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Panzer Dragoon Orta
is a rail shooter developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Xbox. The fourth entry in the ''Panzer Dragoon'' series, it was released in Japan in 2002 and in North America and Europe in 2003. The story follows a girl, Orta, who is freed by a dragon and embarks on a quest to prevent the abuse of ancient technology. The gameplay features the player moving an aiming reticle and shooting enemies while the dragon flies through 3D environments on a fixed track. Production began in 2001. The previous ''Panzer Dragoon'' developer, Team Andromeda, had disbanded after the release of ''Panzer Dragoon Saga'' (1998). Around a dozen staff returned to work on ''Orta,'' including the artists Takashi Iwade and Kentaro Yoshida, the composer Saori Kobayashi and the battle designer Akihiko Mukaiyama, who directed ''Orta.'' While the greater power of the Xbox allowed for more freedom in gameplay and graphical design, the production was troubled by a lack of art design direction and problems ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smilebit
or Sega Sports R&D is a defunct development division of the Japanese video game company Sega. It was previously known as Smilebit, one of nine semi-autonomous studios which Sega established in 2000. Smilebit was previously known as R&D6 or AM6 which itself was mainly based on Sega PC. Smilebit was known for its sports simulation titles, as well as ''Jet Set Radio.'' When Sega started releasing games for other platforms, Smilebit began developing games for the Xbox, with ''Jet Set Radio Future'', ''Panzer Dragoon Orta'' and Gunvalkyrie, ''GunValkyrie''. Smilebit was led by Shun Arai as president and Takayuki Kawagoe as director. Kawagoe became president of Smilebit in 2003. During a re-organization, Sega's nine studios were consolidated into "four of five core operations", and the non-sports staff of Smilebit was merged into Amusement Vision. Smilebit became exclusively dedicated to sports titles, with the ''Virtua Striker'' series from Amusement Vision becoming attributed to Smil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with "Direct", such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay, DirectSound, and so forth. The name ''DirectX'' was coined as a shorthand term for all of these APIs (the ''X'' standing in for the particular API names) and soon became the name of the collection. When Microsoft later set out to develop a gaming console, the ''X'' was used as the basis of the name Xbox to indicate that the console was based on DirectX technology. The ''X'' initial has been carried forward in the naming of APIs designed for the Xbox such as XInput and the Cross-platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT), while the DirectX pattern has been continued for Windows APIs such as Direct2D and DirectWrite. Direct3D (the 3D graphics API within DirectX) is widely used in the develop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunvalkyrie
is a third-person shooter video game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Microsoft Xbox. It was released on March 18, 2002 in North America; March 21, 2002 in Japan; and May 17, 2002 in PAL regions. Set in an alternate history science fiction world where the British Empire rules Earth and various extrasolar planets, the game tasks the player with exterminating the giant insects that infest the colonies of the planet Tir na Nog. Originally in development for the Sega Dreamcast, the game was moved to the Xbox to take advantage of its improved hardware and controls. ''Gunvalkyrie'' received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its graphics and innovation, but criticized its steep learning curve stemming from its complex controls. Gameplay The gameplay is very different from most third-person shooters, due to a unique dual analog control scheme, which is the main contributor to the steep learning curve of the game. Players travel to various worlds investigatin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jet Set Radio Future
is a 2002 action game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Xbox; it is a sequel to the Dreamcast game ''Jet Set Radio'' (2000). As a re-imagining of the original game, it features improved gameplay mechanics, updated graphics, larger open world environments, new characters, a new soundtrack and multiplayer gameplay. The player controls members of a street gang that use inline skates to traverse a futuristic Tokyo, spraying graffiti, challenging rival gangs and evading authorities. Like ''Jet Set Radio'', ''Future'' uses a cel-shaded style of animation. Much like its predecessor, ''Jet Set Radio Future'' received critical acclaim for its gameplay, music and art style. It won several awards and was nominated for many others. After its initial release, it was bundled with new Xbox consoles with ''Sega GT 2002'' on a dual-game DVD. Gameplay ''Jet Set Radio Future'' plays similarly to ''Jet Set Radio'' in which the player controls a member of a gang of inline skaters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strategy Video Game
