|
Azrael's Tear
''Azrael's Tear'' is a 1996 first-person adventure game that presents an eschatological conspiracy fiction narrative about a futuristic Grail Quest. It was published by Mindscape and developed by Intelligent Games. Plot The game is set in the period from early December 2012 to Christmas Day 2015. The player assumes the role of a highly skilled professional grave robber/archaeologist known as a "raptor", who has come to raid a massive 12th-century underground complex recently found in Wick, Caithness, Scotland. The existence of the cavern is not publicly known. The player character has come in response to rumors, spreading within their criminal community, to the effect that the site may conceal the Holy Grail. The player character's history is not detailed in the game. This could be said to echo the Abrahamic message that God will accept any firm and sincere repentance, regardless of the petitioner's origin or past. Development Ken Haywood produced the original concept for t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intelligent Games
Intelligent Games Ltd was a British video game developer based in London. The company was established in 1988 as The Intelligent Games Co. by Matthew Stibbe, who was studying at Pembroke College in Oxford. Following his graduation and the releases of ''Nam 1965–1975'' and ''Imperium'', Stibbe relocated to London in 1992, where he incorporated Intelligent Games in 1993. He hired ''Imperium'' producer Kevin Shrapnell as director of development, who aimed for the company to develop "hit-driven, brand-led" games, among them a series of PGA Tour games (initiated by Steve Cuss) and a tie-in to the film ''Waterworld''. The latter attracted Westwood Studios, which worked with Intelligent Games on ''Dune 2000'' (a remake of ''Dune II'') and expansions for '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert''. Relocating multiple times within London, Intelligent Games grew to 65 employees by 1999. That year, Westwood was unsuccessful in acquiring Intelligent Games but inspired Stibbe to want to leave the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
12th Century
The 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and overlaps with what is often called the Golden Age' of the Cistercians". The Golden Age of Islam experienced significant development, particularly in Islamic Spain. In Song dynasty China, Jurchen campaigns against the Song dynasty, an invasion by Jurchens caused a political schism of north and south. The Khmer Empire of Cambodia flourished during this century, while the Fatimids of Egypt were overtaken by the Ayyubid dynasty. Following the expansions of the Ghaznavids and Ghurid dynasty, Ghurid Empire, the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent took place at the end of the century. Events 1101–1109 *1101: In July, the Treaty of Alton is signed between Henry I of England and his older brother Robert Curthose, Robert, Duke of Normandy in which Robert agrees to recognize Henry as king of Eng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Full-motion Video
Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information during cutscenes, games that are primarily presented through FMVs are referred to as full-motion video games or interactive movies. Recent full motion video games often combine the use of CGI/green screens and in-game graphics for immersion. The early 1980s saw almost exclusive use of the LaserDisc for FMV games. Many arcade games used the technology but it was ultimately considered to be a fad and fell out of use. In the early 1990s FMV games had a resurgence of interest, the proliferation of optical discs gave rise to a slew of original FMV-based computer games such as '' Night Trap'' (1992), '' The 7th Guest'' (1993), '' Voyeur'' (1993), '' Phantasmagoria '' (1995), and '' Daryl F. Gates' Police Quest: SWAT'' (1995). The introduc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Under A Killing Moon
''Under a Killing Moon'' is a 1994 point-and-click adventure interactive movie video game. It is the third installment in the '' Tex Murphy'' series of adventure games produced by Access Software. In it, the detective Tex Murphy finds himself unwittingly involved in the affairs of a dangerous cult. Gameplay ''Under a Killing Moon'' dramatically shifted the gameplay of its predecessors in the series by fully utilizing interactive 3D environments. The player controls the protagonist Tex from a first-person perspective. The virtual world allows full freedom of movement, and as such allows the player to look for clues in every nook and cranny. It was also the first ''Tex Murphy'' game to stray from the traditional adventure game dialogue format of providing options that showed exactly what the player's character would say. Instead, descriptions of the dialogue choices were given, providing some mystery to what Tex would say. Plot ''Under a Killing Moon'' takes place in post-World ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pre-rendering
Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputting or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of footage that was previously rendered on different equipment (typically one that is more powerful than the hardware used for playback). Pre-rendered assets (typically movies) may also be outsourced by the developer to an outside production company. Such assets usually have a level of complexity that is too great for the target platform to render in real-time. The term pre-rendered refers to anything that is not rendered in real-time. This includes content that could have been run in real-time with more effort on the part of the developer (e.g. video that covers many of a game's environments without pausing to load, or video of a game in an early state of development that is rendered in slow-motion and then played back at regular speed). This term is generally not used to refer to video captures of real- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texture Mapping
