, it doesn't concentrate on soulless pop music delves into rock, dance etc. This game is very popular in the British Pub Scene. Region 2 Vivid Productions ---Mind Teazer This adult puzzle game made its rounds on the 3DO and CD-I units. Complete the puzzles to get your reward, a fully naked babe. The women on here are quite beautiful and the game is pretty fun too. ---Virtual Sex Series (Various) This is the biggest selling DVD-I since DVD technology surfaced, and for good reason. On the technical level, the directing of certain scenes, changing her mood, changing angles, manipulating the "course of action" ahem!... of the encounter, etc is pretty groundbreaking. Not to mention the caliber of women that star in these features. There are about 10 volumes in the series with the Jenna Jamison, Tera Patrick, and Asia Carerra titles being the most popular. ---Island Fever/Vivid Blackjack This is an Interactive movie starring many of the Vivid Girls. Chose the different paths of the characters and watch the scenes envelop. Also includes Blackjack game similar to the mechanics of Mind Teazer Brilliant Digital Entertainment www.brilliantdigital.com ---Ace Ventura: The Case of the Serial Shaver You control Ace through an animated storyline where you must find a crazy guy that shaves animals. If you like the Ace movies you'll see him do all his trademark one-liners, gratuitous humping, and butt check humor. OK gameplay wise. ---KISS Immortals DVD release featuring KISS in an animated fantasy that you can control. The story line is in a choose your own adventure format that features Kiss' voices for their animated characters. The action is controlled through your DVD remote controls arrow keys to direct which path Kiss will go in the story. If you are part of the KISS army this is worth getting 9) Aren't there a lot of adult "interactive" titles? Yes, there are. In fact the adult industry were on of the first to take advantage of the media. The popular Vivid series, Virtual Sex stars different starlets that allow interaction. This and similar DVD's are large sellers and probably make up 80% of all DVD-I sales. I'm choosing to list just the major titles because the adult industry has hundreds of rip offs. Just search yahoo for "adult interactive" and you'll find a crapload of titles. Another popular type of adult DVD-I is graphic adventures that feature the Japanese Hentai genre of erotic fiction. Check the subsection for compatibility issues for American Region 1 players 10) Where can I find DVD-I titles and information on them? The best place to start is Ebay (www.ebay.com). Look up the title or look up the term DVD Interactive or DVD Game in the search bar. Also Amazon (www.amazon.com) is another excellent place to look if you don't mind paying higher. Also if you go to some of the publisher's websites of DVD-I titles they may sell direct or provide links on where to go. Here are the addresses of helpful sites -- auction site, best place to find anything and everything described in this FAQ for a low price -- sells games, educational and other DVD-I's directly as well as pictures of boxes, user reviews, ratings and links to developer sites. Has a fledgling used section publisher and distributor of many DVD-I titles like Point of View and I'm Your Man. Sells directly online also subsidiary of Ebay, deals exclusively with entertainment media such as cd's, dvd's, video games, and accessories. Another goldmine of possibilities publisher and distributor of the popular Dragon's Lair DVD-I's has news and reviews of all their games which are quite substantial descriptions and reviews on the Interactive Movie genre of DVD-I's can be found here. home of the DVD Interactive FAQ by yours truly. Also has tips, tricks, reviews, and faqs of various DVD-I's A very comprehensive site about the NUON DVD Technology including, articles, video, plenty of screenshots, homebrew games, hacks almost everything you can think of concerning Nuon. Awesome site official website of the new British DVD-I technology, news, articles, product descriptions, programming inquiries. publisher of popular Multipath Adventure Series includes detailed descriptions, screenshots, very nicely designed website publisher of Sherlock Holmes and Dracula DVD-I pretty concise site, describes both games well 11) Can I play foreign DVD-I's (Japan, Europe, and Australia) on US players? Some DVD-I games like the UK Based DVD Extra titles and Japanese Hentai Graphic Adventures cannot be played out of the box because they are a different region. However many American (Region 1) DVD players have a code or a way to manipulate the remote in order to bypass the Region lockout feature. These are called hacks. They usually temporarily disable the region lockout until you turn the DVD player off and then you have to input the hack in again. gives lists of American DVD player models that are searchable and have the hacks listed. Just to let you know, almost every DVD player ever released has some sort of hack available so your chances are pretty good. These hacks also work for DVD Movies which is pretty cool because there are many DVD's that have been released in Europe that have not been released here yet. Also many movies released in Europe have extra footage that is not on American versions (Dune comes to mind). There are also DVD players that are Region Free and some DVD player that have been permanently modified to be Region Free. Check Ebay for these players. Also of note is that most American DVD-I's are Region 0 meaning they will play everywhere in the world on almost any DVD player. For you foreign readers this takes a lot of your importing worries away. UPDATE!!! First Sony made the PlayStation 2, a $370 "gaming console." Then users discovered that it could play Digital Versatile Discs from all regions, a clear violation of DVD Forum engineering specifications intended to accommodate the entertainment industry's longstanding policy of releasing films on video at different times in different parts of the world-after they've run in commercial theaters. Shortly thereafter, users also found that they could make perfect videotape copies of DVDs via the RGB outputs on the machine, thereby circumventing Macrovision, the copy-prevention technique built into the DVD format. Seems the PlayStation 2 was a two-front nightmare for the film business. 12) How do I control DVD-I games and other Interactive titles? Controlling a DVD-I game requires only five buttons, The four directional menu keys (up, down, left, right) and the enter button. It is cumbersome to use a DVD remote for doing anything other than highlighting choices. That's why shooting games like Mad Dog McCree and two player trivia games are easier to play with controllers. Playing DVD-I's on your PS2, Xbox, or Nuon DVD Player, or anything that utilizes a controller makes some games easier to play. Again doing this is not required. 13) Can CD-I discs be played on DVD players? No, CD-I or CD Interactive is an entertainment and educational medium that is the precursor to DVD-I. It was jointly developed by Philips Electronics and Sony in the mid eighties to take advantage of the new digital technology of the compact disc. Initially it was used for business training by business such as Sears, Roebuck and educational training materials for schools. The Philips CD-I player was debuted in the early 90's has a home entertainment/multimedia component. Many current DVD-I titles were first released on the CD-I machine. Dragons Lair, Space Ace, and Who Shot Johnny Rock? all appeared here first. It also played Video CDs a well as Audio CD's. It failed because a) it was too damned expensive b) CD-I were exclusive only to CD-I machines c) Video CD's never took off over here because they waited to long to introduce it. Japan and Asia still use VCDS and have since 1985. CD-I discs as previously explained will not work on a DVD player. However the porting (transfer capability) possibilities of converting a CD-I title to a DVD or to a CDR that would work with a Nuon DVD Player are quite possible and exciting. Go to the section on the future of DVD-I. 14) What is the difference between DVD-I and DVD-ROM, can DVD ROM be played on a regular DVD Player? DVD-ROM is software that is written exclusively for a Personal Computer. Games like Warcraft, the Sims and other games work only PC's. These games are to complicated for a DVD Player to handle as they utilize the large memory, file space, and processor speed of a PC. DVD-ROMS cannot be played on a regular DVD player like the DVD-I. 15) Is DVD-I compatible with current DVD based game systems DVD-I software is compatible with the Sony Playstation 2 and the Microsoft X-BOX only. Some games are easier to play with a controller. They will also be compatible with the next generation consoles as long as they are DVD based and play DVD Movies ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thats it! If you would like to contribute on DVD-I FAQ v2.0 please email me at motley_6@yahoo.com thanks!