SpongeBob asks you to "jump." You press "Enter." Nothing happens. You press "Play." The movie starts. You press "Menu." The game resets. You realize the "Up" arrow on the remote actually means "Select," but only if you hold it for three seconds while standing on one leg.
Including a DVD menu game served three purposes: dvd menu games
The result was a game with no processing power, no RAM to speak of, and graphics limited to MPEG-2 video. And yet, they were addictive. SpongeBob asks you to "jump
Creating a DVD with complex branching logic cost more in authoring and QA testing. It was cheaper to just add a director's commentary. You realize the "Up" arrow on the remote
Unlike actual video games that render graphics in real-time, DVD games were essentially dynamic choose-your-own-adventure modules. Pressing a direction didn’t move a character; it told the laser lens to jump instantly to a specific pre-rendered video chapter or alternate menu screen.