Beginning Jan. 22, the Global Television studios in Toronto will be hosting a shoot for s.c.a.r., not a plastic surgery expose or an auto race, but the live-action portion of a new video game from Oakville, Ont.-based Gray Matter.

Canada’s largest independent video games developer, Gray Matter, and global software publishing juggernaut Microsoft have teamed up to produce the new interactive video game for Microsoft’s Windows 95.

s.c.a.r. (the game’s working title) combines live action and digital animation in an interactive action/strategy game, which, according to Gray Matter head Chris Gray, is expected to be the flagship game for Windows next year.

The project, which has a budget of $1.5 million, is financed entirely by Microsoft, but the game concept and all design, creative work and digital post-production are the responsibility of Gray’s thriving company.

The live-action sequences used in the game will be shot on video over five days at the Global studios. Gray Matter will use actra talent in the production, and Gray says negotiations are still underway with the William Morris agency to sign a ‘u.s. star.’ The preferred choice is Canadian-born Phil Hartman.

s.c.a.r. (self-contained armored response) is described as an action-simulation set in a prison colony of the future; like a televised gladiatorial contest with condemned prisoners going into battle.

‘The video portion will look for all intents and purposes like a sports broadcast of the future,’ says Gray. ‘It really just helps support the game, telling you what’s going on and providing segues to new game areas.’

Executive producer Jonathan Freedman says five sets will be constructed, including an interpretation of a futuristic broadcast studio, and the sets will be used for about 98% of the production, with minimal use of blue-screen shots. Global director Bill Elliott will direct the shoot and production designer is Nick White.

Gray Matter used Windows-based development systems on off-the-shelf pc’s to create the game, which is written in c language and will take a development team of nine full-time producers about 18 months to complete.

The game itself will use 3D-texture matte worlds and full-motion digital video. About 95% Gray Matter proprietary software will be employed in its creation. Developers will also use Silicon Graphics workstations and Alias and Softimage software to create some of the graphics for the video and the game, which share some of the same images.

Gray says combining live-action production with digital game development was rife with logistical challenges, and while a high-quality, live-action production is an important component, game playability remains the primary concern.

‘It starts out as a game concept, so the video does not drive the game, it’s the other way around,’ says Gray. ‘Everything we’re shooting we’re shooting with a view of how it will work in the game. The game is most important to us because even if the live action is fantastic, if it’s not playable people won’t buy it.’

The game is network compatible and can be played by up to 16 people. An Internet version may also be in the works. Gray says the game, scheduled for release in fall ’96, is expected to make considerable noise in the video game market, currently worth about $13 billion annually in North America, a figure which is expected to double by 2000.