Night Trap

n/a

Mega-CD Mega-CD 32X
Night Trap
System(s): Sega Mega-CD, Sega Mega-CD 32X
Publisher: Sega Digital Pictures (US, re-release) Digital Pictures
Developer: Digital Pictures
Distributor: Acclaim Distribution (US, re-release) Acclaim Distribution
Original system(s): Hasbro Control-Vision
Genre: Adventure
Number of players: 1
Official in-game languages: English 日本語 Français English
Release Date RRP Code JP 1993-11-19 ¥8,8008,800 G-6025 US 1992-11 $49.9949.99 4903 US (MA-17) 1993-08 4903 US (Rerelease) 1995-01 T-162105 EU 1993 4903 FR 1993 4903-09 PT 199x 15.990$15.990 UK 1993-06 £49.9949.99 4903 BR 1993-10 063000 US 1995-01 $? T-16202F EU 1995-07 £? T-16202F-50 AU 199x $? ?
Non-Sega versions 3DO IBM PC Macintosh
ESRB VRC BBFC OFLC

Night Trap (ナイトトラップ) is a Sega Mega-CD full-motion video interactive film developed by Digital Pictures and published by Sega. A port of the titular unreleased Hasbro Control-Vision interactive film Night Trap, it was first released in the United States in November 1992 as a launch title for the Sega CD, and later received a port to the Sega Mega-CD 32X in January 1995.

Most notable for the moral panic which arose from ignorance over the game's content, and the subsequent 1993 congressional hearings on video games which threatened federal regulation of the game industry, Night Trap is one of the most controversial games in history, and along with Mortal Kombat is largely responsible for the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board.

Gameplay

The player takes the role of an agent ("control") who is tasked by Lt. Simms of SCAT (short for either "Sega Control Attack Team" or "Special Control Attack Team") to watch over four teenage girls (Lisa, Ashley, Cindy, and Megan), one boy (Danny), and an undercover agent (Kelli (Keli Medd in the manual)) visiting a house which is infested with vampiric creatures known as "Augers". The house is owned by a married vampire couple consisting of Victor and Sheila Martin, and its residents include their two children, Jeff and Sarah, and a cousin, Tony.

The player can see what goes on around the house through different cameras that are placed in eight locations: the entryway, living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, driveway, and two hallways. The player can use the D-pad to select an area and press on the selected area to view it. The cameras show what happens in these areas via full motion videos and the times these videos play follow a rigid script. There is also a map showing how the rooms are connected, a timer showing how much time has passed in-game, a counter showing how many Augers can be captured ("Possible") and a counter showing how many Augers have been captured ("Captured"). The player can access the map by pressing  START .

The player can capture the Augers and any other enemy by watching the room the enemy is in, waiting for the enemy to come in range of one of the room's traps (indicated by a sensor bar), and pressing to activate the trap. The traps are protected with an access code that is always set to blue at the beginning of the game. The code will change to a random color (blue, red, green, orange, purple, or yellow) at four different points during a game, and the player must listen in on certain conversations to learn what the code has been changed to. The player can change their code to match what the code has been changed to by pressing .

There are 95 Augers in total to capture; the player must capture at least 60 to be able to reach the end of the game. To get a perfect ending, the player must capture all 95 Augers, all of the Martins, and Tony. Getting disconnected from SCAT or losing control of the cameras and traps to the Martins will result in a game over. SCAT will disconnect the player if any of the following happens:

1. The timer reaches 08:47 and the "captured" counter has a number less than 10.
2. An Auger going after Lisa is not trapped in time.
3. The timer reaches 13:42 and the "captured" counter has a number less than 29.
4. An Auger going after Ashley is not trapped in time.
5. An Auger going after Megan is not trapped in time.
6. The player activates a trap resulting in Megan's death.
7. The timer reaches 20:08 and the "captured" counter has a number less than 60.

The Martins will regain control of the cameras and traps if any of the following happens:

1. Tony is not trapped before he can get to Kelli and take her into the basement.
2. Jeff stops Cindy from being hounded by Augers before the player can trap a specific Auger and bites Cindy.

