LithTech
LithTech is a game engine developed by Monolith Productions and comparable with the Quake and Unreal engines. Monolith and a number of other video game developers have used LithTech as the basis for their first-person shooter games. Monolith initially developed the engine for Microsoft before purchasing the rights to it and licensing it to other developers via subsidiary LithTech Inc. The licensing company was renamed to Touchdown Entertainment in 2003 and later absorbed into Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment after its acquisition of Monolith. The last version of LithTech offered for licensing was Jupiter EX, initially released in 2005, however Monolith has continued to use LithTech technology in their games, including '' Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor'', released in 2014. After the release of ''Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor'', the studio started working on a new engine (based on LithTech technology) for larger-scale battles called "Firebird". Versions LithTech 1.0 Origin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Matrix Online
''The Matrix Online'' (abbreviated as ''MxO'') was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) initially developed by Monolith Productions and later, a few months after launch, by Sony Online Entertainment. It was advertised as a continuation of the storyline of ''The Matrix'' films, as The Wachowskis, the franchise's creators, gave their blessing to the notion of gamers "inherit ngthe storyline". The game began closed beta-testing in June 2004 which was then opened for people who pre-ordered the game in November 2004. Warner Bros. and Sega released ''MxO'' on March 22, 2005 in the United States. It was released in Europe on April 15, 2005. In June, Warner Bros. sold the rights to the game to Sony Online Entertainment, and the game's development and operation was transferred to the latter on August 15, 2005. Sony Online Entertainment shut down operation of the game on July 31, 2009. Ubisoft backed out of an agreement to co-publish the game, not long after cancelin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tron 2
''Tron 2.0'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Monolith Productions. The Microsoft Windows version of the game was released by Buena Vista Interactive on August 26, 2003. The Mac OS X version was released by MacPlay on April 21, 2004. The game is a sequel to ''Tron'', a 1982 science-fiction film, although it's set in an alternate continuity since its events were decanonized by '' Tron: Legacy''. Jason Cottle voices the player character Jethro "Jet" Bradley, the son of ENCOM programmer Alan Bradley (voiced by Bruce Boxleitner, who reprises his role from the original film). Cindy Morgan, who also starred in ''Tron'', voices the artificial intelligence "Ma3a". Rebecca Romijn provides the voice of Mercury. The game features a new "light cycle" design by Syd Mead, and provides explanations for the ''Tron'' arcade game (which makes an appearance in this game) and Kevin Flynn's experiences inside the ENCOM mainframe as shown in the original film. According to ''Tron'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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No One Lives Forever
''The Operative: No One Lives Forever'' (abbreviated as ''NOLF'') is a first-person shooter video game with stealth gameplay elements, developed by Monolith Productions and published by Fox Interactive, released for Windows in 2000. The game was Porting, ported later to the PlayStation 2 and Mac OS X in 2002. A story-driven game set in the 1960s, ''No One Lives Forever'' has been critically acclaimed for its stylistic representation of the era in the spirit of many spy films and television series of that decade, as well as for its humor. Players control female protagonist Cate Archer, who works for a secret organization that watches over world peace. In addition to a range of firearms, the game contains several gadgets disguised as ordinary female fashion items. At the time of its release, many reviewers felt that ''No One Lives Forever'' was the best first-person shooter since 1998's ''Half-Life (video game), Half-Life''. After receiving several List of Game of the Year award ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Monolith Productions
Monolith Productions, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Kirkland, Washington. The company has been a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment since August 2004. History Monolith Productions was founded on October 25, 1994 by Brian Goble, Brian Waite, Bryan Bouwman, Garrett Price, Jace Hall, Paul Renault, and Toby Gladwell. Co-founder Brian Goble had this to say regarding the company name. The company is best known for the ''Blood'', '' No One Lives Forever'' and ''F.E.A.R'' series. Monolith developed the LithTech game engine which was used for most of their games starting with '' Shogo: Mobile Armor Division'' in September 1998. Between 1997 and 1999, Monolith also published games–some developed by the studio, some by third parties. In 2004, Monolith Productions was acquired by Warner Bros. In 2014, the company released the title '' Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor'' with a sequel entitled '' Middle-earth: Shadow of War'' being released in 20 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shadow Of War
''Middle-earth: Shadow of War'' is a 2017 action role-playing video game developed by Monolith Productions and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It is the sequel to 2014's '' Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor'', and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 10, 2017. ''Shadow of War'' continues the previous game's narrative, which is based on J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium and set in between the events of Peter Jackson's ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogies, from which the game takes inspiration. The player continues the story of Talion, the Gondorian Ranger who bonded with the wraith of the Elf Lord Celebrimbor, as they forge a new Ring of Power to amass an army to fight against Sauron. The game builds upon the "Nemesis System" introduced in ''Shadow of Mordor'', allowing Talion to gain followers from several races of Middle-earth, including Uruks and Ologs, and plan out complex strategie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bump Mapping
