Filmation engine
Encyclopedia
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
name of the isometric
Isometric projection
Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings...
graphics engine employed in a series of games developed by Ultimate Play The Game
Ultimate Play the Game
Ultimate Play The Game was a critically acclaimed video game developer of the early home computer era. "Ultimate Play The Game" was the trading name of Ashby Computers & Graphics Ltd. , a software company founded in 1982 by two ex-arcade game developers Tim and Chris Stamper...
during the 1980s, primarily on the 8-bit
8-bit
The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...
ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
platform, but various titles also appeared on the BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
platforms.
The Filmation engine allowed the creation of forced perspective
Forced perspective
Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It is used primarily in photography, filmmaking and architecture...
3D flip-screen
Flip-screen
In video games, flip-screen is a principle whereby the playing environment is divided into single-screen portions...
environments, ideally suited to platform-based
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
arcade adventures. Player characters could move in four diagonal (from the player's perspective) directions, were able to jump over or onto obstacles, and even push objects around the game environment.
Precursors
Zaxxon
Zaxxon is a 1982 arcade game developed and released by Sega. Some sources claim that Japanese electronics company Ikegami Tsushinki also worked on the development of Zaxxon...
(both 1982) from Gottlieb
Gottlieb
Gottlieb was an arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was established by David Gottlieb in 1927, initially producing pinball machines while later expanding into various other games including pitch-and-bats, bowling games, and eventually video arcade games .Like other...
and Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
respectively, and the ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
title Ant Attack (1983) by Sandy White. Q*bert and Zaxxon have little else in common with Filmation, though Ant Attack was a platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
of similar style, and was the first of these games to feature an extra degree of freedom
Degrees of freedom (engineering)
In mechanics, degrees of freedom are the set of independent displacements and/or rotations that specify completely the displaced or deformed position and orientation of the body or system...
(the ability to move up and down as well and north, south, east and west). It was claimed by White that Ant Attack was "the first true isometric 3D game".
Development
When Filmation was introduced a year later, it featured far more complex graphics and environments than any isometric title yet, garnering Knight LoreKnight Lore
Knight Lore is a computer game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1984. The game is the third in the Sabreman series, following on from his adventures in Sabre Wulf and Underwurlde. Unlike the earlier games in the series it used Ultimate's filmation engine to achieve a 3D look...
much attention and critical acclaim. Ultimate Play The Game first described the engine in the Knight Lore manual thus:
Knight Lore was followed six months later by Alien 8
Alien 8
Alien 8 is a ZX Spectrum video game. It was written by Tim Stamper and Chris Stamper of Ultimate Play The Game, and was released by the company in 1985. The game was also ported to the BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC and MSX platforms. It is the follow-up to Ultimate's Knight Lore, which had been released...
and in 1986 by Pentagram
Pentagram (video game)
Pentagram is a ZX Spectrum and MSX video game released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1986. It is the fourth in the Sabreman series, following on from his adventures in Sabre Wulf, Underwurlde and Knight Lore. Similarly to Knight Lore it uses the isometric Filmation engine. The game was written by...
. A second engine, Filmation II, was introduced in 1985 and used in two titles, Nightshade
Nightshade (video game)
Nightshade is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1985. Building upon the earlier titles Knight Lore and Alien 8 using the flip-screen, isometric gameplay branded Filmation, Nightshade introduces a scrolling isometric environment branded Filmation II.-...
and Gunfright
Gunfright
Gunfright is a ZX Spectrum video game developed by Ultimate Play The Game for U.S. Gold in 1986. The game makes use of the same scrolling isometric projection engine used previously in Nightshade. The player takes the role of sheriff in the town of Black Rock. Some outlaws are headed into town...
. This new version of the engine introduced large scrolling
Scrolling
In computer graphics, filmmaking, television production, and other kinetic displays, scrolling is sliding text, images or video across a monitor or display. "Scrolling", as such, does not change the layout of the text or pictures, or but incrementally moves the user's view across what is...
environments (much like Ant Attack
Shooter game
Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...
s than the puzzle based Filmation I titles.
