It’s 1983. You find yourself in an arcade in the ’burbs. Among the future classics—Galaga, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong—you find something different: Sega’s Astron Belt or Cinematronics’ Dragon’s Lair, games that eschewed pixelated sprites for video and vivid animation. Full Motion Video games were movies you could play—to a point: the technical execution left something to be desired. Games were unreliable, systems crashed, and FMV all but disappeared. But FMV is making a comeback as creators breathe new life into this 35-year-old form. The 2017 edition of Gamescape celebrates some of the best new FMV work and looks back on titles both famous and infamous from the golden age of the arcade. GameScape is co-curated by Clara Fernandez-Vara, of the NYU Game Center.

Featuring:

Her Story (Sam Barlow, UK, 2015)
Mind Trapped (Claire Carre, USA, 2017)
Loop Record (Nicolai Troshinsky, Spain, 2017)
PRY (Tender Claws, 2015)
Cibele (Nina Freeman, 2016)
Last Night (Dejobaan Games, 2018)

Convergence is free to the public and will take place Friday, September 29, from 3-6pm, and Saturday and Sunday, September 30 and October 1, from 12-6pm in the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (144 W 65th St.). See more information here.