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Alien Crossfire
''Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri'' is a 4X video game, considered a spiritual sequel to the Civilization (series), ''Civilization'' series. Set in a science fiction depiction of the 22nd century, the game begins as seven competing ideological factions land on the planet Chiron ("Planet") in the Alpha Centauri star system. As the game progresses, Planet's growing sentience becomes a formidable obstacle to the human colonists. Sid Meier, designer of ''Civilization (video game), Civilization'', and Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds, designer of ''Civilization II'', developed ''Alpha Centauri'' after they left MicroProse to join with Jeff Briggs in creating a new video game developer: Firaxis Games. Electronic Arts released both ''Alpha Centauri'' and its expansion, ''Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire'', in 1999. The following year, Aspyr Media Porting, ported both titles to Classic Mac OS while Loki Software ported them to Linux. ''Alpha Centauri'' features improvements on ''Civ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Sparks, Maryland. The company was founded in May 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds following their departure from MicroProse, Meier's earlier venture. They were acquired by Take-Two Interactive in August 2005, and subsequently became part of the publisher's 2K (company), 2K label. Firaxis Games is best known for developing the ''Civilization (series), Civilization'' and ''XCOM'' series, as well as many other games bearing Meier's name. History Firaxis Software was founded on May 1, 1996, by Sid Meier, Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds and Jeff Briggs, three video game designers formerly employed by MicroProse, a video game venture founded by Meier and partner Bill Stealey in 1982. The name "Firaxis", a portmanteau of "fiery" and "axis", was derived from the name of a piece of music created by Briggs. Briggs explained that they decided to stay in the B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spiritual Sequel
A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous product or work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue the product line or media franchise of its predecessor, and is thus only a successor "in spirit". Spiritual successors often have similar themes and styles to their preceding material, but are generally a distinct intellectual property. In fiction, the term generally refers to a work by a creator that shares similarities to one of their earlier works, but is set in a different continuity, and features distinct characters and settings. Such works may arise when licensing issues prevent a creator from releasing a direct sequel using the same copyrighted characters and names as the original. In literature Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, published between 1887 and 1927, drew a large number of pastiches from other authors as earl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books. He also wrote an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Best known for his hard science fiction, Asimov also wrote mystery fiction, mysteries and fantasy, as well as popular science and other non-fiction. Asimov's most famous work is the ''Foundation (book series), Foundation'' series, the first three books of which won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. His other major series are the ''Galactic Empire series, Galactic Empire'' series and the ''Robot series, Robot'' series. The ''Galactic Empire'' novels are set in the much earlier history of the same fictional universe as the ''Foundation'' series. Later, with ''Foundation an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur C
Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Italian it is Arturo. Etymology The earliest attestation of the name Arthur is in the early 9th century Welsh-Latin text '' Historia Brittonum'', where it refers to a circa 5th century Romano-British general who fought against the invading Saxons, and who later gave rise to the famous King Arthur of medieval legend and literature. A possible earlier mention of the same man is to be found in the epic Welsh poem '' Y Gododdin'' by Aneirin, which some scholars assign to the late 6th century, though this is still a matter of debate and the poem only survives in a late 13th century manuscript entitled the Book of Aneirin. A 9th-century Breton landowner named Arthur witnessed several charters collected in the '' Cartulary of Redon''. The Irish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune (novel), ''Dune'' and its five sequels. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer. ''Dune'' is the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, and the series is a classic of the science-fiction genre. The Dune (franchise), ''Dune'' saga, set in the distant future and taking place over millennia, explores complex themes, such as the long-term survival of the human species, human evolution, planetary science and ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, economics, sex, and power (sociology), power in a future where humanity has long since developed interstellar travel and colonized many thousands of worlds. The series has been adapted numerous times, including the feature film David Lynch's ''Dune (1984 film), Dune'' (1984), the miniseries ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or short stories, spanning a number of genres and gaining recognition for their intense attention to detail, innovative cinematography, extensive set design, and Black comedy, dark humor. Born in New York City, Kubrick taught himself film producing and directing after graduating from high school. After working as a photographer for ''Look (American magazine), Look'' magazine in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he began making low-budget short films and made his first major Hollywood film, ''The Killing (film), The Killing'', for United Artists in 1956. This was followed by two collaborations with Kirk Douglas: the List of anti-war films, anti-war film ''Paths of Glory'' (1957) and the Epic film, historical epic film ''Spartacus (film), Spartacus' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mod (computer Gaming)