Strategy is a major video game genre that emphasizes thinking and planning over direct instant action in order to achieve victory. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, as a genre, strategy games are most commonly defined as those with a primary focus on high-level strategy, logistics and resource management. They are also usually divided into two main sub-categories: turn-based and real-time, but there are also many strategy cross/sub-genres that feature additional elements such as tactics, diplomacy, economics and exploration. Typical experience A player must plan a series of actions against one or more opponents, and the reduction of enemy forces is usually a goal. Victory is achieved through superior planning, and the element of chance takes a smaller role. In most strategy video games, the player is given a godlike view of the game world, and indirectly controls game units under their command. Thus, most strategy games involve elements of warfare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washington, United States. Its best-known software products are the Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft Office suite, and the Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers. Microsoft ranked No. 21 in the 2020 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue; it was the world's largest software maker by revenue as of 2019. It is one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Meta. Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975, to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. It rose to do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox, and it was Sega's final console, ending the company's eighteen years in the console market. The Dreamcast was developed by an internal Sega team led by Hideki Sato. In contrast to the expensive hardware of the unsuccessful Saturn, the Dreamcast was designed to reduce costs with "off-the-shelf" components, including a Hitachi SH-4 CPU and an NEC PowerVR2 GPU. Sega used the GD-ROM media format to avoid the expenses of DVD-ROM technology and a custom version of the Windows CE operating system to make porting PC games easy. The Dreamcast was the first console to include a built-in modular modem for internet access and online play. Though released in Japan to a subdued reception, the Dreamcast ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yukio Futatsugi
is a Japanese video game developer. His work includes leading the teams which created Sega Saturn games ''Panzer Dragoon'', ''Panzer Dragoon II Zwei'', and ''Panzer Dragoon Saga'', and Xbox title ''Phantom Dust''. He is the co-founder of video game development company Grounding Inc, developers of ''Crimson Dragon''. Early life Yukio Futatsugi grew up in Kobe, Japan, where he attended high school. While spending a year in San Francisco at primary school age he fell in love with games such as ''Pong'' and ''Space Invaders'', and later decided to pursue a career in video games over his other hobby, filmmaking. Of this choice Futatsugi said "I went with videogames, because I thought the world of games was about to become interesting." He attended the University of Tsukuba in Tokyo where he graduated with a degree in computer science. Career In 1991, after finishing his degree, Futatsugi joined Sega. After two years of what he considered "menial tasks" he submitted a proposal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sega Saturn
The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the successful Sega Genesis. The Saturn has a dual- CPU architecture and eight processors. Its games are in CD-ROM format, and its game library contains several ports of arcade games as well as original games. Development of the Saturn began in 1992, the same year Sega's groundbreaking 3D Model 1 arcade hardware debuted. The Saturn was designed around a new CPU from the Japanese electronics company Hitachi. Sega added another video display processor in early 1994 to better compete with Sony's forthcoming PlayStation. The Saturn was initially successful in Japan but failed to sell in large numbers in the United States, where it was hindered by a surprise May 1995 launch, four months before its scheduled release date. After the debut of the Ninte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Visual Novel
A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustrations and a varying degree of interactivity. The format is more rarely referred to as novel game, a retranscription of the ''wasei-eigo'' term , which is more often used in Japanese. Visual novels originated in and are especially prevalent in Japan, where they made up nearly 70% of the PC game titles released in 2006. In Japanese, a distinction is often made between visual novels (NVL, from "novel"), which consist primarily of narration and have very few interactive elements, and adventure games (AVG or ADV, from "adventure"), which incorporate problem-solving and other types of gameplay. This distinction is normally lost outside Japan, as both visual novels and adventure games are commonly referred to as "visual n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
