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DX-Ball
Seumas McNally (pronounced Shem-Ess) (February 10, 1979 – March 21, 2000) was a Canadian video game programmer and designer. He is best known for indie games, notably ''DX-Ball'' and ''Tread Marks'', which won the Grand Prize at the Independent Games Festival (IGF). The award was posthumously renamed in his honour when he died at age 21 of Hodgkin's lymphoma, shortly after having received the award himself. Career Seumas McNally's first published video game was a side-scrolling helicopter shooter titled ''Tiger's Bane'', programmed on the Commodore Amiga. Previously known as a demo by the name ''Flying Tigers'', the game went live on November 11, 1997, published through Aminet. The same year, Seumas had also formed the software development company Longbow Digital Arts, as the president and lead programmer, working together with his father, Jim McNally (game designer), his mother, Wendy McNally (lead artist) and his brother, Philippe McNally (3D artist). The company foll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DX-Ball 2
''DX-Ball 2'' is a 1998 brick buster game for Microsoft Windows, developed and published by Longbow Games. As a follow-up to the 1996 cult-classic ''DX-Ball'' by Michael P. Welch, the sequel introduced a number of improvements to the original game, including high-colour textured graphics, an original soundtrack by Eric "Sidewinder" Gieseke, multiple board-sets with distinct visual styles, and a hotseat multiplayer mode. On November 21, 2018, the game was re-released on Steam as ''DX-Ball 2: 20th Anniversary Edition'', commemorating the game's 20th anniversary, while also ensuring compatibility with more recent versions of Windows. The anniversary edition introduced high-definition graphics, widescreen gameplay with a selection of new widescreen board-sets, additional power-ups, online leaderboards, and a board-set editor for creating custom board-sets. Following the release of the anniversary edition on Steam, distribution of the original demo version of ''DX-Ball 2'' via the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rival Ball
''Rival Ball'' is the sequel to the PC Breakout clone ''DX-Ball 2'' from Longbow Games, Longbow Digital Arts. Released on March 19, 2001, the game features square bricks and online split-screen multiplayer. It introduces a cursor-based layout with buttons for navigation, two new power-ups, the ability to save and resume games, and game options for randomising board order, setting timers, repeating board-sets, and choosing between four difficulty levels. The game also plays all the original ''DX-Ball 2'' boards. A Mac version was announced on April 3, 2002. ''Rival Ball'' was the first game from Longbow Games to succeed the passing of Seumas McNally (1979–2000), the company's founder and lead programmer. ''Rival Ball'' was followed by ''Rival Ball Tournament'' in 2004. Gameplay The object of the game is to clear a field of bricks using a paddle and a ball. Most bricks are cleared upon impact with the ball, while some bricks may take multiple hits, be invisible, blas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Super DX-Ball
''Super DX-Ball'' is a shareware game by BlitWise Productions, released on November 10, 2004. It is an enhanced remake to the classic brick-buster hit ''DX-Ball''. Among new features since previous games, ''Super DX-Ball'' introduces refined, classic-style graphics (as a tribute to the original game) and a new dimension of bricks with various shapes and sizes (originally inspired from '' Rival Ball Tournament''), adding a unique gameplay experience in a ''Breakout''-style game. Gameplay As a common concept of ''Breakout'' clone, the objective of the game is to clear all the bricks on the screen in order to advance to the next board. The player controls a paddle at the bottom of the screen by using the mouse or keyboard, keeping one or more balls by deflecting them into a field of bricks on the screen without missing the only ball in play. Some bricks may appear to be solid, take multiple hits to clear, invisible, or explosive. As bricks are being cleared, a random power-up will o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pocket Tanks
''Pocket Tanks,'' often abbreviated as PTanks or simply as PT'','' is a 1-2 player computer game and mobile game developed by Michael P. Welch from Blitwise Productions. It was originally released for Windows and Mac OS X in 2001 and was later released for iOS in 2009 and Android in 2012. It is available as shareware as well as a premium version known as ''Pocket Tanks Deluxe'', which includes the content from all 30 expansion packs. Gameplay Pocket Tanks was adapted from Welch's earlier Amiga game ''Scorched Tanks.'' ''Pocket Tanks'' features modified physics and additional weapons ranging from simple explosive shells to homing missiles. The game also allows players to move the tank. The goal of ''Pocket Tanks'' is to use various weapons to attack the other player's tank. Each hit scores a certain number of points, which varies based on the weapon and the proximity of the target. At the end of 10 volleys, the player with the highest score wins. Pocket Tanks features a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Longbow Games
