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Graphics Magician
''The Graphics Magician'', subtitled ''Picture Painter'', is a utility for drawing bitmapped images and playing them back from user-developed programs. It was written for the Apple II by Penguin Software founder Mark Pelczarski and Jon Niedfeldt, and published by Penguin Software in 1982. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, and IBM PC. The routines for playing back graphics and animation were written by David Lubar and Chris Jochumson. ''Graphics Magician'' doesn't store images in their final form, but records the commands used to create them using a "tiny vector graphics-like language." The software plays them back to re-create the image. Images can be layered based on when each shape is drawn. ''The Graphics Magician'' was used to generate images for some commercial graphic adventures of the 8-bit computer era, including ''Dragon's Keep'' from Sierra On-Line, ''Crypt of Medea'' from Sir-Tech, and Penguin's own '' The Quest''. The playback routines were free to us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-molded plastic case, Rod Holt developed the switching power supply, while Steve Jobs's role in the design of the computer was limited to overseeing Jerry Manock's work on the plastic case. It was introduced by Jobs and Wozniak at the 1977 West Coast Computer Faire, and marks Apple's first launch of a personal computer aimed at a consumer market—branded toward American households rather than businessmen or computer hobbyists. ''Byte'' magazine referred to the Apple II, Commodore PET 2001, and TRS-80 as the "1977 Trinity". As the Apple II had the defining feature of being able to display color graphics, the Apple logo was redesigned to have a spectrum of colors. The Apple II is the first model in the Apple II series, followed by Apple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crypt Of Medea
Crypt of Medea is an adventure video game written by Arthur Britto and Allan Lamb. It was published for the Apple II by Sir-Tech in 1984. ''Crypt of Medea'' makes use of graphics, but the game is still controlled through the use of text commands in the traditional style of interactive fiction games. The game begins with the player trapped inside Medea's crypt, and the goal is to find a way out. To do so, the player must make use of a variety of items and avoid falling victim to a number of enemies and traps. Plot After falling unconscious during a late night drive, the unnamed protagonist wakes up in an unfamiliar tomb.Reams, 1984, p. 35 This tomb is the crypt of Medea, and it is filled with hostile creatures and deadly traps. The protagonist is forced to explore the crypt in hopes of escaping. Very little plot is made available to the player during the course of the game. No information is given about how the player ended up in Medea's tomb, and no background informati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apple II Software
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ''Malus sieversii'', is still found today. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe and were brought to North America by European colonists. Apples have religious and mythological significance in many cultures, including Norse, Greek, and European Christian tradition. Apples grown from seed tend to be very different from those of their parents, and the resultant fruit frequently lacks desired characteristics. Generally, apple cultivars are propagated by clonal grafting onto rootstocks. Apple trees grown without rootstocks tend to be larger and much slower to fruit after planting. Rootstocks are used to control the speed of growth and the size of the resulting tree, allowing for easier harvesting. There are more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graphics Software
In computer graphics, graphics software refers to a program or collection of programs that enable a person to manipulate images or models visually on a computer. Computer graphics can be classified into two distinct categories: raster graphics and vector graphics, with further 2D and 3D variants. Many graphics programs focus exclusively on either vector or raster graphics, but there are a few that operate on both. It is simple to convert from vector graphics to raster graphics, but going the other way is harder. Some software attempts to do this. In addition to static graphics, there are animation and video editing software. Different types of software are often designed to edit different types of graphics such as video, photos, and vector-based drawings. The exact sources of graphics may vary for different tasks, but most can read and write files. Most graphics programs have the ability to import and export one or more graphics file formats, including those formats written for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1982 Software
__NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 198 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire *January 28 **Publius Septimius Geta, son of Septimius Severus, receives the title of Caesar. **Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus, is given the title of Augustus. China *Winter – Battle of Xiapi: The allied armies led by Cao Cao and Liu Bei defeat Lü Bu; afterward Cao Cao has him executed. By topic Religion * Marcus I succeeds Olympianus as Patriarch of Constantinople (until 211). Births * Lu Kai (or Jingfeng), Chinese official and general (d. 269) * Quan Cong, Chinese general and advisor (d. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are named), it remains the most-read daily newspaper in the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. It had the sixth-highest circulation for American newspapers in 2017. In the 1850s, under Joseph Medill, the ''Chicago Tribune'' became closely associated with the Illinois politician Abraham Lincoln, and the Republican Party's progressive wing. In the 20th century under Medill's grandson, Robert R. McCormick, it achieved a reputation as a crusading paper with a decidedly more American-conservative anti-New Deal outlook, and its writing reached other markets through family and corporate relationships at the ''New York Daily News'' and the ''Washington Times-Herald.'' The 1960s saw its corporate parent owner, Tribune Company, rea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Quest (1983 Video Game)
''The Quest'' is a graphic fantasy text adventure released in 1983 by Penguin Software. It was designed by Dallas Snell for the Apple II and was later ported to the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, DOS, and Macintosh. Plot The game takes place in a medieval fantasy setting in the Kingdom of Balema as a dragon threatens its citizens. The player takes the role of the King's newest adviser and with the help of the King's champion, Gorn, set out to end the dragon menace. Gameplay The player controls the actions of the party by typing basic commands that are to be issued by the player's character and performed by either the group, Gorn, or your character. The game is played largely by nonlinear exploration and finding important items to allow the player to complete the objective. The player has access to both a text and graphic description of each scene and is able to toggle between strictly text and text/graphic mode. Development When the game was brought to Penguin Software, some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir-Tech
Sir-Tech Software, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher based in the United States and Canada. History In fall 1979, Sirotech Software was founded by Norman Sirotek, Robert Sirotek and Robert Woodhead. Sirotech Software published ''Info Tree'', a database management program, '' Galactic Attack'' and a beta version of ''Wizardry: Dungeons of Despair'' which was later renamed '' Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord'' and formally released in fall 1981. It was the first game in the ''Wizardry'' series. In spring 1981, Sir-Tech Software, Inc was incorporated as a video game developer and publisher in the United States. In 1998, Sir-Tech USA closed. The Canadian counterpart, Sirtech Canada Limited, continued to operate until late 2003. Sir-Tech is best known for ''Wizardry'', the role-playing video game series. The '' Jagged Alliance'' series, first published by Sir-Tech in 1994, became a popular franchise. The third game in the series, '' Jagged Alliance 2'', w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sierra On-Line
Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genre, including the first such game, ''Mystery House''. It is also known for its graphical adventure game series ''King's Quest'', ''Space Quest'', ''Police Quest'', ''Gabriel Knight'', ''Leisure Suit Larry'', and ''Quest for Glory'', as well as being the original publishers of Valve's ''Half-Life'' series. After seventeen years as an independent company, Sierra was acquired by CUC International in February 1996 to become part of CUC Software. However, CUC International was caught in an accounting scandal in 1998, and many of the original founders of Sierra including the Williamses left the company. Sierra remained as part of CUC Software as it was sold and renamed several times over the next few years; Sierra was formally disestablished as a c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Pelczarski
Mark Pelczarski wrote and published some of the earliest digital multimedia computer software. In 1979 while teaching computer science at Northern Illinois University, he self-published Magic Paintbrush, which was one of the first digital paint programs for the Apple II, the first consumer computer that had color graphics capabilities. Pelczarski was hired as an editor at SoftSide magazine in 1980, but then left to start Penguin Software in 1981 to publish his optimistically-titled Complete Graphics System, which included digital imaging and 3D wireframe rendering. In the next year he co-wrote and published Special Effects and Graphics Magician with David Lubar, who was then writing for Creative Computing magazine. Special Effects produced digital effects with images and also contained one of the first uses of digital paintbrushes. Graphics Magician featured one of the first uses of vector graphics for image compression, as well as animation routines that made it easy for pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graphic Adventure
An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media, literature and film, encompassing a wide variety of literary genres. Many adventure games (text and graphic) are designed for a single player, since this emphasis on story and character makes multiplayer design difficult. ''Colossal Cave Adventure'' is identified as the first such adventure game, first released in 1976, while other notable adventure game series include ''Zork'', '' King's Quest'', '' Monkey Island'', and ''Myst''. Initial adventure games developed in the 1970s and early 1980s were text-based, using text parsers to translate the player's input into commands. As personal computers became more powerful with better graphics, the graphic adventure-game format became popular, initially by augmenting player's text commands ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Lubar
David Lubar (born March 16, 1954) is an author of numerous books for teens. He is also a video game programmer, who programmed ''Super Breakout'' for the Game Boy and ''Frogger'' for both the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy. He designed '' Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge'' for the Nintendo Game Boy Color. Biography Lubar was born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey. As a boy he frequented the school library where his mother worked, as well as the town library and county library. He attended Rutgers University and received a degree in philosophy. After graduating, he tried to write full-time, but a low income forced him to pursue more lucrative options. David married his wife around this time in 1977. He began writing for '' Creative Computing'' in 1980. In 1982, Lubar was offered a job designing and programming video games in California. There he designed and translated video games for Atari, Nintendo Game Boy, Apple 2 and the Nintendo Entertainment System. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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