Two later games, Martianoids
Martianoids
Martianoids is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and published by Ultimate Play The Game in 1987. Although it uses isometric projection, as with Ultimate's second-generation isometric releases such as Nightshade and Gunfright, Martianoids used a scrolling display rather than the flip-screen of...
and Bubbler
Bubbler (video game)
Bubbler is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and published by Ultimate Play The Game in 1987. Although it uses isometric projection, as with Ultimate's second-generation isometric releases such as Nightshade and Gunfright, Bubbler used a scrolling display rather than the flip-screen of earlier...
, were developed by U.S. Gold
U.S. Gold
U.S. Gold was a British video game publisher and developer from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, producing numerous titles on a variety of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit platforms.-History:...
(and published on the Ultimate Play The Game label) which also used scrolling 3D environments, though neither made explicit use of the Filmation II engine. Both had similarities to Filmation II, though Martianoids did not use a true isometric perspective and Bubbler had more in common with Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
's Marble Madness
Marble Madness
Marble Madness is an arcade video game designed by Mark Cerny, and published by Atari Games in 1984. It is a platform game in which the player must guide an onscreen marble through six courses, populated with obstacles and enemies, within a time limit. The player controls the marble by using a...
than previous Filmation titles.
Ultimate's final, unreleased title, Mire Mare
Mire Mare
Mire Mare is an unreleased video game by Ultimate Play The Game.Underwurlde, the second game in the Sabreman series of titles from Ultimate has three separate exits, each naming another game in the series. The first exit names Knight Lore, which was released at the same time as Underwurlde...
, was long thought to have been Filmation-based, but in the late 1990s Rare revealed that it would actually have been more like the top-down Sabre Wulf
Sabre Wulf
Sabre Wulf is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1984. The game is the first in the Sabreman series. It was written originally by Tim Stamper and Chris Stamper, and later ported to many other computer platforms...
, the first title based around the Sabreman character.
Games
Filmation:- Knight LoreKnight LoreKnight Lore is a computer game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1984. The game is the third in the Sabreman series, following on from his adventures in Sabre Wulf and Underwurlde. Unlike the earlier games in the series it used Ultimate's filmation engine to achieve a 3D look...
(1984) - Alien 8Alien 8Alien 8 is a ZX Spectrum video game. It was written by Tim Stamper and Chris Stamper of Ultimate Play The Game, and was released by the company in 1985. The game was also ported to the BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC and MSX platforms. It is the follow-up to Ultimate's Knight Lore, which had been released...
(1985) - PentagramPentagram (video game)Pentagram is a ZX Spectrum and MSX video game released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1986. It is the fourth in the Sabreman series, following on from his adventures in Sabre Wulf, Underwurlde and Knight Lore. Similarly to Knight Lore it uses the isometric Filmation engine. The game was written by...
(1986)
Filmation II:
- NightshadeNightshade (video game)Nightshade is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1985. Building upon the earlier titles Knight Lore and Alien 8 using the flip-screen, isometric gameplay branded Filmation, Nightshade introduces a scrolling isometric environment branded Filmation II.-...
(1985) - GunfrightGunfrightGunfright is a ZX Spectrum video game developed by Ultimate Play The Game for U.S. Gold in 1986. The game makes use of the same scrolling isometric projection engine used previously in Nightshade. The player takes the role of sheriff in the town of Black Rock. Some outlaws are headed into town...
(1986)
Miscellaneous:
- MartianoidsMartianoidsMartianoids is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and published by Ultimate Play The Game in 1987. Although it uses isometric projection, as with Ultimate's second-generation isometric releases such as Nightshade and Gunfright, Martianoids used a scrolling display rather than the flip-screen of...
