Nichimen N-World
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

N-World is a 3D graphics package developed by Nichimen Graphics in the 1990s, for
Silicon Graphics Silicon Graphics, Inc. (stylized as SiliconGraphics before 1999, later rebranded SGI, historically known as Silicon Graphics Computer Systems or SGCS) was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and soft ...
and
Windows NT Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems sc ...
workstations. Intended primarily for video game content creation, it has polygon modeling tools, 2D and 3D paint, scripting, color reduction, and exporters for several popular game consoles. After its initial release on Windows NT, N-World was renamed Mirai. The
winged edge In computer graphics, the winged edge data structure is a way to represent polygon meshes in computer memory. It is a type of boundary representation and describes both the geometry and topology of a model. Three types of records are used: vert ...
3D modeler in N-World inspired the development at Nichimen Graphics of Nendo, a standalone 3D modeler, which in turn inspired the open source modeler Wings 3D.


History

N-World originated with
Symbolics Symbolics was a computer manufacturer Symbolics, Inc., and a privately held company that acquired the assets of the former company and continues to sell and maintain the Open Genera Lisp system and the Macsyma computer algebra system.
, a computer manufacturer notable for producing
Lisp A lisp is a speech impairment in which a person misarticulates sibilants (, , , , , , , ). These misarticulations often result in unclear speech. Types * A frontal lisp occurs when the tongue is placed anterior to the target. Interdental lisping ...
-based systems in the 1980s. Among the software packages that were produced for Symbolics computers are S-Graphics, a 3D animation suite that includes modules for polygon modeling, dynamics, paint, and rendering — titled S-Geometry, S-Dynamics, S-Paint, and S-Render, respectively. In 1992, Japanese trading company Nichimen Corporation purchased the rights to S-Graphics, ported it to Silicon Graphics
IRIX IRIX ( ) is a discontinued operating system developed by Silicon Graphics (SGI) to run on the company's proprietary MIPS workstations and servers. It is based on UNIX System V with BSD extensions. In IRIX, SGI originated the XFS file system and ...
, and marketed it as N-World. N-World retains the
Lisp A lisp is a speech impairment in which a person misarticulates sibilants (, , , , , , , ). These misarticulations often result in unclear speech. Types * A frontal lisp occurs when the tongue is placed anterior to the target. Interdental lisping ...
-based underpinnings of its predecessor, but was targeted at interactive content producers, with features useful for game developers. It was priced at for the full suite, later reduced to when ported to
Windows NT Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems sc ...
in 1997. N-World was used to create graphics for many console games in the 1990s, including ''
Super Mario 64 is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional ''Su ...
'' and ''
Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Published in Japan by Square, it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertai ...
''. It was superseded by Mirai in 1999.


Features

The N-World package, like its predecessor S-Graphics, is divided into several components: * N-Geometry: 3D polygon-based modeling tools, including smoothing, "magnet" geometry editing, and instancing. * N-Dynamics: Animation tools including scripting, curve-based animation, and skeletal animation. * N-Render: Surfacing and rendering tools with ray tracing and materials output to various game console formats. * N-Paint: 2D and 3D paint with mattes, effects, color reduction, and a visual VRAM editor for PlayStation. * Game Tools: Utilities for game developers, including exporters for PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Saturn consoles.


Credits

The following games were created using N-World. * ''
Super Mario 64 is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional ''Su ...
'' * ''
Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Published in Japan by Square, it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertai ...
'' * ''Gran Turismo'' * '' Bomberman 64'' * ''Magic the Gathering'' * ''
NBA Jam Extreme ''NBA Jam Extreme'' is a 1996 basketball arcade game by Acclaim Entertainment based on the 1996–97 NBA season. After Midway Games released two ''NBA Jam'' games, Acclaim, the publisher of the home versions of ''NBA Jam'', ended up winning the ex ...
'' * ''NHL Breakaway'' * ''
PaRappa the Rapper is a rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation in Japan in 1996 and worldwide in 1997. Created by music producer Masaya Matsuura in collaboration with artist Rodney Greenblat, t ...
'' * '' MediEvil'' * ''WWF '98'' * ''Derby Stallion'' (PS1) * ''Shin Kaitei Gunkan'' * ''
AeroGauge is a futuristic, sci-fi hovercraft racing game designed for the Nintendo 64 game console and released in 1998 (1997 in Japan). ASCII's ''AeroGauge'' is conceptually similar to Psygnosis' '' Wipeout'' or Acclaim's '' Extreme G.'' The main diff ...
'' * ''Virtual ProWrestling'' * ''Power Ranger Pin Ball'' * ''Spider'' * ''
Motor Toon Grand Prix is a racing video game developed by Poly's and published by Sony Computer Entertainment of Japan (SCEJ). It was released for the PlayStation in Japan on December 16, 1994. The game and its sequel were directed by Kazunori Yamauchi, and are precu ...
'' * '' Beast Wars: Transformers'' * '' Overblood'' * ''
Enemy Zero is a 1996 horror-themed adventure video game for the Sega Saturn, developed by Warp and directed by Kenji Eno. Players assume the role of an astronaut who awakens from cryogenic sleep to find her spaceship overrun by invisible creatures who ar ...
'' * '' Forsaken'' * '' 64 Ōzumō'' * '' Crash Bandicoot'' * '' Rap Stars Online''


References


External links


Nichimen Graphics N-World 3 discussion thread on Nekochan.net
{{3D software 3D graphics software IRIX software 1990 software Graphics software Common Lisp (programming language) software