Virtual Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Virtual Theatre was a computer game engine
designed by Revolution Software
to produce adventure games for computer platforms. The engine allowed their team to script events, and move animated sprites
against a drawn background with moving elements using a point-and-click
style interface. The engine was first proposed in 1989
, while the first game to use it was released in 1992
.
When the engine was first released in Lure of the Temptress
it rivaled competing engines such as LucasArts
's SCUMM
engine, and Sierra's Creative Interpreter
, due to its basic level of artificial intelligence
, where NPC
s could traverse the world in seemingly random patterns, interacting with their environment. Traditionally in adventure game engines, NPCs were static awaiting the player to interact with them to trigger an event.
Another unique feature the engine possessed enabled all objects on screen to be solid, which resulted in NPCs side-stepping the player and any other object they came across as in turn the player would side step them. As a result of these features, the engine achieved a more realistic and active game world than previous engines had been able to exhibit.
A criticism of the engine was that NPCs could unwittingly block a path as the player was trying to traverse the game scene. This was somewhat remedied with the release of Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
, where character sprites were made transparent, so that when the protagonist found his way blocked by another character, he would simply walk straight through them. Broken Sword 1 had fewer incidental characters, however, making this a rare occurrence.
System Design
Virtual Theatre 2.0 Implementation
Note: Games that use the Virtual Theatre engine can be now played on modern hardware
using ScummVM
, which as a result allows the engine to run on platforms where the titles were not officially released such as Mac OS X
, Linux
, Windows CE
, Palm OS
, Nintendo DS
and others.
When Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars was ported to the Game Boy Advance
, Revolution Software chose not to use the Virtual Theatre engine.
During the design of Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror, the Virtual Theatre engine had to be adapted to run on both Microsoft Windows
and DOS
platforms.
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
designed by Revolution Software
Revolution Software
Revolution Software Ltd. is a British adventure game company, based in York in northern England.The company was founded in 1990 by Charles Cecil, Tony Warriner, David Sykes and Noirin Carmody...
to produce adventure games for computer platforms. The engine allowed their team to script events, and move animated sprites
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
against a drawn background with moving elements using a point-and-click
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
style interface. The engine was first proposed in 1989
1989 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* October 3, Brøderbund releases the Prince of Persia game, the first in a series of games, noted for its advancements in animation....
, while the first game to use it was released in 1992
1992 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:* Gremlin Graphics releases Zool, Amiga's answer to Mario and Sonic. It goes on to become the best selling Commodore Amiga game, boosting the already popular computer to be the leading gaming machine in Europe....
.
When the engine was first released in Lure of the Temptress
Lure of the Temptress
Lure of the Temptress is a fantasy point-and-click adventure game created by Revolution Software, published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment, and initially released in 1992 for Atari ST, DOS and Amiga systems...
it rivaled competing engines such as LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
's SCUMM
SCUMM
Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion is a scripting language developed at LucasArts to ease development of the graphical adventure game Maniac Mansion....
engine, and Sierra's Creative Interpreter
Sierra's Creative Interpreter
Sierra's Creative Interpreter is the scripting language created by Jeff Stephenson of Sierra On-Line for its adventure games after the older AGI, and the runtime environment for such adventure games....
, due to its basic level of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, where NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s could traverse the world in seemingly random patterns, interacting with their environment. Traditionally in adventure game engines, NPCs were static awaiting the player to interact with them to trigger an event.
Another unique feature the engine possessed enabled all objects on screen to be solid, which resulted in NPCs side-stepping the player and any other object they came across as in turn the player would side step them. As a result of these features, the engine achieved a more realistic and active game world than previous engines had been able to exhibit.
A criticism of the engine was that NPCs could unwittingly block a path as the player was trying to traverse the game scene. This was somewhat remedied with the release of Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars is a point-and-click adventure game released to the PC on November 5, 1996. It was released on the PlayStation in December that same year and on the Game Boy Advance March 19, 2002. It has also been ported to the Mobile phone, and re-released to the Wii, PC,...
, where character sprites were made transparent, so that when the protagonist found his way blocked by another character, he would simply walk straight through them. Broken Sword 1 had fewer incidental characters, however, making this a rare occurrence.
