abound in the new millennium, be they new or revisited versions of older titles. These may include Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda," Trilobyte's "The 11th hour," and Blizzard's multi-player goliath "World of Warcraft."

A recent technological gaming innovation is Nintendo's Wii system (released in 2006), where players must wear specialized attachments and physically perform the actions of the game's character. This brings the player even closer to total immersion in the world of their choice.

The adventure gamers of today demand excellent graphics, smooth animation, and uncountable strategic choices as constant companions in their various quests. Technology has certainly answered these demands and improved the complete game play experience. What's next - video game brain implant chips?

== Movie Ending Choices ==

Some feature-length DVDs include alternate endings, giving viewers opportunities to enjoy a few different or unexpected scenarios. While not as personally interactive or extensive as console or web-based games, these alternate plotlines still attempt to answer the "what if" question.

Also, choosing such endings is much easier with DVD technology than with videotape. Most DVDs allow you to navigate to a menu and simply select the scene/chapter you want. This ability to stop at one point and skip to another could be used to choose from more than one ending, if provided.

With these options, we get to see what could have happened at the end of the story, something audiences do not see in original theater releases. Some of these alternate endings are well advertised, but others may simply be included on a DVD as an afterthought. For instance:

Clue, The Movie - This movie may be a comedic spoof of the original board game, but it is still a whodunit mystery. Since most traditional mystery stories focus on one culprit, writing a screenplay that would allow three possible endings (and perpetrators) was therefore quite an achievement. The DVD includes all three endings. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the kitchen with the knife, or Professor Plum in the conservatory with the revolver?

Little Shop of Horrors (Spoiler!) - In the original 1960 Roger Corman film, as well as that of the off-Broadway musical comedy, the alien plant eats all four of the main characters. When Frank Oz directed the 1986 film version, he shot this original ending, but test audiences rated it extremely low, so writer Howard Ashman created an alternate ending, allowing Seymour and Audrey to live. Unfortunately, the original ending was removed from the DVD.

== Summary ==

The concept of interactive, realistic decision-making in our entertainment media has matured over the years, and each attempt at bringing these life-like choices into our video games and movies is seemingly better than the last. Entertainment technology will continue to thrive as long as we continue to want game and films that immerse us in alternate realities.

"Life's like a movie, write your own ending,

Keep believing, keep pretending..."

- Kermit the Frog, from The Muppet Movie

Learn more about this author, Len Morse.
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