Anyone have this vhs of the making of the Sega Video Game? I've looked on youtube to no avail.
I have this thing. It's a short 5 min video I think I got with the Batman Forever vhs. It shows some behind the scenes greenscreen moments of them recording the stunt men for the game characters intercut with footage from the movie, game and interviews with the creators.
Might be an interesting gem to find and share. I don't think anybody anywhere has it and my vhs machine is long gone so even I can't watch the thing. Still have the tape though. Anyone else seen it?
I've only seen the commercial. Would love to watch that though.
There are a lot of gems on our old video tapes. Old commercials, interviews, etc. I've been meaning to start transferring a lot of mine to digital so that I can share it with others.
This sounds very interesting, I love documenting the making of old games, even the not very good ones. One thing about Batman Forever is that it's obviously a game that its developers worked hard to make. It's just that what the designers tried to do didn't quite work out. Same goes for the fairly similar in concept Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero.
I wish I knew how to transfer the tape onto the net cos I have it, I just don't have a clue how to upload stuff.
Many years ago I used to record gameplay footage by connecting the console's RF cable on the VCR in place of the antenna's cable. Getting the game's signal through the VCR made possible to record the console on tape. Can't something similar be done by connecting a VCR (I assume you still have a fully functional machine) with a DVD writer? Not to mention, a quick google revealed that are VHS/DVD-r combo machines, and quite inexpensive too. If someone has a collection of personal VHS tapes (e.g. birthdays etc) that wants to back up on digital video formats, it's a pretty fair investment.
See what you can do. I'd really like to see this. It was only available in a woolworth's box set. If worse comes to worse you could mail me a vhs copy and I could transfer it for you. I'm sure there are many of us in the fan base who would like to see this.
(https://www.batman-online.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.us%2Fa%2Fimg853%2F9275%2Fkgrhqfhjc8evvwlrybqyrcm.jpg&hash=ee08cec6757d76a6ff6c205a51b86d7275c48854)
I also recorded games to my video. Also did stop go animations with my C64 :-)
Recording from VHS can be tricky as there may be Macrovision protection.
I have a converter for NTSC/PAL that also removes the protection. It funny that VHS is harder to copy than DVD nowadays!
Quote from: Dhennick99 on Tue, 25 Sep 2012, 04:39
See what you can do. I'd really like to see this. It was only available in a woolworth's box set. If worse comes to worse you could mail me a vhs copy and I could transfer it for you. I'm sure there are many of us in the fan base who would like to see this.
(https://www.batman-online.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.us%2Fa%2Fimg853%2F9275%2Fkgrhqfhjc8evvwlrybqyrcm.jpg&hash=ee08cec6757d76a6ff6c205a51b86d7275c48854)
There it is, that's the one! You can see how short it is from the tape inside lol But it's just a little gem I enjoyed watching as a kid.
And thanks for igniting my memory of where I perhaps got the thing. I remember I got Forever that Christmas so this must have been that Woolworths special you mentioned.
On the subject of mysterious/lost Batman VHS does anybody also remember a tape called Batmania From Comics to Screen? This came out around the release of the first Batman and is pretty amateurish in it's making. But it's a fun doc covering the comics, Adam West and the Burton movie. It has the comic Batman and Adam West/Burt Ward on the cover. In 2004 it was released on an equally shoddy dvd but it was slightly different to the version I had on VHS through the 90's. I think another was made for Batman Returns but I've never seen that one.
Quote from: Paul (ral) on Tue, 25 Sep 2012, 13:13
I also recorded games to my video. Also did stop go animations with my C64 :-)
Recording from VHS can be tricky as there may be Macrovision protection.
I have a converter for NTSC/PAL that also removes the protection. It funny that VHS is harder to copy than DVD nowadays!
I bet the first animation was Bat-related!
I too have this tape. The documentary is extremely short but very fun. Some clips from the film combined with the game, interviews with the designers (next to the Kilmer Batmobile at some game convention type place) and fast exciting editing with rocking music.