Credits
System Concepts- Charles CecilCharles CecilCharles Cecil MBE has worked in the interactive entertainment industry for 25 years. He is currently operating as Managing Director for UK based company Revolution Software which has released such critical and commercial hits as Beneath a Steel Sky and the Broken Sword series...
- Tony WarrinerTony WarrinerTony Warriner is a computer game designer, programer and a co-founder of Revolution Software.wrote his first video game, Obsidian for Amstrad CPC, in 1986. The game was published by Artic Computing and received strong reviews. After leaving Artic, Tony had a spell at Cascade Games and then Bytron,...
- Dave Sykes
- Dan Marchant
System Design
- Tony WarrinerTony WarrinerTony Warriner is a computer game designer, programer and a co-founder of Revolution Software.wrote his first video game, Obsidian for Amstrad CPC, in 1986. The game was published by Artic Computing and received strong reviews. After leaving Artic, Tony had a spell at Cascade Games and then Bytron,...
Virtual Theatre 2.0 Implementation
- Dave Sykes
- Tony WarrinerTony WarrinerTony Warriner is a computer game designer, programer and a co-founder of Revolution Software.wrote his first video game, Obsidian for Amstrad CPC, in 1986. The game was published by Artic Computing and received strong reviews. After leaving Artic, Tony had a spell at Cascade Games and then Bytron,...
Platforms
The Virtual Theatre engine was designed so it would be able to run on a number of platforms. In the past these have included:- AmigaAmigaThe Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
- Atari STAtari STThe Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
- PCIBM PC compatibleIBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
(MS-DOSMS-DOSMS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
and WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
) - Macintosh
- PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
Note: Games that use the Virtual Theatre engine can be now played on modern hardware
Hardware
Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....
using ScummVM
ScummVM
ScummVM is a collection of game engine recreations. Originally designed to play LucasArts adventure games that use the SCUMM system , it now also supports a variety of non-SCUMM games by companies like Revolution Software and Adventure Soft. It was originally written by Ludvig Strigeus...
, which as a result allows the engine to run on platforms where the titles were not officially released such as Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, Windows CE
Windows CE
Microsoft Windows CE is an operating system developed by Microsoft for embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinct operating system and kernel, rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows...
, Palm OS
Palm OS
Palm OS is a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
and others.
Games that use the Virtual Theatre engine
- Lure of the TemptressLure of the TemptressLure of the Temptress is a fantasy point-and-click adventure game created by Revolution Software, published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment, and initially released in 1992 for Atari ST, DOS and Amiga systems...
(19921992 in video gaming-Events:-Notable releases:* Gremlin Graphics releases Zool, Amiga's answer to Mario and Sonic. It goes on to become the best selling Commodore Amiga game, boosting the already popular computer to be the leading gaming machine in Europe....
) - Beneath a Steel SkyBeneath a Steel SkyBeneath a Steel Sky is a 1994 science-fiction point-and-click adventure game in the cyberpunk genre. Like many point-and-click adventure games, it features comedy elements, and was developed by Revolution Software, a British developer, and published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment. It was...
(19941994 in video gaming-Events:*Nintendo calls this year "1994: The Year of the Cartridge".*Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd is established and opened by Hiroshi Yamauchi and effectively ends Mattel Australia's distribution of Nintendo's products throughout Australia.*"Project...
) - Broken Sword: The Shadow of the TemplarsBroken Sword: The Shadow of the TemplarsBroken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars is a point-and-click adventure game released to the PC on November 5, 1996. It was released on the PlayStation in December that same year and on the Game Boy Advance March 19, 2002. It has also been ported to the Mobile phone, and re-released to the Wii, PC,...
(19961996 in video gaming-Notable releases:*January 29 — Duke Nukem 3D, successor to the simple side-scrolling originals, and a genre-redefining title for first person shooters....
) - Broken Sword II: The Smoking MirrorBroken Sword II: The Smoking MirrorBroken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror is a point-and-click adventure game released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. The remastered edition has been recently announced by Revolution Software and will be coming to iOS devices in late 2010 with Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows ports following in...
(19971997 in video gaming-Events:*October 4 — Gunpei Yokoi dies after a double car accident.*November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association launched.*3rd annual E3...
)
When Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars was ported to the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, Revolution Software chose not to use the Virtual Theatre engine.
During the design of Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror, the Virtual Theatre engine had to be adapted to run on both Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
platforms.