(1987) - BubblerBubbler (video game)Bubbler is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and published by Ultimate Play The Game in 1987. Although it uses isometric projection, as with Ultimate's second-generation isometric releases such as Nightshade and Gunfright, Bubbler used a scrolling display rather than the flip-screen of earlier...
(1987)
Influence
The Filmation style was extremely influential in the period immediately following the release of Knight Lore and Alien 8, and it was copied extensively by other publishers in titles such as Fairlight, The Great EscapeThe Great Escape (video game)
The Great Escape is a video game which shares a title and similar plot to the movie The Great Escape. It was programmed by Denton Designs, who went on to produce the similarly acclaimed Where Time Stood Still...
, Batman, Head Over Heels
Head Over Heels (game)
Head Over Heels is an arcade adventure, released in 1987 for several 8-bit home computers, and subsequently ported to a wide range of formats. Originally, the working title for the game was Foot and Mouth....
and Solstice
Solstice (video game)
Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos is a puzzle-oriented video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System created by Software Creations and heavily influenced by Ultimate Play the Game's Knight Lore and Pentagram...
. Later, Rare, the company that Ultimate Play The Game evolved into, reprised the style themselves with their releases Snake Rattle 'n' Roll
Snake Rattle 'n' Roll
Snake Rattle 'n' Roll is a platforming video game developed by Rare. It was published by Nintendo and released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in July 1990 and in Europe on March 27, 1991. It was ported to the Mega Drive and released by Sega in June 1993...
(NES
Nes
-Localities:In Norway:* Nes, Akershus, a municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway* Nes, Buskerud, a municipality in the county of Buskerud in Norway* Nes, Hedmark, a former municipality in the county of Hedmark in Norway...
and Sega Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
) and Monster Max
Monster Max
Monster Max is an arcade adventure video game developed by Rare and published by Titus for the Game Boy handheld game console in late 1994. The game was written by Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond. It is very similar in both graphics and gameplay to Ritman and Drummond's 1987 title Head Over...
(Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
; written by Bernie Drummond and Jon Ritman
Jon Ritman
Jon Ritman is a software developer, notable for his work on major 1980s video games. Working primarily on games for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC home computer range. His first experience with a computer was at the age of 13, and first computer was a Sinclair ZX81 that he bought in 1981.His first...
, the authors of the aforementioned Batman and Head Over Heels). Cadaver
Cadaver (video game)
Cadaver is an isometric action-adventure game by the Bitmap Brothers, originally released by Image Works in 1990, for Atari ST, Amiga, MS-DOS and Acorn Archimedes...
by the Bitmap Brothers
Bitmap Brothers
The Bitmap Brothers were a UK based video game developer founded in 1987. The company entered the industry in 1988 with the scrolling shooter Xenon. They quickly followed with the classic Speedball...
, released on the Amiga
Amiga
The 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...
and Atari ST
Atari ST
The 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...
in 1990, bore striking similarities to Knight Lore, and even named the game's location "Castle Wulf" after Knight Lore
Sabre Wulf
Sabre Wulf is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1984. The game is the first in the Sabreman series. It was written originally by Tim Stamper and Chris Stamper, and later ported to many other computer platforms...
. Later titles such as the UK-developed Sonic 3D (Sega Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
and Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
) and Moonpod's Mr. Robot
Mr. Robot
Mr. Robot is a 3D computer game by Moonpod and published as shareware. Notably the game design attempts to combine the two discrete genres of computer role-playing game and platform game. The platform adventure part of the game takes place on-board a spaceship called The Eidolon which is destined...
(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...
) (which takes a great deal of influence from Alien 8), have adopted similar isometric graphical styles and gameplay.
External links
- On Filmation, a discussion of the engine
- Filmation Viewer/Editor, tool for viewing and creating custom Filmation maps
- Looking for an Old Angle, CRASH article on Filmation and other isometric games
- Flash 3d isometric engine