Pyrotechnica is a 1995

1995 in video gaming

-Events:*May 11 – Introduction of trade magazine GameWeek *May 11-16 — The 1st annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is held in Los Angeles, California...

 3D

3D computer graphics

3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...

 first-person

First-person shooter

First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...

 and third-person shooter

Third-person shooter

Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...

 video game developed and published by Psygnosis for the 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...

 platform.

The game was not as successful as peers such as Descent

Descent (video game)

Descent is a 3D first-person shooter video game developed by Parallax Software and released by Interplay Entertainment Corp. in 1995. The game features six degrees of freedom gameplay and garnered several expansion packs...

, but was notable for its highly-regarded soundtrack.

Storyline

The action is set in the cores of ancient stars, where information capsules have been placed by ancient civilisations. Space stations have been built at these locations. However, wingmen, adventurers hired by the Terran Hardlight Corporation who have been working in these locations using their own individual craft, have been captured by adherents, alien cyborgs programmed to defend the precious capsules. The player must pilot his or her own ship and battle the adherents in a bid to free the captured wingmen.

Gameplay

Gameplay takes place in a zero-G 3D environment, a stylised representation of a space station. Players must use their ship's weaponry to destroy enemy ships and complete certain tasks before using an exit portal.

Graphical style

The environment has a somewhat retro feel due to the use of right-angles, a black background, and squares filled with a single colour. These evoke earlier eras of video gaming, in contrast to similar 3D games of the time which attempted a high degree of realism. Pyrotechnica bears a particular similarity to the 1989 title Interphase

Interphase (video game)

Interphase is a 1989 3D first-person and puzzle video game developed by The Assembly Line and published by Image Works for multiple platforms....

.

Development

The game runs on 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...

 and Windows 95

Windows 95

Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...

 and requires at least a 486DX processor. The game doesn't run on 386 or 486SX machines due to the lack of a floating-point unit co-processor. Graphics techniques used include 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...

.

External links

• Pyrotechnica at MobyGames
• Pyrotechnica at psygnosis.org a non-official Psygnosis site