I must say while Batman Forever was always a pain to play I absolutely loved it. I thought it's ideas were great and ahead of their time. I actually think The Adventures of Batman and Robin (based on the animated series) is the true worst Batman game I personally have ever played. It made Batman Forever a relaxing break on the shore of Claw Island lol To have actual stuntmen as the playable characters was such a brilliant notion and very exciting for me as a child and I can't for the life of me since understand why somebody wouldn't like to re-attempt that idea now. And yes I know they stole from Mortal Kombat but I never knew that then and wouldn't care. It was the joy of seeing a real Batman in a video game that blew my imagination. A wonderful idea to at least try. On the video you can see the stuntmen in costume in front of a green screen performing kicks and jumps on a springboard.
I also loved the level where you have to fight your way through the destroyed Wayne Manor and then into the Batcave. I'm sure that was a first in Batman gaming. I always hated the 2nd Bank of Gotham level because I kept getting whacked off the vault as the helicopter hauled it away. Took me a long time to beat that stage. At one point on the game documentary a designer stated "you not only need fighting skills for this game you need fighting smarts". Sure do pal because it's a bloody headache to beat lol
I remember the trailer for the game also. Pretty excellent. It was a specially shot Gotham City locale with the proper Batsuits and actors dressed as the game characters. I'd so love to know who wrote that (sadly now) cheesy song that ended with the lyrics "the real game begins!" lol It deserves an award for incorporating that Riddler phrase. Man was that all very exciting when I was 7. Games should have specially shot trailers like that today.
Nice nostalgic thoughts, Cobblepot. I like that you defend the underdog (saying that Batman Forever: The Game is good and the critically acclaimed Adventures of Batman & Robin is bad almost sounds like saying the movie Batman & Robin is better than Batman Begins).
That said, I think Batman Forever: The Game is bad, but not boring. It's fascinatingly bad. It's not a half-a$$ed licence slapped together in a few weeks to make the deadline - it's obvious that a lot of money and effort were spent, and that Probe were proud of it; a feeling one always gets after they give it all working hard on something.
It's not the execution but the idea that was fundamentally wrong: MK controls with platform never had any hope of mixing well, and an action platformer that has complex and non-intuitive controls that require the player to study the manual (which was often missing in second hand games) is automatically a loser. Also, any way you look at it, digitized sprites looked ridiculous even in 1995 (unless the game had a mispelled Kombat in its title).
Just like with movies, however, there are games which are interesting in their badness (AVGN wouldn't be so popular otherwise). I also have fond memories of being a kid playing it. First Mega Drive, then SNES. I cursed a lot, but cursing while playing was always part of the fun.
QuoteTo have actual stuntmen as the playable characters was such a brilliant notion and very exciting for me as a child and I can't for the life of me since understand why somebody wouldn't like to re-attempt that idea now.
Actually, it has been done many times - look at any fighting game that tried to imitate MK (from Kasumi Ninja and Street Fighter The Movie to some Jackie Chan arcade games and the ridiculous, and never released, Tattoo Assassins), or other genres that used digitized actors for the main sprite. This was one of the trends of the 90s.
Quote from: SilentEnigma on Fri, 30 Aug 2013, 23:27
Nice nostalgic thoughts, Cobblepot. I like that you defend the underdog (saying that Batman Forever: The Game is good and the critically acclaimed Adventures of Batman & Robin is bad almost sounds like saying the movie Batman & Robin is better than Batman Begins).
That said, I think Batman Forever: The Game is bad, but not boring. It's fascinatingly bad. It's not a half-a$$ed licence slapped together in a few weeks to make the deadline - it's obvious that a lot of money and effort were spent, and that Probe were proud of it; a feeling one always gets after they give it all working hard on something.
It's not the execution but the idea that was fundamentally wrong: MK controls with platform never had any hope of mixing well, and an action platformer that has complex and non-intuitive controls that require the player to study the manual (which was often missing in second hand games) is automatically a loser. Also, any way you look at it, digitized sprites looked ridiculous even in 1995 (unless the game had a mispelled Kombat in its title).
