It is a genre that has morphed through many permutations through the decades, and if one were to cover it, surely they’d need a pretty lengthy documentary – maybe even one that’s four-and-a-half hours long? Just like this one, in fact!
Having just come off the back of reviewing Bitmaps Books ‘I’m Too Young to Die: The Ultimate Guide to First-Person Shooters’ – which is the perfect companion piece to this documentary – I had FPS on the mind - especially the best of them all, the one that everyone can’t stop talking about, the ‘monolith’ of the genre that captures the hearts of billions worldwide...Blood*.
I jest, of course – whenever I approach factual, information-based coverage on any topic, I always look forward to finding out more about titles that passed me by, or – as is the case here – games like Marathon, and Colony, that had major unsung – at the time, at least – impact on the future developers and movers and shakers in the industry.
The documentary moves along chronologically, give or take a few moments when some elasticity is employed in this regard for the sake of flow and narrative. The introduction is absolutely fantastic, showing a POV (natch) shot of a character making their way through a lengthy corridor split up by various action-packed scenes from FPS titles through the years, culminating in an enormous set piece that completes captures the thrills that gamers have been enjoying from the FPS genre for so long.
From this point on, the format is mostly - an introduction to the subject of the next chapter (be it a company, specific game, or technological advancement etc.), intercutting footage from that specific time – interspersed with still images and behind-the-scenes footage – with talking head segments from luminaries of the subject.
It’s a format that is quite driving, and the overall pace means that although this is a lengthy doc, the passion and knowledge that comes from the people interviewed, combined with the pace of editing, gives a sense of momentum to the movie. It’s a very different beast to a documentary I covered a few years ago that just moved from one talking head to the next, each effectively repeating the same narrative structure over and over – in the wrong hands, the documentary format can be a grind – that is not the case here!
I also feel the burning need to point out that, although the people interviewed in the film come across as jovial, informative and witty, I feel that the real hero of the film is the editor, as they’ve managed to whittle down what must have been hundreds of hours of footage in a way that not only captures the essence of the personalities of the interviewees but doesn’t feel repetitious or over-indulgent.
I’m also a big fan of the overall upbeat tone, there are some moments where you can almost hear voices start to crack as they discuss certain moments of their careers, or tough projects and memories – but the next sequence will lift the vibe, it again drives home the skills of the crew involved, as I dislike being emotionally manipulated in these circumstances. It never forgets that it is a documentary and not a feature film, all of the emotions you feel come from your personal relationship with the topics being discussed, and not through any contortions of them.
The richness and depth covered here is laudable, and to be honest, the only blip that I personally had seemed to be volume-related, as some moments on the audio side of things seemed to be inconsistent. It wasn’t often, but there seemed to be slight volume spikes occasionally – although this is a WIP and not representative of the final cut. Taking into account the professionalism and level of competence displayed throughout all other elements of the documentary, I’m sure that this minor niggle will be ironed out before release.
Aside from the fact that at least three hours should have been dedicated to Blood alone, and there are some slight volume wobbles in certain parts, this is a heck of a documentary that – whilst being rich in terms of talking heads – imparts a wealth of information about the FPS genre from those who have helped shape it the most.
I also loved the bright and positive tone that comes from people discussing the thing they love, it’s a line of positivity that runs throughout the audio design, screen captures, interviews and editing.
SUMMARY
This truly feels like the definitive FPS documentary and the team really has managed to pull together the absolute cream of the industry for involvement- great stuff.
*and not the sequel, never the sequel
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