Five different endings can be reached if at least 60 Augers are captured, four of the girls (Lisa, Ashley, Cindy, and Megan) are saved from Augers, and Kelli is saved from Tony:

1. Bad ending: Kelli is bitten by Sarah. This ending will play out if the player fails to capture Sarah in time.
2. Bad ending: Kelli is bitten by Victor. This ending will play out if the player successfully captures Sarah, but fails to capture Victor in time.
3. Bad ending: Kelli is bitten by Shelia. This ending will play out if the player successfully captures Sarah, but fails to capture Shelia in time.
4. "Very Good" ending: Kelli thanks the player for saving her and says the player was "very good" since the player saved her friends but only captured "most" of the Augers. She then says that with "a little practice" the player can be "perfect". An Auger will rise from behind her as she exits the scene. This ending will play out if the player successfully captures Sarah, Victor, and Shelia, but only captures 60-94 Augers.
5. Perfect ending: Kelli says that the player was "perfect" and thanks the player. Kelli walks near a trap as she exits the scene. This ending will play out if the player successfully captures all 95 Augers and captures Sarah, Victor, and Shelia.

Despite the game ending after 25 minutes and 40 seconds, it contains more than 90 minutes of footage exists across the two CD-ROMs.

History

Development

Night Trap was initially produced for the Control-Vision (codenamed NEMO), an unreleased console by Hasbro which relied on VHS tapes instead of ROM cartridges. A prototype game titled Scene of the Crime was produced to demonstrate the surveillance camera gameplay that would later be a core part of Night Trap. Hasbro abandoned the console fearing its high retail price, and sold the rights to the game to Digital Pictures, which set about producing a Mega-CD version. Despite the sale, Hasbro still owned the Night Trap trademark. The footage was originally recorded during a three-week period in 1987 in Culver City, California. The game reportedly cost $1.5 million to produce.

When development of Night Trap moved to the Mega-CD, Digital Pictures shot an introduction scene and five game over scenes that referenced Sega and the controller used with the Mega-CD. These sequences would only be used with the Night Trap versions that were published by Sega.

As with Sewer Shark and later Prize Fighter, Night Trap uses a system in which four video streams are streamed off a disc at any one time, allowing for transitions between choices without the need for intrusive disc access times. This is achieved through a proprietary video codec developed by Digital Pictures, although a side effect is noticeably low resolution footage (in addition to the already present colour loss).

Footage of Tom Zito demonstrating early Scene of the Crime footage to Hasbro executives in December 1986 was included as a hidden bonus in the Mega-CD version of the game.

Release

1993 congressional hearings on video games

Nintendo's Howard Lincoln uses Night Trap as an example of a violent video game.

A horror-camp B-movie with interactive elements, ignorance over Night Trap's actual content fueled an increasing American moral panic over violence in games played by children, and the game's subsequent "controversy" has been identified as the primary reason for the infamous 1993 congressional hearings on video games. While the hearings have been seen from a modern perspective as largely baseless (with the notable majority of attending congresspeople being significantly misinformed or willfully ignorant of the the game itself), there was one objective point on which both congresspeople and game industry representatives largely agreed: Night Trap was originally sold without an age rating, something congress would use to threaten the games industry with federal regulation. Faced with this prospect, Sega, Nintendo, and other notable video game companies quickly banded together to establish the ESRB.

Night Trap' lacks any kind of graphic violence whatsoever, and was even produced specifically to mitigate any controversy; in particular, where a normal horror B-movie might have copious amounts of on-screen blood and gore, Night Trap instead features antagonists which slay their victims with a comically-large and abstractly-designed "screw machine". Likewise, in an apparent attempt to use the hearings as a means to fear-monger the game industry in general, stories of sexual content were outright invented, and a scene in which a character happens to be wearing a nightgown was cited as proof of the game's sexual debauchery; in reality, Night Trap contains no sexual content.

