''Stunt Island'' is a
flight simulation
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
for
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
PCs released in 1992. It was designed by Adrian Stephens and Ronald J. Fortier and published by
Walt Disney Computer Software
Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include:
People Given name
* Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer
* Walt Be ...
. The game, marketed as "The Stunt Flying and Filming Simulation", provides an island which contains a number of different film sets, such as a city, an oil rig, a canyon, and an
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
. The player can position cameras and props around these sets, and create triggers to start actions including the camera panning and an object moving. The game also has an editing mode where the player can splice together taped footage and insert sound effects.
GOG.com
GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through it ...
released an
emulated
In computing, an emulator is Computer hardware, hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run so ...
version for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
and
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
in 2016.
Game components
Game engine
The game engine for ''Stunt Island'' was co-developed by
The Assembly Line
The Assembly Line was a British video game development company which created games for the Atari ST, Commodore 64 and Amiga systems. Recognized for the quality of its programming, it mostly created 3D action or puzzle games. Games they produc ...
. It is capable of simultaneously rendering several hundred simple 3D objects on a typical early 1990s PC with
386 processor at 33 MHz with two megabytes of
RAM
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* Ra ...
.
The graphics of the game are rendered in
256 colors
8-bit color graphics are a method of storing image information in a computer's memory or in an image file, so that each pixel is represented by 8 bits (1 byte). The maximum number of colors that can be displayed at any one time is 256 or 28.
Color ...
at 320x200 resolution (
VGA
Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the PC industry within three years. The term can no ...
) and the airplanes are shaded using
Gouraud shading
Gouraud shading, named after Henri Gouraud, is an interpolation method used in computer graphics to produce continuous shading of surfaces represented by polygon meshes. In practice, Gouraud shading is most often used to achieve continuous l ...
.
Stunt coordinator
When a player does not wish to create a stunt from scratch, he or she may go to the Stunt Coordinator on Stunt Island. The Stunt Coordinator possesses a built-in list of 32 stunt scenes. If the player is participating in the optional Stunt Pilot of the Year competition, these stunts must be completed to improve ranking.
Set design
In
set design
Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...
, a player may place props, cameras, and collideable triggers. Conditional and timed events may also be created to perform particular actions.
Flight simulator
While actually filming a stunt, the player's controls are that of a flight simulator. There is an
airfield
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
in the game where the player can select a plane and fly around Stunt Island to
scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
different locations.
Editing room
In the editing room the player is able to take previously recorded footage and splice them together into a single movie. Sound effects and music may also be added.
Theater
Movies may be watched in this room. Such movies may come with the game, be created by the player, or be downloaded from the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
. The game also comes with a tool called MAKEONE which may be used to generate a self-contained version of a movie, which may be played on a machine without the game by using the PLAYONE tool.
Reception
''
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'' in 1993 praised ''Stunt Island''s graphics, ease of use, editing features, and variety of aircraft, concluding that "it represents the future of simulation products
ndalso a step toward a future where films can be created completely on the microcomputer".
That year the magazine gave it a Special Award for Innovation, and nominated it for Simulation Game of the Year.
The game also received a Critics Choice Award for Best Consumer Product from the
Software Publishers Association
The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) is a trade association dedicated to the entertainment, consumer and business software industries. Established in 1984 as the Software Publishers Association (SPA), the SIIA took its new na ...
,
and was nominated for an award at the 1993
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tutori ...
.
In 1994, ''
PC Gamer UK
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games mag ...
'' named ''Stunt Island'' the 45th best computer game of all time. The editors wrote, "A great little package, but as with many 'games' of this type, its rewards are only visible if you're willing to invest time and effort. We strongly recommend you do just that."
See also
*
Machinima
Machinima, originally machinema () is the use of real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation. The word "machinima" is a portmanteau of the words ''ma ...
*''
The Movies
''The Movies'' is a business simulation game created by Lionhead Studios for Microsoft Windows and ported to Mac OS X by Feral Interactive. Players run a Hollywood film studio, creating films that can be exported from the game. ''The Movies'' wa ...
''
*
List of Disney video games
This is a list of video games featuring various Disney properties.
Classic animated shorts
Following lists are based around various characters from various Disney animated shorts.
Mickey Mouse games
Mickey Mouse is the figurehead of the Walt Di ...
References
External links
*{{MobyGames, id=/stunt-island
1992 video games
DOS games
Filmmaking video games
Flight simulation video games
Infogrames games
Linux games
MacOS games
Assembly language software
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Video games set on islands
Windows games
Single-player video games