Just like with movies, however, there are games which are interesting in their badness (AVGN wouldn't be so popular otherwise). I also have fond memories of being a kid playing it. First Mega Drive, then SNES. I cursed a lot, but cursing while playing was always part of the fun.
QuoteTo have actual stuntmen as the playable characters was such a brilliant notion and very exciting for me as a child and I can't for the life of me since understand why somebody wouldn't like to re-attempt that idea now.
Actually, it has been done many times - look at any fighting game that tried to imitate MK (from Kasumi Ninja and Street Fighter The Movie to some Jackie Chan arcade games and the ridiculous, and never released, Tattoo Assassins), or other genres that used digitized actors for the main sprite. This was one of the trends of the 90s.
What I meant was I'd like to see that method used again someday in a new Batman game. Digitize a real stuntman/actor in an actual batsuit but with the technology of today. Surely it's far better to do now. Not sure how much it would cost but it has to be cheaper than animating characters. It'd be like a Batman movie you can control in game form. Someday it'll happen.
The controls were a problem. I could never use any of the special gadgets on offer because of having to remember the complicated procedures for each one. What I did (much to the horror of various game designers I'm sure, even bad ones in the case of Batman Forever) is I merely bashed out every button combination I could think of and occasionally a special weapon would miraculously appear for me. I eventually managed to use Batarangs and the Bat Bola's and even the cape shield. I often used the electric pellet weapon to stun thugs and this is in fact how I finally beat the dreaded game. Just stunning every foe I could so I didn't need to fight two or three at the same time.
Adventures of Batman and Robin was critically acclaimed? You must be joking. Had I been much older at the time and read reviews and such I probably would have asked those reviewers what they were smoking lol I think a love for the animated series is what pushed that one through. It's impressive graphics kinda blinded them to the truth of it all. I could never get past the Two-Face level with the stolen Zeppelin. There's a section where your gliding over Gotham City and about a million helicopters and rockets come at you from every conceivable angle. I kept losing my Batarang power ups with their increased firepower so I was always down to the weakest (default) weapon, which when all is said and done was useless against opponents. I don't think there was even a level select. Each time I played that game I could never relax and enjoy it because hundreds of foes would be descending on you from all sides. It's also more of a shooter game really than a hand to hand combat Batman game.
In this age there is a lot of games being produced on past franchises such as Ghostbusters, Aliens and Back to the Future. I'd especially love a game produced for the Adam West show. Can you imagine? When your punching some thugs and those pop art word balloons and their crazy sayings blaze across the screen? It'd be a riot.
I basically enjoyed the game, although that incident on Claw Island with the six different switches was the most maddening segment of a game I've ever played outside of Japanese Super Mario Brothers 2 (a.k.a. the Lost Levels).
I recorded the game as well and made a mini movie out of it. I turned off the games music and added Elfman and Goldenthal to it as well. It's embarrassing to watch because of how badly I play, but I did manage to make it all the way through.
Quote from: Cobblepot4Mayor on Sat, 31 Aug 2013, 15:57
What I meant was I'd like to see that method used again someday in a new Batman game. Digitize a real stuntman/actor in an actual batsuit but with the technology of today. Surely it's far better to do now. Not sure how much it would cost but it has to be cheaper than animating characters. It'd be like a Batman movie you can control in game form. Someday it'll happen.
The gaming industry would never fall back on digitized raster graphics.
Quote from: Cobblepot4Mayor on Sat, 31 Aug 2013, 15:57
The controls were a problem. I could never use any of the special gadgets on offer because of having to remember the complicated procedures for each one. What I did (much to the horror of various game designers I'm sure, even bad ones in the case of Batman Forever) is I merely bashed out every button combination I could think of and occasionally a special weapon would miraculously appear for me. I eventually managed to use Batarangs and the Bat Bola's and even the cape shield. I often used the electric pellet weapon to stun thugs and this is in fact how I finally beat the dreaded game. Just stunning every foe I could so I didn't need to fight two or three at the same time.