Further illustrating the disconnect between what congress believed the game contained and what it actually contained, they claimed Night Trap allowed players to kill and murder in-game characters in graphic detail. This point seems to have also been invented by the attending congresspeople, as Night Trap also does not contain any content even close to this in tone; at this point in the hearings, congress had begun describing the nearly child-friendly B-horror movie game with the same language and derision one would describe a snuff film.

In humorous contrast to the firestorm of moral controversy generated in the United States, England's British Board of Film Classification simply described it as "more like an old episode of Doctor Who" and rated it a standard 15.

Post congressional hearings

Night Trap was the first game to be given an MA-17 rating by Sega's Videogame Rating Council, although it is not thought any versions of the game were explicitly labeled as such. Some retailers chose to add their own notices for "violent" content, or indeed not stock the game at all due to the controversy.

Due to the problems Night Trap and violent video game content was causing in the US, Sega of America stopped distributing the version of the game they published in January 1994. A Mega-CD version published by Digital Pictures itself and distributed by Acclaim was released in 1995. It had an ESRB "M" rating, new cover art, and no Sega-related references in-game.

Press coverage of Night Trap is said to have led to a greater interest in the game than was otherwise expected, leading to increased sales and numerous other FMV games being released for the next few years.

To mitigate controversy in the UK, Sega voluntarily referred Night Trap to the British Board of Film Classification, becoming the first video game to be rated by the body. Despite expectations that it would be rating 18, it received a 15 certificate, with the BBFC's James Ferman claiming it was "more like an old episode of Doctor Who".

This did not stop complaints, such as mother of three Jacqueline Nicholls organising a protest after her 9, 11 and 12-year old children witnessed scenes of the game on a shopping trip. Her local MP Tony Marlow subsequently wrote to the Home Secretary and Trading Standards, although no further action is believed to have been taken.

The game was completely banned from sale in Germany.

Legacy

Despite the controversy caused by its existence, sales of Night Trap were strong enough for Digital Pictures to port the game to other systems, such as the 3DO, DOS, and Macintosh computers. It was also released as one of six Mega-CD 32X games.

Hasbro's Night Trap trademark expired on January 5, 2002.

A ground-up remake of Night Trap with restored film footage was developed by Screaming Villains, but it did not contain the SCAT scenes used in the Mega-CD version published by Sega. Screaming Villains has stated that their exclusion was due to Sega owning those specific scenes.

Production credits

Mega-CD version

North American version

• Cast:
  • Kelly: Dana Plato
  • Cindy: Tracy Matheson
  • Lisa: Debra Parks
  • Ashley: Alison Rhea
  • Megan: Christy Ford
  • Danny: Josh Goddard
  • Victor Martin: Jon R. Kamal
  • Sheila Martin: Molly Starr
  • Sarah Martin: Suzy Cote
  • Jeff Martin: Andras Jones
  • Tony: Giovanni Lemm
  • Eddie: William Bertrand
• SCAT Team:
  • Lt. Simms: J. Bill Jones
  • Collins: Arthur Burghardt
  • Swanson: Heidi Von Brecht
  • Jason: Deke Anderson
  • Mike: Blake Gibbons
  • Jim: Roy Eisenstein
• Line Producer: Donald Klune
• Associate Producer: Jerrum Schwarz
• Director of Photography: Don Burgess
• First Assistant Camera: Josh Bleibtreu
• Second Assistant Camera: Jackie Compton
• Gaffer: Tom Termeer
• Stunt Coordinator: Brad Bovee
• Stunts: Annie Allman, Christine Baur, Bobby Burns, Robin Cook, Danny Costa, Charles Croughwell, Patricia Gleason, Karisa Plehn, David Rowden, Michelle St. Germaine, Ben Scott, John Clay-Scott, Dane Selznick, Lincoln Simonds, Greg Smrz
• Best Boy: Philip Tuck
• Electricians: Dante Cordone, John Maninger
• Key Grip: Jamie Young
• Best Boy Grip: Tony Noko
• Grip: Jim Moriarty
• Script Supervisors: Nancy Friedman, Kathy Lubinsky
• Sound Mixer: Jim Tanenbaum
• Boom Operator: Ken Beauchene
• Costume Design: Dona Granata
• Costumer: Susan Kaufmann
• Makeup/Hair: Annie Mayo, Bob Smith
• Production Designer: Roger Collins
• Art Director: Mike Caldwell
• Standby Labor: Jesse Williams
• Property Master: Guy Bushman
• Transportation Captain: Dale Dodds
• Production Coordinator: Shiela Warner
• Production Assistants: Laura Namerow, Caylah Eddleblute
• Craft Services: David Cranney
• Still Photographer: Ed Fortson
• Production Accountants: Donna Williams, Anne Flautt Read
• Montage Editors: Warren Nelson, Steve Tomich, Rob Anderson
• Online Editor: Miodrag Certic
• Assistant Editors: Ron Atik, Jeff Belton, John Gula, Rusty Colby, Bart Giovanetti
• Paintbox/Harry Designer: Scott Williams
• Film to Tape Colorists: Jim Barret, Bob Campbell
• Assistant Colorists: Dan McNamara, Jeff Berman
• Rerecording Engineer: Larry Forkner
• Prelay: T.C.
• Music Composed by: Sunny BlueSkyes, Martin Lund
• Sound Effects: Warren Dewey