Bump mapping is a texture mapping technique in computer graphics for simulating bumps and wrinkles on the surface of an object. This is achieved by perturbing the surface normals of the object and using the perturbed normal during lighting calculations. The result is an apparently bumpy surface rather than a smooth surface although the surface of the underlying object is not changed. Bump mapping was introduced by James Blinn in 1978.Blinn, James F"Simulation of Wrinkled Surfaces" Computer Graphics, Vol. 12 (3), pp. 286-292 SIGGRAPH-ACM (August 1978) Normal mapping is the most common variation of bump mapping used. Principles Bump mapping is a technique in computer graphics to make a rendered surface look more realistic by simulating small displacements of the surface. However, unlike displacement mapping, the surface geometry is not modified. Instead only the surface normal is modified ''as if'' the surface had been displaced. The modified surface normal is then used fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Havok (software)
Havok is a middleware software suite developed by the Irish company Havok. Havok provides a physics engine component and related functions to video games. In September 2007, Intel announced it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Havok Inc. In 2008, Havok was honored at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for advancing the development of physics engines in electronic entertainment. In October 2015, Microsoft announced it had acquired Havok. Products The Havok middleware suite consists of the following modules: * Havok Physics: It is designed primarily for video games, and allows for real-time collision and dynamics of rigid bodies in three dimensions. It provides multiple types of dynamic constraints between rigid bodies (e.g. for ragdoll physics), and has a highly optimized collision detection library. By using dynamical simulation, Havok Physics allows for more realistic virtual worlds in games. The company was developing a specialized version of Ha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Criminal Origins
''Condemned: Criminal Origins'' is a first-person survival horror video game developed by Monolith Productions and published by Sega. It was released worldwide in 2005 on the Xbox 360, with a Microsoft Windows version released in 2006. With the developer citing films such as '' The Silence of the Lambs'', ''Seven'' and ''Saw'' as inspiration, the game places an emphasis on melee combat and puzzle solving, including searching for fingerprints and gathering evidence. Upon release, ''Condemned'' was met with generally positive reviews by players and critics. Many reviewers cited its storyline and lack of progression as the game's biggest faults, while its solid controls, gameplay and fresh approach to horror were praised. A sequel, '' Condemned 2: Bloodshot'', was released in 2008 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. There was also an internet prequel and a planned film adaptation to expand the ''Condemned'' franchise. Gameplay Combat Although the game is played entirely from ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shader
In computer graphics, a shader is a computer program that calculates the appropriate levels of light, darkness, and color during the rendering of a 3D scene - a process known as ''shading''. Shaders have evolved to perform a variety of specialized functions in computer graphics special effects and video post-processing, as well as general-purpose computing on graphics processing units. Traditional shaders calculate rendering effects on graphics hardware with a high degree of flexibility. Most shaders are coded for (and run on) a graphics processing unit (GPU), though this is not a strict requirement. ''Shading languages'' are used to program the GPU's rendering pipeline, which has mostly superseded the fixed-function pipeline of the past that only allowed for common geometry transforming and pixel-shading functions; with shaders, customized effects can be used. The position and color (hue, saturation, brightness, and contrast) of all pixels, vertices, and/or textures us ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player character, character (often in a fantasy world or science-fiction world) and takes control over many of that character's actions. MMORPGs are distinguished from Online game, single-player or small Multiplayer online game, multi-player online RPGs by the number of players able to interact together, and by the game's persistent world (usually hosted by the game's video game publisher, publisher), which continues to exist and evolve while the player is offline and away from the game. MMORPGs are played throughout the world. Worldwide revenues for MMORPGs exceeded half a billion dollars in 2005, and Western revenues exceeded a billion dollars in 2006. In 2008, the spending on subscription MMORPGs by consumers in North America and Europe grew to $1.4 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition to the information produced by ''GameSpot'' staff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums. It has been owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. In 2004, ''GameSpot'' won "Best Gaming Website" as chosen by the viewers in Spike TV's second ''Video Game Award Show'', and has won Webby Awards several times. The domain ''gamespot.com'' attracted at least 60 million visitors annually by October 2008 according to a Compete.com study. History In January 1996, Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein quit their positions at IDG and founded SpotMedia Communications. SpotMedia then launched ''GameSpot'' on May 1, 1996. Originally, ''GameSpot'' focused solely on personal computer games, so a sis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |