Stunt Island
Encyclopedia
Stunt Island is a video game designed by Adrian Stephens and Ronald J. Fortier and was published by Disney Interactive in 1992. The game, marketed as "The Stunt Flying and Filming Simulation", provides an island
which contains a number of different sets, such as a city, an oil rig, a canyon, and an aircraft carrier
. The player can position cameras and props around these sets, and create event triggers for things like camera pans and object movement. The game also has an editing mode where the player can splice together taped footage and insert sound effects. The game has a bias towards airplane
stunts (the basic game engine is a flight simulator
).
. It is capable of rendering several hundreds of simple 3D objects on a 386-33 with a minimum of two megabytes of RAM, and utilizes Gouraud shading
for the airplanes. It was considered a remarkable technical achievement at its time .
different locations.
The graphics of the game are rendered in 256 colors at 320x200 resolution.
. 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.
. Users of the software posted films they created onto CompuServe, where they could be downloaded and watched by other users.
Since 1999, Stunt Island activity has centered around the SIFA Yahoo! Group
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
which contains a number of different sets, such as a city, an oil rig, a canyon, and an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
. The player can position cameras and props around these sets, and create event triggers for things like camera pans and object movement. The game also has an editing mode where the player can splice together taped footage and insert sound effects. The game has a bias towards airplane
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
stunts (the basic game engine is a flight simulator
Flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
).
Game engine
The game engine for Stunt Island was co-developed by The Assembly LineThe Assembly Line
The Assembly Line was a British video game development company which created games for the Atari ST, Commodore 64 and Amiga systems. Recognised for the quality of its programming, it mostly created 3D action or puzzle games...
. It is capable of rendering several hundreds of simple 3D objects on a 386-33 with a minimum of two megabytes of RAM, and utilizes Gouraud shading
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...
for the airplanes. It was considered a remarkable technical achievement at its time .
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, 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. Additionally, there is an Airfield in the game where the player can select a plane and fly around Stunt Island to scoutReconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
different locations.
The graphics of the game are rendered in 256 colors at 320x200 resolution.
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 InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. 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.
Community history
Soon after the release of Stunt Island in 1992, there was a large amount of activity related to the game in the Flight Simulation Forum on CompuServeCompuServe
CompuServe was the first major commercial online service in the United States. It dominated the field during the 1980s and remained a major player through the mid-1990s, when it was sidelined by the rise of services such as AOL with monthly subscriptions rather than hourly rates...
. Users of the software posted films they created onto CompuServe, where they could be downloaded and watched by other users.
Since 1999, Stunt Island activity has centered around the SIFA Yahoo! Group