Additional Footage

• Director: Randy Field
• Line Producer: Jane Hernandez
• Writer: Barry Oringer
• Director of Photography: Rick Wise
• Assistant Camera: Rod Williams
• Set Design: Josh Koral
• Gaffer: Peter Thomas
• Key Grip: Jani Vournas
• Grips: Chris Thomas, Mark Kohr
• Sound: Bob Gravenor
• Editor: Bob Johns
• Makup/Wardrobe: Nancie Marsalis
• Makeup Artist: Nellie Muganda
• Video: George Rosenfeld
• Production Coordinator: Mandy Landa
• Production Assistants: Tori Asness, Tiffany Kinney
• Craft Services: Matt Cheese

For Sega of America, Inc.

• Product Manager: Jon Correll
• Testers: Jef Feltman, Mark Lindstrom, Eric Rawlins, Conan Tigard, Stephen Patterson, Gerald J. DeYoung

For Digital Pictures, Inc.

• Original Programming: Mark Voorsanger, David Crane
• Additional Programming: Kenneth Soohoo
• Tester: Neil Hickey
• Production Assistant: Dena Maheras
• V.P. Engineering: Mark Klein
• Chairman of the Board: Martin Erlichman
• Legal Counsel:
  • Business Affairs: Barry Tyerman, Armstrong & Hirsch
  • Intellectual Property: David Hayes, Fenwick & West
• Title Sequence and Credits: Joshua Solomon
• Director, Computer Graphics: Lode Coen

The events and characters depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons living, dead, or undead, is purely coincidental.

Ownership of this interactive U-Direct™ motion picture is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, and other applicable laws. Any unauthorized duplication, distribution, or exhibition of this interactive U-Direct™ motion picture could result in criminal prosecution as well as civil liability.

Night Trap™ is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc.

U-Direct is a trademark of Digital Pictures, Inc.

Portions © 1992 Sega

© 1992 Digital Pictures, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Source:

In-game credits

A Digital Pictures Production

A U-Direct® Interactive Film

• Executive Producer: Tom Zito
• Original Concept: Rob Fulop, James Riley
• Interactive Design: James Riley, Rob Fulop
• Screenplay: Terry McDonell
• Computer Programming: Gene Kusmiak
• Produced by: Ric LaCivita, Kevin Welsh
• Directed by: James Riley
• Lead Tester: David Popovich

Source:

US manual (re-release)

