View-Master Interactive Vision

Main Availability

Credits

Descriptions by
mr3urious

Video captures courtesy of
GCIntVis

Background

The Interactive Vision was an interactive VHS console game system introduced in 1988 by View-Master Ideal Group, Inc., and was advertised as "the Two-Way Television System that makes you a part of the show!" It was one of a few consoles during the era to use VHS tapes as the game medium (others including Worlds of Wonder's Action Max and Takara's Video Challenger). The titles included four Sesame Street games and two games featuring Muppet characters, as well as a Disney game, Disney's Cartoon Arcade. The system came with a simple controller which included a joystick and three colorful buttons. As the video plays, the characters address the player directly, and ask the player to make a choice by pressing one of the buttons. The video has a number of different soundtracks recorded, and the player's choices toggle back and forth between the soundtracks, giving the impression that the player has changed the course of the story.

Logo (1988)

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Visuals: On a beige/black gradient background, there are three circles on the right arranged horizontally (representing the Interactive Vision's joystick buttons), colored blue, yellow, and red. A hand reaches up from the bottom left of the screen and presses the blue button, causing it to flash. The circles then fade away to the right, in which a hand pops up from the top and presses the red button, causing it to flash. The words "INTERACTIVE" in a shiny blue font fly up from the bottom of the screen to the center as this occurs, shortly followed by "VISION" in a futuristic reddish font with a blue line coming out from the right of the V. "INTERACTIVE" then arranges itself below the line as a shiny "View-Master" in its usual font zooms out from an angle toward the line. As this happens, several colored buttons fly onto the screen from the right, with one red one sticking to the top right, one yellow one sticking to the top left, and one blue one sticking to the bottom. The same hand then appears from the bottom and pushes the blue button, causing it to flash and disappear in a similar manner to a TV being shut off.

Technique: CGI and live-action.

Audio: A lively synthesized tune with synth flutes, along with "ding" sounds when the buttons are pressed and whooshing sounds when the logos come flying in.

Availability: Seen on the seven Interactive Vision tapes released from the time.