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RealMagic
RealMagic (or ''ReelMagic''), from Sigma Designs, was one of the first fully compliant MPEG playback boards on the market in the mid-1990s. RealMagic is a hardware-accelerated MPEG decoder that mixes its video stream into a computer video card's output through the video card's feature connector. It is also a SoundBlaster-compatible sound card. Successors Sigma design's Realmagic superseded by *Realmagic Hollywood+ *Realmagic XCard *Realmagic NetStream2000 - 4000 Several software companies in 1993 promised to support the card, including Access Software, Access, Interplay Entertainment, Interplay, and Sierra Entertainment, Sierra. Software written for RealMagic includes: *Under a Killing Moon - Access Software *Gabriel Knight *Escape from Cybercity *Kings Quest VI - Sierra Online *Dragon's Lair *Police Quest IV - Sierra Online *Return to Zork - Infocom *J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I (1990 video game), Lord of the Rings - Interplay Entertainment Note: the above t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feature Connector
The feature connector was an internal connector found mostly in some older ISA, VESA Local Bus, and PCI graphics cards, but also on some early AGP ones. It was intended for use by devices which needed to exchange large amounts of data with the graphics card without hogging a computer system's CPU or data bus, such as TV tuner cards, video capture cards, MPEG video decoders (e.g. RealMagic), and first generation 3D graphic accelerator cards. Early examples include the IBM EGA video adapter. Several standards existed for feature connectors, depending on the bus and graphics card type. Most of them were simply an 8, 16 or 32-bit wide internal connector, transferring data between the graphics card and another device, bypassing the system's CPU and memory completely. Their speeds often far exceeded the speed of normal ISA or even early PCI buses, e.g. 40 MByte/s for a standard ISA-based SVGA, up to 150 MByte/s for a VESA-based or PCI-based one, while the standard 16 bit ISA bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Horde (video Game)
''The Horde'' is a hybrid action-strategy video game that was originally released for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer and was ported to the Sega Saturn and DOS. It also featured full-motion video sequences featuring a number of actors including Kirk Cameron as Chauncey and Michael Gregory as Kronus Maelor. Video sequences were reduced to slide shows (with full sound) in some versions. The game was bundled with the RealMagic MPEG playback card as a demonstration of the card's abilities to play back full-motion MPEG video via the card's hardware decoder, at the time software MPEG decoding was not viable due to the lack of processing power in contemporary processors. The music was composed by Burke Trieschmann and won Computer Gaming World's Premiere Award for Best Musical Score in 1994. Plot The player controls a servant boy, Chauncey, who was raised by a herd of wild cows. In a fortunate mishap, Chauncey prevents Winthrop the Good, King of Franzpowanki, from choking on his meal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sigma Designs - RealMagic ISA MPEG Decoder Card - 53-000417 - Component Side
Sigma (; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; grc-gre, σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as an operator for summation. When used at the end of a letter-case word (one that does not use all caps), the final form (ς) is used. In ' (Odysseus), for example, the two lowercase sigmas (σ) in the center of the name are distinct from the word-final sigma (ς) at the end. The Latin letter S derives from sigma while the Cyrillic letter Es derives from a lunate form of this letter. History The shape (Σς) and alphabetic position of sigma is derived from the Phoenician letter ( ''shin''). Sigma's original name may have been ''san'', but due to the complicated early history of the Greek epichoric alphabets, ''san'' came to be identified as a separate letter in the Greek alphabet, represented as Ϻ. Herodotus reports that "san" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escape From Cybercity
Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some sort of command state in computers * Escape key, the "Esc" key on a computer keyboard Film * ''Escape'' (1928 film), a German silent drama film * ''Escape!'' (film), a 1930 British crime film starring Austin Trevor and Edna Best * ''Escape'' (1940 film), starring Robert Taylor and Norma Shearer, based on the novel by Ethel Vance * ''Escape'' (1948 film), starring Rex Harrison * ''Escape'' (1971 film), a television movie starring Christopher George and William Windom * ''Escape'' (1980 film), a television movie starring Timothy Bottoms and Colleen Dewhurst * ''Escape'' (1988 film), an Egyptian film directed by Atef El-Tayeb * ''Escape'' (2012 American film), a thriller starring C. Thomas Howell, John Rhys-Davies, Anora Lyn * ''Esca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Psychotron
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of pronoun ''thee'') when followed by a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics, Inc. is an American video game developer based in San Mateo, California and part of Embracer Group. The studio developed the '' Gex'', ''Legacy of Kain'', and ''Tomb Raider'' series. Founded in 1992 by Madeline Canepa, Judy Lange, and Dave Morse, it was acquired by Eidos Interactive in 1998. It became part of SCi Entertainment in 2005, Square Enix Europe in 2009 and CDE Entertainment in 2022. History Background and early years (1989–1994) Crystal Dynamics was founded by Madeline Canepa, Judy Lange, and Dave Morse. Morse, a founder of Amiga Corporation, had previously founded New Technology Group with Dave Needle and Robert J. Mical in 1989 to create a video game console that could succeed those by Nintendo and Sega. In 1990, New Technology Group's founders discussed this idea with Trip Hawkins, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Electronic Arts, who shared with them his vision for such a system. The two companies signed an agreement in September 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infocom
