Ron Gilbert and cutscenes

[usyboroda]

While working on Maniac Mansion, Ron Gilbert coined the term "cutscene." He used this term to describe a scene that cut away from the action of the game. There was a command in Maniac Mansion's code called "cut-scene" that automatically saved the game and restored it once the scene was over. While other games had scenes that would play between levels or after a boss fight, Maniac Mansion was one of the first games to incorporate scenes in the middle of gameplay.

Sources:

Ron Gilbert discussing cutscenes in 2011 (24:13 through 25:13): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNpjGvJwy...age#t=1453

Ron Gilbert talking about Maniac Mansion on an episode of Retronauts in 2012 (10:15 through 10:33): http://podcast.the1upnetwork.com/flat/Re...020912.mp3

Ron Gilbert's blog (4th paragraph, first sentence): http://grumpygamer.com/9237874

Ron Gilbert's blog (7th paragraph): http://grumpygamer.com/8139425