Longbow Games is a Canadian video game developer based in Toronto. It was founded in 1998 by Seumas McNally. History Longbow Games was established in 1998 as Longbow Digital Arts by Seumas McNally. In 2000, the company's tank combat game '' Tread Marks'' won the top award at the Independent Games Festival. Shortly thereafter, McNally died of Hodgkin lymphoma aged 21. The Independent Games Festival renamed its grand price in his honour. Since then, Longbow is run by McNally's family, such as father Jim, brother Phillipe, and mother Wendy. In 2012, the company had seven employees and an intern, otherwise outsourcing tasks to subcontractors. Projects '' Hegemony: Philip of Macedon'' was a pet project of Jim McNally, who became interested in Philip while researching Alexander the Great and discovering that it was actually his father who had developed the troop types, tactics and infrastructure that enabled Alexander's invasion of the Persian Empire. In hindsight, the early ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team of engineers and designers directed by Don Estridge in Boca Raton, Florida. The machine was based on open architecture and third-party peripherals. Over time, expansion cards and software technology increased to support it. The PC had a substantial influence on the personal computer market. The specifications of the IBM PC became one of the most popular computer design standards in the world. The only significant competition it faced from a non-compatible platform throughout the 1980s was from the Apple Macintosh product line. The majority of modern personal computers are distant descendants of the IBM PC. History Prior to the 1980s, IBM had largely been known as a provider of business computer systems. As the 1980s opened, their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canadian Video Game Designers
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''Canadian''. Canada is a multilingual and multicultural society home to people of groups of many different ethnic, religious, and national origins, with the majority of the population made up of Old World immigrants and their descendants. Following the initial period of French and then the much larger British colonization, different waves (or peaks) of immigration and settlement of non-indigenous peoples took place over the course of nearly two centuries and continue today. Elements of Indigenous, French, British, and more recent immigrant customs, languages, and religions have combined to form the culture of Canada, and thus a Canadian identity. Canada has also been strongly influenced by its linguistic, geographic, and ec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1979 Births
Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ''Chiquitita'' to commemorate the event. ** The United States and the People's Republic of China establish full Sino-American relations, diplomatic relations. ** Following a deal agreed during 1978, France, French carmaker Peugeot completes a takeover of American manufacturer Chrysler's Chrysler Europe, European operations, which are based in United Kingdom, Britain's former Rootes Group factories, as well as the former Simca factories in France. * January 7 – Cambodian–Vietnamese War: The People's Army of Vietnam and Vietnamese-backed Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation, Cambodian insurgents announce the fall of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the collapse of the Pol Pot regime. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge retreat west to an area ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cult Classic
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. A film, book, musical artist, television series, or video game, among other things, is said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fanbase. A common component of cult followings is the emotional attachment the fans have to the object of the cult following, often identifying themselves and other fans as members of a community. Cult followings are also commonly associated with niche markets. Cult media are often associated with underground culture, and are considered too eccentric or anti-establishment to be appreciated by the general public or to be widely commercially successful. Many cult fans express their devotion with a level of irony when describing entertainment that falls under this realm, in that something ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Independent Video Game Developer
An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. However, the "indie" term may apply to other scenarios where the development of the game has some measure of independence from a publisher even if a publisher helps fund and distribute a game, such as creative freedom. Because of their independence and freedom to develop, indie games often focus on innovation, experimental gameplay, and taking risks not usually afforded in AAA games, and may explore the medium to produce unique experiences in art games. Indie games tend to be sold through digital distribution channels rather than at retail due to lack of publisher support. The term is synonymous with that of independent music or independent film in those respective mediums. Indie game development bore out from the same concepts of amateur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wars Of Ancient Greece
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular or irregular military forces. Warfare refers to the common activities and characteristics of types of war, or of wars in general. Total war is warfare that is not restricted to purely legitimate military targets, and can result in massive civilian or other non-combatant suffering and casualties. While some war studies scholars consider war a universal and ancestral aspect of human nature, others argue it is a result of specific socio-cultural, economic or ecological circumstances. Etymology The English word ''war'' derives from the 11th-century Old English words ''wyrre'' and ''werre'', from Old French ''werre'' (also ''guerre'' as in modern French), in turn from the Frankish *''werra'', ultimately deriving from the Prot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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