I’ve played games with CGI environments and real actors via FMV, such as The 7th Guest, and I’ve played full-on FMV games, such as The Shapeshifting Detective, but I think this is the first time I’ve actually ‘played’ an FMV game in VR. Afterlife is an experience more than a game, which would explain the lack of trophies, yet it surprisingly offers a level of interaction which enables multiple playthroughs and varying outcomes, rather than simply watching a pre-recorded video from beginning to end.
It was produced by Signal Space Lab, a Canadian company who has created a number of 360-degree cinematic experiences, as well as helping with titles such as the We Happy Few VR companion on PC and PSVR. They clearly have knowledge of working with both interactive and experience-based titles within virtual reality, but how have they managed to create a seamless FMV multiple-choice narrative within this new dimension? Let’s find out…
This is how it begins…
Afterlife is the story of a family who is struggling after the death of their five-year-old son. The father is trying to move on, the mother can’t quite acknowledge that he’s gone, and the sister is stuck in the middle of her parents at polarising emotional stages. You get to watch the family, and how they try to cope with this tragic event, through the ghostly eyes of the deceased child, a silent apparition which can either interact with his grieving loved ones or sit back and observe.
Although I’ve played ‘similar’ titles which combine 360-degree video with gameplay and choices – such as the free-to-play “The Ministry of Time VR: Save the time” – Afterlife is 100% video without any green screen, virtually created environments, or VR depth. This means that the entire experience is played out in front of you in real-time, forcing you to literally turn your entire body 360-degrees on the spot if you wish to look at the events happening all around you – there are no rotation options on either controller.
The issue for me here is the lack of depth – it’s a flat 2D video which you’re watching as you spin around. If I compare Afterlife to a random Japanese Idol FMV VR demo, which I just found on the Japanese PSN store, that one also has FMV but it’s in stereoscopic, so there’s depth to the video making the scenes seem 3D even though it’s all pre-recorded. As such, the Japanese video immersed me and made me feel like I was actually there much more than the flat presentation of Afterlife.
However, I wouldn’t disregard the experience for this one downside as the game immerses you in other ways…
Choices!
GamePlay?
As Afterlife is basically a pre-recorded video, how does this work as a ‘game’? Whilst watching the events act out in front of you, the visuals react to where you’re looking without actually specifically letting you know that it’s doing this. For example, when the mother walks off after a conversation with the father, if you’re looking at her walking out the room, the viewpoint will change and you’ll now see what she gets up to in the other room. Yet, if you were looking at the father, you would have stayed and watched him. It’s a very seamless and interesting way to create a VR experience out of an FMV video.
As Afterlife is basically a pre-recorded video, how does this work as a ‘game’? Whilst watching the events act out in front of you, the visuals react to where you’re looking without actually specifically letting you know that it’s doing this. For example, when the mother walks off after a conversation with the father, if you’re looking at her walking out the room, the viewpoint will change and you’ll now see what she gets up to in the other room. Yet, if you were looking at the father, you would have stayed and watched him. It’s a very seamless and interesting way to create a VR experience out of an FMV video.
There are a few moments in which you can grab your controller and choose which item you wish to interact with (in my case I made a ball fly out of the window and smack someone on the head to show that my spirit was still there), having your choice change the narrative just like whichever person you choose to watch does. You see, there’s actually a timeline within Afterlife, detailing what scenes you’ve watched and what alternative choices you could have made to see a different event – just like in Detroit: Become Human.
This opens the experience up for replayability as there are 29 choices/events in total, leading you towards three possible endings based on who you watched and what you interacted with. As I said though, some of these ‘choices’ are tricky to spot as you have to be looking at specific things in order to trigger them, so each playthrough will be different for each person based upon what intrigues them most within the scene.
Seamless branching story-line but no trophies?!
Personal issues
My main complaint about Afterlife has to be that there are literally no trophies – no rewards or incentives to seek out and watch all of the branches other than for your own entertainment. I know, trophies don’t matter and it’s all about having fun playing games and being entertained, but seeing as the game has multiple outcomes and paths, I would have thought it would have been classed as a ‘game’ and had trophies. Regardless, I’m still going to go back and try and watch all three endings as the story isn’t bad and I’m intrigued to see what the other outcomes are.