Video game modding (short for "modifying") is the process of alteration by players or fans of one or more aspects of a video game, such as how it looks or behaves, and is a sub-discipline of general ''modding''. A set of modifications, commonly called a ''mod'', may range from small changes and tweaks to complete overhauls, and can extend the replay value and interest of the game. Modding a game can also be understood as the act of seeking and installing mods to the player's game, but the act of tweaking pre-existing settings and preferences is not truly modding. Mods have arguably become an increasingly important factor in the commercial success of some games, as they add depth to the original work, and can be both fun for players playing the mods and as a means of self-expression for mod developers. People can become fans of specific mods, in addition to fans of the game they are for, such as requesting features and alterations for these mods. In cases where mods are very popu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Game Engine
A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games which generally includes relevant libraries and support programs such as a level editor. The "engine" terminology is akin to the term " software engine" used more widely in the software industry. ''Game engine'' can also refer to the development software supporting this framework, typically a suite of tools and features for developing games. Developers can use game engines to construct games for video game consoles and other types of computers. The core functionality typically provided by a game engine may include a rendering engine ("renderer") for 2D or 3D graphics, a physics engine or collision detection (and collision response), sound, scripting, animation, artificial intelligence, networking, streaming, memory management, threading, localization support, scene graph, and video support for cinematics. Game engine implementers often economize on the process of game developme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porting
In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally designed for (e.g., different CPU, operating system, or third party library). The term is also used when software/hardware is changed to make them usable in different environments. Software is ''portable'' when the cost of porting it to a new platform is significantly less than the cost of writing it from scratch. The lower the cost of porting software relative to its implementation cost, the more portable it is said to be. This is distinct from cross-platform software, which is designed from the ground up without any single " native" platform. Etymology The term "port" is derived from the Latin '' portāre'', meaning "to carry". When code is not compatible with a particular operating system or architecture, the code must be "carried" to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Video Game Developer
A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with employee responsibilities split between individual disciplines, such as programmers, designers, artists, etc. Most game development companies have video game publisher financial and usually marketing support. Self-funded developers are known as independent or indie developers and usually make indie games. A developer may specialize in specific game engines or specific video game consoles, or may develop for several systems (including personal computers and mobile devices). Some focus on porting games from one system to another, or translating games from one language to another. Less commonly, some do software development work in addition to games. Most video game publishers maintain development studios (such as Electronic Arts's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MicroProse
MicroProse is an American video game publisher and video game developer, developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization (series), Civilization'' and ''X-COM'' series. Most of their internally developed titles were vehicle simulation game, vehicle simulation and strategy video game, strategy games. In 1993, the company lost most of its UK-based personnel and became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte. Subsequent cuts and corporate policies led to Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds leaving and forming Firaxis Games in 1996, as MicroProse closed its ex-Simtex development studio in Austin, Texas. In 1998, following an unsuccessful buyout attempt by GT Interactive, the struggling MicroProse (Spectrum HoloByte) became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hasbro Interactive and its development studios in Alameda, California, and Chapel Hill, North Caroli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civilization II
''Sid Meier's Civilization II'' is a turn-based strategy video game in the ''Civilization'' series, developed and published by MicroProse. It was released in 1996 for PCs, and later ported to the PlayStation by Activision. Players build a civilization from a primitive tribe, competing with rival computer- or human (in some editions)-controlled civilizations. They manage cities and units in a quest to assure their civilization's dominance—either by conquering all other civilizations or by manufacturing advanced space technology. ''Civilization II'' was a commercial hit, with sales of around three million units by 2001, and has won numerous awards and placements on "best games of all time" lists. It was followed by '' Civilization III''. Gameplay As a turn-based strategy game, ''Civilization II'' models the historical development of human civilization. A player, when creating a game, may pick one of 21 historical civilizations or a custom-named civilization. The comput ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