Japanese version

• Voices of Characters:
  • Kelly: Kikuko Inoue
  • Cindy: Makoto Tsumura
  • Lisa: Atsuko Tanaka
  • Ashley: Naoko Usagawa
  • Megan: Akemi Okamura
  • Danny: Akira Ishida
  • Victor Martin: Rokuroh Naya
  • Sheila Martin: Kazuko Yanaga
  • Sarah Martin: Fumiko Taneda
  • Jeff Martin: Mitsuaki Madono
  • Tony: Tomohiro Tsuboi
  • Eddie: Mitsuru Ogata
• SCAT Team:
  • Lt. Simms: Akio Ohtsuka
  • Collins: Yosuke Akimoto
  • Mike: Hideaki Ono
  • Swanson: Naomi Watanabe
  • Jason: Eiji Sekiguchi
• Voice Actors: Actresses Cooperation, EZAKI Production
• Sound Editing Staff
  • Script Translator: Eiko Kamiya
  • Editing Director: Koji Momose
  • Sound Mixer: Hideyasu Iizuka
  • ADR Supervisor: Takayuki Shibazaki
  • Asst. Sound Editor: Mamoru Togashi
  • DAT Operator: Shigeo Kaneshiro
  • Product Manager: Keisuke Yoshida
  • Product Coordinator: Hiroo Inui
• All Sound Recorded at: GLOVISION, Inc.

Source:

In-game credits

Mega-CD 32X version

• Cast:
  • Kelly: Dana Plato
  • Cindy: Tracy Matheson
  • Lisa: Debra Parks
  • Ashley: Alison Rhea
  • Megan: Christy Ford
  • Danny: Josh Goddard
  • Victor Martin: Jon R. Kamal
  • Sheila Martin: Molly Starr
  • Sarah Martin: Suzy Cote
  • Jeff Martin: Andras Jones
  • Tony: Giovanni Lemm
  • Eddie: William Bertrand
• SCAT Team:
  • Lt. Simms: J. Bill Jones
  • Collins: Arthur Burghardt
  • Swanson: Heidi Von Brecht
  • Jason: Deke Anderson
  • Mike: Blake Gibbons
  • Jim: Roy Eisenstein
• Line Producer: Donald Klune
• Associate Producer: Jerrum Schwarz
• First Assistant Camera: Josh Bleibtreu
• Second Assistant Camera: Jackie Compton
• Gaffer: Tom Termeer
• Stunt Coordinator: Brad Bovee
• Stunts: Annie Allman, Christine Baur, Bobby Burns, Robin Cook, Danny Costa, Charles Croughwell, Patricia Gleason, Karisa Plehn, David Rowden, Michelle St. Germaine, Ben Scott, John Clay-Scott, Dane Selznick, Lincoln Simonds, Greg Smrz
• Best Boy: Philip Tuck
• Electricians: Dante Cordone, John Maninger
• Key Grip: Jamie Young
• Best Boy Grip: Tony Noko
• Grip: Jim Moriarty
• Script Supervisors: Nancy Friedman, Kathy Lubinsky
• Sound Mixer: Jim Tanenbaum
• Boom Operator: Ken Beauchene
• Costume Design: Dona Granata
• Costumer: Susan Kaufmann
• Makeup/Hair: Annie Mayo, Bob Smith
• Production Designer: Roger Collins
• Art Director: Mike Caldwell
• Standby Labor: Jesse Williams
• Property Master: Guy Bushman
• Transportation Captain: Dale Dodds
• Production Coordinator: Shiela Warner
• Production Assistants: Laura Namerow, Caylah Eddleblute
• Craft Services: David Cranney
• Still Photographer: Ed Fortson
• Production Accountants: Donna Williams, Anne Flautt Read
• Montage Editors: Warren Nelson, Steve Tomich, Rob Anderson
• Online Editor: Miodrag Certic
• Assistant Editors: Ron Atik, Jeff Belton, John Gula, Rusty Colby, Bart Giovanetti
• Paintbox/Harry Designer: Scott Williams
• Film to Tape Colorists: Jim Barret, Bob Campbell
• Assistant Colorists: Dan McNamara, Jeff Berman
• Rerecording Engineer: Larry Forkner
• Prelay: T.C.
• Music Composed by: Sunny BlueSkyes, Martin Lund
• Sound Effects: Warren Dewey

For Digital Pictures, Inc.