My main complaint about Afterlife has to be that there are literally no trophies – no rewards or incentives to seek out and watch all of the branches other than for your own entertainment. I know, trophies don’t matter and it’s all about having fun playing games and being entertained, but seeing as the game has multiple outcomes and paths, I would have thought it would have been classed as a ‘game’ and had trophies. Regardless, I’m still going to go back and try and watch all three endings as the story isn’t bad and I’m intrigued to see what the other outcomes are.
My second complaint lies within the quality of the experience itself. Afterlife is available on PSVR, PC VR and mobile devices, yet the video quality presented on PSVR seems rather low in comparison to other FMV I’ve seen within the device. I just felt it would have been better if it was maybe shot in 4k, or at least a higher bit-rate, as it felt like I was watching a Standard Definition video file.
Finally, the acting had its ups and downs in my opinion. Certain scenes didn’t feel ‘real’ and the acting wasn’t ‘natural’ enough to become fully immersed. When compared to brilliant FMV narrative adventures, such as Doctor Dekker and The Shapeshifting Detective from D’Avekki Studios, it’s a big difference in terms of how the lines are delivered and how much I believe the events which are taking place. I’m not saying that Afterlife is bad, it just wasn’t as good as I was hoping for – the low-quality video didn’t help with the immersion either.
The video quality isn’t the highest.
Should you buy it?
After watching a ‘behind the scenes’ for the game, it appears that the creators were targeting three types of people, gamers, theatre lovers, and those interested in cinematic narratives. Gamers are drawn in with the interactive and branching pathway aspect, theatre fans will enjoy being up close to the live-action acting in front of them, and cinematic narrative fans will enjoy the story being told. But, is this a case of trying to pander for too many people has diluted the overall experience and created something which ultimately nobody will enjoy? No, not in my opinion.
After watching a ‘behind the scenes’ for the game, it appears that the creators were targeting three types of people, gamers, theatre lovers, and those interested in cinematic narratives. Gamers are drawn in with the interactive and branching pathway aspect, theatre fans will enjoy being up close to the live-action acting in front of them, and cinematic narrative fans will enjoy the story being told. But, is this a case of trying to pander for too many people has diluted the overall experience and created something which ultimately nobody will enjoy? No, not in my opinion.
At its current price (£5.35 on PSVR yet £1.99 on the iOS store), you’re getting a ~forty-minute short-film with replayability and a changing narrative based on what you’re looking at – which is a great mechanic. Sure, I have a few issues with the quality and the lack of trophies (which I still don’t understand), but I enjoyed the overall experience and the seamless transition to the various branches was a cool thing to see take place without even realising it was happening.
In terms of the sensitive nature of the game – the events following the death of a child – this type of narrative may not be for everyone. The game doesn’t focus on the death, and there are no graphic imagery or symbolism, but it does show the effect of grief at various stages within the family members he left behind. As such, if you’ve recently gone through a loss then you may connect or relate to the events being played out more than someone who hasn’t gone through such a tragedy – viewer discretion is advised.
Official Trailer:
Final Conclusion:
The concept of Afterlife is very interesting, combining FMV with hands-free choices whilst within VR. I’d say the producers did a great job of seamlessly transitioning you down the various pathways as I didn’t even realise there were branches until the timeline popped up. However, the lack of trophies for the ‘gamers’ and low-quality video file reduced my overall enjoyment of this experimental experience, despite actually enjoying the story and being immersed at all times. If you’re looking for something new to experience in VR, and have an hour to spare, I feel the narrative is worth the asking price.
The concept of Afterlife is very interesting, combining FMV with hands-free choices whilst within VR. I’d say the producers did a great job of seamlessly transitioning you down the various pathways as I didn’t even realise there were branches until the timeline popped up. However, the lack of trophies for the ‘gamers’ and low-quality video file reduced my overall enjoyment of this experimental experience, despite actually enjoying the story and being immersed at all times. If you’re looking for something new to experience in VR, and have an hour to spare, I feel the narrative is worth the asking price.
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