A Piece of the Pie

I’ve recently been giving thought to an old television series from the 1990s, that I used to watch when I came home from school. It was a 3D computer generated animation series from Canada (/UK) called 'Reboot', and took place in a computer world similar in concept to 'Tron'. The reason it had sprung to mind is because I occasionally check to see if the series has been released on DVD, and despite the late one-off specials it has yet to make its way here in the UK.

I’m eager to revisit the series as I found numerous aspects of it quite inspired, and I have sometimes found myself wondering if it has had an influence on various kinds of media released since which bare some striking similarities. It is just one of these similarities which led me to this post, and of course connects to the video game industry.

It is, as you’ll have already guessed from the image above, based on the main location of 'Reboot'. It is a circular city called "Mainframe" (left image) and it is split into numerous regional sectors, at its center sits the main hub of the city where all of the dignitaries reside. It bares a strong similarity to "Midgar", a location that features in the subsequently released Japanese video game 'Final Fantasy VII', in which the (also circular) city is likewise split into numerous sectors and named accordingly.

This made me wonder if 'Reboot' had been a source of inspiration for 'Final Fantasy VII', it is just one of a few potential similarities that could suggest so. Another such comparable instance based on those cities is a major event that effects them both. Early in the 'Reboot' storyline there is a device known as the "Gateway Command", this is hijacked by the antagonist of the show who subsequently causes it to explode. This results in part of the city being completely destroyed.

Similarly, early in the 'Final Fantasy VII' storyline, the antagonists hijack a device which causes a large stone pillar to explode. This pillar holds up a roof above the Sector 7 slums and results in the complete destruction of that region.

As with anything these could simply be coincidentally similar, but if it turned out that this series was in fact an inspiration for the project then it certainly would say a lot about the legacy of 'Reboot'. Especially when you consider the success and sheer number of fans that 'Final Fantasy VII' commands.

Snare

Although this game is considered one of the weaker titles by Thalamus, something always made it feel a bit grand to me. I always got a certain feeling from the game that made it seem almost fearful, perhaps the futuristic setting mixed with my own imagination as a child gave it a certain finality.

Martin Walker’s music for the game certainly inspired these notions, and the sweeping tones gave it a certain eerie mood. The loading screen music which led into the game’s main title was, I think, for me even more inspirational than the game itself.

The game (made by Rob Stevens) was a sort of derivative of the light cycle bike game from the movie 'Tron', whereby you would guide a spaceship through various levels whilst avoiding certain traps and obstacles.

In each level there would also be a number of rival spaceships whose aim it was to take you out, and with the ability to leave a solid wall trail behind you it was a matter of tactics to try and use your walls to eliminate the enemies before they used theirs on you.

Without Walker’s soundscape the vision of the game would have been a lot less impressive to imagine, but what was delivered was definately of its age. If this had been a more recent release without the tones of the C64 sound set, I don’t think it would have been as emotive. It stands as a great example of what was achieveable with the limited sounds that were at a music programmer’s disposal.