• Associate Producer: Ryan Sinnock
• Original Programming: Mark Voorsanger, David Crane
• Head Tester: David Popovich
• Computer Graphics: Dale Barcellos, Joshua Solomon
• Director, Computer Graphics: Lode Coen

The events and characters depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons living, dead, or undead, is purely coincidental.

Ownership of this interactive U-Direct motion picture is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, and other applicable laws. Any unauthorized duplication, distribution, or exhibition of this interactive U-Direct motion picture could result in criminal prosecution as well as civil liability.

Night Trap uses Digital Pictures' patent pending InstaSwitch technology. Digital video captured using Digital Pictures' DigiChrome process.

Night Trap is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc.

U-Direct and DigiChrome are registered trademarks of Digital Pictures, Inc.

InstaSwitch is a trademark of Digital Pictures, Inc.

© 1994 Digital Pictures, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Source:

In-game credits

A Digital Pictures Production

A U-Direct® Interactive Film

• Executive Producer: Tom Zito
• Original Concept: Rob Fulop, James Riley
• Interactive Design: James Riley, Rob Fulop
• Director of Photography: Don Burgess
• Screenplay: Terry McDonell
• Computer Programming: Gene Kusmiak
• Produced by: Ric LaCivita, Kevin Welsh
• Directed by: James Riley
• Computer Graphics: Lode Coen, Cuyler Gee

Source:

US manual

Digital manuals

• 

  Mega Drive Mini 2 US manual

• 

  Mega Drive Mini 2 EU manual

• 

  Mega Drive Mini 2 JP manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Night Trap/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Night Trap/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Mega-CD version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 40 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 70 Consoles + (FR) 90 Computer & Video Games (UK) 71 Digitiser (UK) 75 Dragon (US) NTSC-U 80 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 60 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 78 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 83 Freak (IL) 83 Freak (IL) 85 GameFan (US) 69 Game Power (IT) NTSC 80 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 95 GamesMaster (UK) 85 Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J 95 Joypad (FR) PAL 89 Joypad (FR) NTSC-U 92 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 82 Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J 79 Mega (UK) PAL 85 Mega Force (FR) 84 Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-U 86 MegaTech (UK) PAL 79 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 89 Player One (FR) 86 Power Up! (UK) 84 Power Unlimited (NL) 67 Sega Power (UK) PAL 84 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 87 Sega Zone (UK) PAL 58 Sega Force (UK) 84 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 83 Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL 75 Super Juegos (ES) 70 Tricks (RU) 74 Video Games (DE) NTSC-U 72

	79
Based on 37 reviews

Night Trap

Mega-CD, JP
Cover
Spinecard Disc 1 Disc 2

Mega-CD, US
Cover
Disc 1 Disc 2 Manual

Mega-CD, US (MA-17)
Cover

Mega-CD, US (rerelease)
Cover
Disc 1 Disc 2 Manual

Mega-CD, US (rerelease; sticker)
Cover

Mega-CD, EU
Cover
Spinecard Disc 1 Disc 2 Manual

Mega-CD, UK
Cover
Disc 1 Disc 2 Manual

Mega-CD, FR
Cover
Disc 1 Disc 2

Mega-CD, FR (Blister pack)
Cover

Mega-CD, PT

Mega-CD, BR
Cover

Mega-CD 32X version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Consoles + (FR) PAL 84 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 50 FLUX (US) NTSC-U 85 FLUX (US) NTSC-U 83 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 58 Mega (UK) PAL 47 Mega Force (FR) PAL 85 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 0 Player One (FR) PAL 80 Sega Power (UK) PAL 80 Sega Megazone (AU) PAL 59 VideoGames (US) NTSC-U 70

	65
Based on 12 reviews

Night Trap

Mega-CD 32X, US
Cover
Disc 1 Disc 2 Manual

Mega-CD 32X, EU
Cover
Disc 1 Disc 2 Manual

Technical information

Main article: Night Trap/Technical information.

External links

• The Making Of Night Trap, The World's Most Famous Video Game Nasty article by Damien McFerran at Nintendo Life