What happens when you mix sophisticated CGI technology with the Japanese PS2 market? Well, you could get all kinds of things, but in this case, you’ll end up with Primal Image Vol. 1 (there is no Vol. 2). The game released exclusively for PS2 in 2000. In it, players dress up, pose, and photograph a couple of digital models. Calling it a “game” is a bit misleading, though. There is no real story to speak of, and progression only exists in the form of unlocking new clothing and accessories by earning points in one of the game’s two modes.
As far as story is concerned, the most that can be gleaned is that there are four digital models – three girls and one guy – for you to play with. For some reason, one of them is extremely tiny. In some areas, you can see her posing on top of a desk, about the size of a stapler. There are two modes – although the single male model only gets one mode!
The primary mode, called “Memory Mode,” sees players hoping to take the best shots possible within a short timeframe (and with limited film). You can’t even control the camera – instead, you’re forced to reactively take photos when the on-screen point display increases as the camera goes all over the place. In general, the game favors close-up and face-forward shots. There’s no room to get artsy here.
The other mode, “Produce Mode,” provides much more freedom, as you can choose a backdrop, character, and outfit and then pose them however your heart desires (within PS2 game limitations). Once it’s all set up, you’re able to take unlimited photos of the character in a never-ending photoshoot, manipulating the rigging of individual body parts to minute detail to get a wide range of (albeit janky) poses.
With that said, to best make use of your model in this mode you’ll want to have unlocked items in Memory Mode. Unlocks are based on score, so expect to run through the Memory Mode shoots multiple times to collect everything. As stated earlier, the male model is sadly restricted to Produce Mode. Why even include him if he couldn’t be in the entire game?
Primal Image Vol. 1 could have easily been completely lost in the PS2 library with nothing particularly notable about it. However, there are two external connections to the game that are too weird not to highlight. One, the underlying technology used for rigging the models is the same that was used in the BBC CG dinosaur docuseries Walking with Dinosaurs. Given how impactful the Walking with Dinosaurs miniseries was, it’s funny to know some tiny portion of its technology also resides in this game.
Secondly, despite not being a smash hit, the game was used as a bit of testing ground for other tech. Did you know there were not one, but two, printers created for use with the PS2? Primal Image for Printer (a separate game) was released to coincide with the printer peripherals. The first printer was the Sony PopEgg in 2000. Later on, in 2002, the TAPIS was released. Primal Image for Printer is compatible with both, though owning both a PS2 printer and the game seems like quite a feat.
Interesting that the game managed to produce a for Printer spinoff, but never got a release beyond Volume 1…