Wintermute Engine
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Original author(s) | Jan "Mnemonic" Nedoma |
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Developer(s) | Dead:Code Software |
Initial release | January 12, 2003 |
Stable release | 1.9.1
/ January 1, 2010 |
Preview release | 1.10.1 beta
/ July 19, 2012 |
Repository | |
Written in | C++ |
Operating system | Windows |
Platform | Personal computer |
Available in | English, Greek, Spanish |
Type | Game engine |
License | MIT |
Website | dead-code |
Wintermute Engine (WME) is a set of
History
Wintermute Engine (WME) was designed and programmed by Czech programmer Jan Nedoma, who goes by the nickname Mnemonic on the WME forums. The name "Wintermute" is a reference to
Since 2013 the Winter Mute Lite Engine is hosted on Bitbucket and released under a MIT License.[1] Development continues on the repository, latest additions adding Android support.
Features
The
- Resolution and Color Depth - Unlike many similar systems the engine supports virtually any resolution: from 320x200 retro-style to high-res 1024x768 modern looking ones or higher. Both 16bit and 32bit color depths are supported. Colour depth can be also configured by the player at run time - the engine handles the conversion automatically.
- Rendering subsystem - WME can use hardware alpha blending and antialiasing(on old computers, WME is able to run in a "compatibility mode", which doesn't require a 3D accelerator, but disables the advanced graphics effects).
- File Formats - In addition to supporting common file formats WME also supports alpha channels for licensing issues) but uses the Ogg Vorbis format instead, arguably providing better compression and sound quality. Furthermore, the engine is able to play videos in Ogg Theora and AVI format, including automatic subtitles display (in the SUB format).
- Scripting - WME provides a flexible object-oriented scripting language that supports a set of methods and attributes to allow you an easy access to the internal engine workings. You can also create your own custom objects and override and customize built-in methods. It uses a C-like syntax, similar to C++, C#, Java or PHP.
- Parallax scrolling - Multi-layered parallax scrolling for the scenes is natively supported by the engine and scene tool. Unlike most other comparable software no additional scripting is required to implement it.
- Packages - A game can be compiled into one or more packages which contain all the game resources in a compressed form. This enables, for example, a developer to distribute a separate speech pack, or to release individual game episodes as packages. Packages can have various priorities, to release a patch for a game for example.
- 3D characters - WME can render .X".
- GUIs - It is possible, using standard controls, to build a complex user interface for a game, such as load/save windows, settings windows, an inventory window, etc. All the controls are fully "skinnable".
- Localization - A game can be translated into other languages, and isn't limited to text. Localization packages containing localized string table, fonts, graphics, or sounds are possible.
- Accessibility Support - WME provides several options to improve accessibility for vision-impaired players:
- Written text can be sent to a text-to-speech synthesizer
- Active areas on screen can be highlighted using keyboard shortcuts, making them easier to find for people with visual disabilities.
- The player can pause the game at any time to be able to read text or examine the scene.
There is also an active community that, while small, is growing in size and is willing to help newcomers with coding or recommendations.
Game design process
Wintermute Engine follows the
License
Starting with version 1.7, Wintermute Engine is distributed as
The source code of the portable Wintermute Lite 2D engine has been released under an MIT License and is hosted on a Bitbucket repository.[1] While the Wintermute Lite engine is free of charge also for commercial use, licensing of the included BASS sound library is required.[3] It is also Donationware, as the author asks for donations for continued development.[4] Later the author released also Wintermute 1.x and Wintermute 2 to bitbucket under MIT.[5] ScummVM integrated the WME lite engine into their framework as part of GSoC 2012 and 2013 student works.[6]
Previous releases were free to use for non-commercial purposes, but required a separate paid commercial license. The flexible nature, and relative inexpense, of the licence for even large commercial projects has made the Wintermute Engine a popular tool among
Games developed with Wintermute
Year | Title | Developer | Genre | License |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | The White Chamber | Studio Trophis Production Company | sci-fi horror |
freeware |
2007 | Carol Reed Mysteries (4th - 16th) | MDNA Games | adventure | commercial |
2007 | Limbo of the Lost | Majestic Studios | adventure | commercial |
2008 | 1½ Ritter: Auf der Suche nach der hinreißenden Herzelinde | Daedalic Entertainment | adventure |
commercial |
2008 | Art of Murder: FBI Confidential | Pinnacle | mystery | commercial |
2008 | Ghost in the Sheet | CBE Software | horror | commercial |
2008 | Scumbag Joe | Synthetix Interactive | adventure | demo freeware |
2008 | The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure | Darkling Room | horror | commercial |
2008 | Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches | Arberth Studios | adventure | commercial |
2009 | Dark Fall: Lost Souls | Darkling Room | horror | commercial |
2009 | Rosemary | Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab | mystery | freeware |
2010 | Hamlet or the Last Game without MMORPG Features, Shaders and Product Placement | Denis Galanin | adventure, puzzle | commercial |
2011 | Alpha Polaris | Turmoil Games | horror | commercial |
2012 | J.U.L.I.A. | CBE Software | adventure | commercial |
2012 | James Peris No license nor Control | Pavo Entertainment | adventure | commercial |
2012 | Поле Чудес (Field of Wonders) | HeroCraft | puzzle | commercial |
2013 | Face Noir | Mad Orange | adventure | commercial |
2013 | reverse | boom studio | horror | commercial |
2013 | Oknytt | Nemoria Entertainment | adventure | commercial |
2014 | Shadows on the Vatican | 10th Art Studio | adventure | commercial |
2014 | J.U.L.I.A. Among the Stars | CBE Software | adventure | commercial |
References
- ^ a b license.txt on bitbucket.org
- ^ Online book on WME by Jan "metamorphium" Kavan
- ^ BASS licensing on un4seen.com
- ^ donate on dead-code.org
- ^ MnemonicWME on bitbucket.org
- ^ Wintermute on scummvm.org
- ^ List of games using Wintermute incomplete list on MobyGames
- Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
- ^ Broekhuis, Erwin. "A word with Steve Ince". Adventure Developers. Retrieved 2009-12-21.