GT RETROSPECTIVES

Fascinated by "Making Of" featurettes, add videogame fanship, and i'm drawn to the trailers, interviews, and retrospectives that GameTrailers frequently updates. For my own viewing pleasure, i've brought some of their complete retrospective series to DVD.

In doing so, i've had to convert their video into legitimate DVD standards and create a menu. No video content is altered; all GTtv opening and closing credits are included. For the menus, i've mimicked the visual style of the games themselves, by typesetting, colours, layout, and incorporating screenshots and/or game artwork.

Menus are created in Adobe Photoshop as layers with Adobe Encore-ready prefixes. Video is primed with NCH Prism and VirtualDub. All these assets are assembled into Adobe Encore, then given timelines navigation. The result is output to ISO file for burning to DVD.

Then all is ready for watching on a big screen from a comfy position on the couch.

Final Fantasy Retrospective

This 13-part GameTrailers retrospective presents a lot of reflection on the differences of this famous role-playing game series as it spanned consoles and countries. Final Fantasy has massively grown to an industry-leading videogame franchise by Square Enix (formerly just Square).

The main menu was given only two options: Play All or Play Chapter, which led to a submenu. A series of screenshots from various core and spinoff Final Fantasy games scrolls along the top of the screen. The "Final Fantasy" title has a subtly animated glow as well. These elements were prepared in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe AfterEffects.

Each episode is shown on the chapter submenu in classic Final Fantasy roman numeric format. At this time, Final Fantasy XII [Square Enix, 2007, PS2] was the latest game. The numerals here did not necessarily equate to the games. However, upon moving the menu highlight to a chapter, a shorthand list of the episode's contents is made visible. Play All remains an option on the chapter/episode submenu.

Completed October 2007.

Legend Of Zelda Retrospective

There is only this menu to this GTtv retrospective for The Legend Of Zelda series. Keeping to a restrictive palette, i've altered a screen capture of the recurring villain Gannon [screenshot source: "The Adventure Of Link", Nintendo, 1987, NES].

The hearts mimic the life meter in the games. Each heart in this menu represents a chapter/episode to the retrospective. Choosing the first will automatically flow on to play the entire DVD.

Completed October 2007.