Infocom was an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced a business application, a relational database called ''Cornerstone (software), Cornerstone''. Infocom was founded on June 22, 1979, by staff and students of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and lasted as an independent company until 1986, when it was bought by Activision. Activision shut down the Infocom division in 1989, although they released some titles in the 1990s under the Infocom ''Zork'' brand. Activision abandoned the Infocom trademark in 2002. Overview Infocom games are text adventures where users direct the action by entering short strings of words to give commands when prompted. Generally the program will respond by describing the results of the action, often the contents of a room if the player has moved within the virtual world. The user reads this information, decides what to do, and enters another short serie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Return To Zork
''Return to Zork'' is a 1993 graphic adventure game in the ''Zork'' series. It was developed by Activision and was the final ''Zork'' game to be published under the Infocom label. Gameplay Unlike the previous games in the ''Zork'' franchise, which were text adventures, ''Return to Zork'' takes place from a first-person perspective and makes use of video-captured actors as well as detailed graphics and a musical score; a point-and-click interface replaced the text parser for the first time in a ''Zork'' game. The overall gameplay style was somewhat similar to ''Myst'', although ''Return to Zork'' predated ''Myst'' by a few months. Unlike ''Myst'', which had no extraspatial dimensions of functionality, ''Return to Zork'' features multiple ways of interacting with each object in the game world, as well as with several non-player characters also present in the world via a menu which appears on the left side of the screen. It also offers multiple ways to "complete" the game. It is pos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Police Quest IV
''Police Quest: Open Season'' (also known as ''Police Quest IV'') is a 1993 police procedural point-and-click adventure video game developed and published by Sierra On-Line. It is the fourth installment in the ''Police Quest'' series. Departing from the fictional universe of Lytton, California from the first three installments, ''Open Season'' follows police detective John Carey as he investigates a series of brutal murders in Los Angeles. The game was produced in cooperation with former Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) chief Daryl F. Gates, replacing former California Highway Patrol officer Jim Walls, who left Sierra around 1991. ''Open Season'' was well-received by critics, but underperformed compared to previous entries. An updated CD version was released in 1996. An indirect sequel and spinoff, '' Police Quest: SWAT'', was released in 1995. Gameplay ''Open Season'' uses point-and-click gameplay. Icons for "walking", "speaking, "using", and "looking" are used rather ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragon's Lair
''Dragon's Lair'' is a video game franchise created by Rick Dyer and Don Bluth. The series is famous for its Western animation-style graphics and complex decades-long history of being ported to many platforms and being remade into television and comic book series. The first game in the series is titled ''Dragon's Lair'', originally released for arcades in 1983 by Cinematronics. It uses laserdisc technology, offering greatly superior graphics compared to other video games at the time. The game was ported to several other platforms, but as no home system technology of that era could accommodate the graphical quality of LaserDisc, several abridged versions of the original game were released under different names. The first true sequel, '' Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp,'' had started development as early as 1984, but would only appear in arcades in 1991. While its graphics were once again praised, its now outdated and limited interactivity compared to the newer generation of arcade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sierra Online
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kings Quest VI
''King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow'' is a point-and-click adventure game, first released in 1992 as the sixth installment in the ''King's Quest'' series produced by Sierra Entertainment, Sierra On-Line. Written by Roberta Williams and Jane Jensen, ''King's Quest VI'' is widely recognized as the high point in the series for its landmark 3D graphic introduction movie (created by Kronos Digital Entertainment) and professional voice acting (Hollywood actor Robby Benson provided the voice for Prince Alexander, the game's protagonist). ''King's Quest VI'' was programmed in Sierra Entertainment#1980s, Sierra's Creative Interpreter and was the last ''King's Quest'' game to be released on floppy disk. A CD-ROM version of the game was released in 1993 in video gaming, 1993, including more character voices, a slightly different opening movie and more detailed artwork and animation. The name of this sequel is a pun on the common phrase "here today, gone tomorrow". This pun is related ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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