Texture mapping is a term used in computer graphics to describe how 2D images are projected onto 3D models. The most common variant is the UV unwrap, which can be described as an inverse paper cutout, where the surfaces of a 3D model are cut apart so that it can be unfolded into a 2D coordinate space (UV Space). Semantic Texture mapping can both refer to the task of unwrapping a 3D model, the abstract that a 3D model has textures applied to it and the related algorithm of the 3D software. Texture map refers to a Raster graphics also called image, texture. If the texture stores a specific property it's also referred to as color map, roughness map, etc. The coordinate space which converts from the 3D space of a 3D model into a 2D space so that it can sample from the Texture map is called: UV Space, UV Coordinates, Texture Space. Algorithm A simplified explanation of how an algorithm could work to render an image: # For each pixel we trace the coordinates of the screen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. They were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of the members. All of the band members were multi-instrumentalists. Although not commercially successful, the band did achieve a cult following. The band stated that their aim was to "expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular", although this stance was to alter significantly with time. Gentle Giant's music was considered complex even by progressive rock standards, drawing on a broad swathe of music including folk, soul, jazz, and classical music. Unlike many of their progressive rock contemporaries, their "classical" influences ranged beyond the Romantic and incorporated medieval, baroque, and modernist chamber music elements. The band also had a taste for broad themes for their lyrics, drawing inspiration not only from personal experiences but from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myst
''Myst'' is a 1993 adventure video game developed by Cyan and published by Broderbund for Mac OS. In the game, the player travels via a special book to a mysterious island called Myst. The player interacts with objects and traverses the environment by clicking on pre-rendered imagery. Solving puzzles allows the player to travel to other worlds ("Ages"), which reveal the backstory of the game's characters and help the player make the choice of whom to aid. Designers Rand and Robyn Miller had started in game development creating black-and-white, largely plotless works aimed at children. They wanted ''Myst'' to be a graphically impressive game with a nonlinear story and mystery elements aimed at adults. The game's design was limited by the small memory footprint of video game consoles and by the slow speed of CD-ROM drives. The game was created on Apple Macintosh computers and ran on the HyperCard software stack, though ports to other platforms subsequently required th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Repentance
Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a commitment to personal change and the resolve to live a more responsible and humane life. In other words, being sorry for one's misdeeds. It can also involve sorrow over a specific sin or series of sins that an individual feels guilt over, or conviction that they have committed. The practice of repentance plays an important role in the soteriological doctrines of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Analogous practices have been found in other world religions as well. In religious contexts, it often involves an act of confession to God or to a spiritual elder (such as a monk or priest). This confession might include an admission of guilt, a promise or intent not to repeat the offense, an attempt to make restitution for the w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gospel
The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefits to humankind. In Ancient Greek religion, the word designated a type of sacrifice or ritual dedication intended to thank the gods upon receiving good news. The religious concept is found at least as far back as Greece's Classical era and Roman authors are known to have adopted it toward the end of the 1st century BCE. It is a central message of Christianity today, in which written accounts of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ are known as Gospels. Etymology ''Gospel'' () is the Old English translation of Greek , meaning "good news". This may be seen from analysis of ( + + diminutive suffix). The Greek term was Latinized as in the Vulgate, and translated into Latin as . In Old English, it was translated as (, "good" + , "n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abrahamic Religion
The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them with Indian religions, Iranian religions, and East Asian religions. The term has been introduced in the 20th century and superseded the term Judeo-Christian tradition for the inclusion of Islam. However, the categorization has been criticized by some for oversimplification of different cultural and doctrinal nuances. For example, Islam shares cultural and doctrinal exchange from Asian religions, which Abrahamic religions are usually contrasted with. Usage The term ''Abrahamic religions'' (and its variations) is a collective religious descriptor for elements shared by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It features prominently in interfaith dialogue and political discourse but also has entered academic discourse.Bakhos, Carol. The Family of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (, , , ) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenance in infinite abundance, often guarded in the custody of the Fisher King and located in the hidden Grail castle. By analogy, any elusive object or goal of great significance may be perceived as a "holy grail" by those seeking such. A mysterious "grail" (Old French: ''graal'' or ''greal''), wondrous but not unequivocally holy, first appears in '' Perceval, the Story of the Grail'', an unfinished chivalric romance written by Chrétien de Troyes around 1190. Chrétien's story inspired many continuations, translators and interpreters in the later-12th and early-13th centuries, including Wolfram von Eschenbach, who portrayed the Grail as a stone in ''Parzival''. The Christian, Celtic or possibly other origins of the Arthurian grail trope are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
