xplora 1: peter gabriel's secret world
released in december 1993produced by real world multimedia ltd and brilliant media inc
"i have been working on this cd rom for the past year with a wonderful group of creative people. i think we've managed to come up with a few new schemes that open up the stuff we create in such a way that you can explore it from the inside...besides giving you the chance to to get inside the music and videos and start playing with the material yourself, we think that the interactive pieces should be a lot of fun, so we have devised a few surprises that we hope will lead you on some interesting journeys." - peter gabriel
It has been two years since Us. Peter Gabriel is touring. New technology means that this release is more than just music, it's video, text, and interaction (well sort of) with the big PG himself! Fans can hardly contain themselves, especially since this cover is the best headshot of PG since the third Peter Gabriel record. 1994 was a pretty good year to be a Peter Gabriel fan. This particular new release is a bit of an investment. Compared to a regular record Xplora 1 is pretty expensive, but then it's probably worth it. For those of us who do not use Macintoshs (we're colloquially known as "heathens" I believe), the joy of new technology was probably shortlived and the frustration of the error message quickly replaced it. An even smaller number of us actually got it to work on PC, even with Windows 95. This smaller group (which includes the author) are referred to as "lucky bastards". Real World multimedia have long been rather embarrassed about Xplora 1 for windows, claiming that inherent faults in the transfer of Macintosh files to Windows 3.1 were the primary bugbear and that there was little they could do. Since 1995 a Windows 95 version of Xplora 1 has been promised but is still yet to (and increasingly unlikely to) materialise. But enough ranting...
Essentially what lies within that fantastic cover is a companion to Us. It is divided into four areas, all about Us, behind the scenes, Peter's personal files and world music. You can see the videos, read the lyrics, hear some (very clipped) sound files, it's really a bit like a modern webpage, although a considerably advanced and comprehensive web page without the downloading delays. The content itself is varied. Occasionally essential, at times interesting, and sometimes dead boring, it does at least present a very complete picture and certainly goes way beyond any other CD rom of its time, or indeed many of today's so-called interactive music releases. The most essential elements of Xplora 1 are the videos for Digging in the Dirt, Steam, and Blood of Eden (even if you already have them, they're always fun to watch), the behind-the-scenes films of the music videos and the performance at the Brit awards (although the full Brit awards performance would have been appreciated), the Real World studio tour (a personal favourite), and finally the interviews with Peter.
And all along the way you have a guide. A little Peter Gabriel of your very own pops in and out of the top left hand corner of the screen with lots of unhelpful advice, "Click there...that's off the screen", dubious warnings, "Look out for the love bomb!" and occasionally gratingly sincere gratitude, "Well i hope you've had a good time in the Secret World...come back again soon" (aaaahhhhhhh).
Innovation is aplenty in Xplora 1, especially in its unique interface. Peter, and subsequently Real World, is heavily influenced by somewhat conflicting notions of technological progress and down-to-earth conservation and environmentalism (incidentally, in this respect, Peter was wolfing down felafel long before it became a fashion statement). This philosophy is concisely rephrased in Real World's slogan "High Tech, Handmade, Worldwide". To this end, despite being the most impressive rom of its day, Xplora 1 maintains a very natural feel. Screen backgrounds are made up from still images of grass and flowers, sky and clouds, gravel, fire, water, and (incongruously) loads of electrical cables. The everpresent colourbar at the side of the screen makes for easy navigation, as does the taskbar of sorts at the top of the screen.
There is of course the obligatory music mixing facility, Digging in the Dirt receives the honours here. Unlike most of the CD, this facility seems to be primitive, and a little embarrasing by today's standards. Limited to four tracks with sluggish controls containing the worst sound quality ever considered as a final product by PG, it strikes any casual observer as a bit of a disappointment and to fans it is an insult. Though understandable that it was limited by the technology of the day, even by 1994 standards it adds nothing to the experience and hits the screen with a mighty flop. To be fair to its makers though, this mixing facility was never billed as being the highlight of the CD and is today regarded as nothing more than a stepping stone towards greater things.
Amongst all this it is easy to forget that there is actually a game here. That it's not a particularly interesting or imaginitive game serves to make it all the more forgettable. Essentially the object is to collect items with which you pack your suitcase. When the suitcase is full you receive a prize. This results in wild clicking all over the screens and particularly desperate screen searching towards the end of the collecting (wading through the Real World catalogue looking for that stupid blue thing is not my idea of a fun time). For Windows users it becomes all the more disappointing when you realise that the prizes have been accessible all along just by exploring the contents of the compact disc (in a folder helpfully titled "gifts"). This concept fuelled a popular pastime of searching for hidden stuff within the CD. Looking for the noughts and crosses game? How about the rhetoric on sexual deviancy? Attempting to find absolutely everything the CD has to offer is actually a more enjoyable and more challenging game than the one so thoughtfully provided by the makers. Oh well.
Mike Large, one of the minds behind Xplora 1, said "People crave the information that surrounds the music" and this release satisfies fans and newcomers alike on that front. Importantly, this release goes beyond its sister releases, Plus from Us (record of solo work by PG's session musicians), All About Us (the long form video) and The Box (Real World's magazine) making it an essential purchase for any Peter Gabriel fan (even ones without computers apparently). Despite the unusual level of grumbling above, Xplora 1 is actually a lot of fun and it still delivers after all this time. Perhaps the most lavish praise I can bestow on a CD rom is to say that it is still occasionally slotted into the CD drive for another delve into material that, although familiar, is still appealing. Happily this is most certainly the case with Xplora 1.
Written by Mercutio while he had too much time
on his hands. Thankfully this has now been rectified.