#@$£∞%$#¥! (agreed)
Quote from: Cobblepot4Mayor on Sat, 31 Aug 2013, 15:57
Adventures of Batman and Robin was critically acclaimed? You must be joking. Had I been much older at the time and read reviews and such I probably would have asked those reviewers what they were smoking lol I think a love for the animated series is what pushed that one through. It's impressive graphics kinda blinded them to the truth of it all. I could never get past the Two-Face level with the stolen Zeppelin. There's a section where your gliding over Gotham City and about a million helicopters and rockets come at you from every conceivable angle. I kept losing my Batarang power ups with their increased firepower so I was always down to the weakest (default) weapon, which when all is said and done was useless against opponents. I don't think there was even a level select. Each time I played that game I could never relax and enjoy it because hundreds of foes would be descending on you from all sides. It's also more of a shooter game really than a hand to hand combat Batman game.
Yeah, it received pretty good reviews for the graphics and the frenetic Contra-like action. Yes, it's VERY challenging, I suffered through it back in the day and I never finished it without resorting to cheats. The challenge, however, was part of the charm for the hardcore shooter fans that enjoyed it. IMO the game is still worth it for the work done with the visuals - a true 16-bit masterpiece considering the Mega Drive's graphical limitations compared to SNES. You can still play it either using the level skip code (still remember it, pause and input B,A,D,B,A,D,L,U,C) or some game genie for infinite health and max weapons.
Quote from: Cobblepot4Mayor on Sat, 31 Aug 2013, 15:57
In this age there is a lot of games being produced on past franchises such as Ghostbusters, Aliens and Back to the Future. I'd especially love a game produced for the Adam West show. Can you imagine? When your punching some thugs and those pop art word balloons and their crazy sayings blaze across the screen? It'd be a riot.
The 60s show is made for a Final Fight styled brawler. Three players, including Batgirl. Many stages and boss fights. I could see this made by the likes of WayForward (who made several retro remakes or retro throwbacks including but not limited to A Boy and His Blob, Contra 4, Batman: Brave and the Bold, Thor, Ducktales). I'd rather see something based on the 80-90s movies or cartoons though!
Quote from: gordonblu on Wed, 4 Sep 2013, 15:04
I basically enjoyed the game, although that incident on Claw Island with the six different switches was the most maddening segment of a game I've ever played outside of Japanese Super Mario Brothers 2 (a.k.a. the Lost Levels).
#@$£∞$@#%$#¥! (agreed)
Quote from: gordonblu on Wed, 4 Sep 2013, 15:04
I recorded the game as well and made a mini movie out of it. I turned off the games music and added Elfman and Goldenthal to it as well. It's embarrassing to watch because of how badly I play, but I did manage to make it all the way through.
In movies they don't talk about it, they show it! (where is the video link??)
Quote from: SilentEnigma on Thu, 5 Sep 2013, 00:09
In movies they don't talk about it, they show it! (where is the video link??)
I made the mini movie a LONG time ago, before we had internet and would have to go find the VHS I put it on! There's only 40 different tapes I could try! ;)
Quote from: gordonblu on Mon, 9 Sep 2013, 18:03
I made the mini movie a LONG time ago, before we had internet and would have to go find the VHS I put it on! There's only 40 different tapes I could try! ;)
Videotape? I used to record games on VHS too, they're still somewhere but videotapes weren't known for their durability. Once I even connected two VCRs and attempted to re-edit a playthrough of Batman Returns for SNES, inserting scenes from the movie between the levels as FMV "cutscenes". Lots of FF/REW and switching tapes, lol. Happy, carefree times. :P
I used to record the endings of video games I beat back in the NES days.
Then in '91 we got a SNES on the first day it came out and taped previews of games we had. We lent that tape out anyone who was thinking about getting a new system.
Do we have thread for video games here?
Someone should start one