INSANE (engine)
Encyclopedia
INSANE is a proprietary INteractive Streaming ANimation Engine developed at LucasArts
, primarily by programmer/game designer Vincent Lee. Using custom video compression technology, it greatly compresses moving images so that high quality full-screen videos can be displayed even in hi-res graphics modes on the PC.
An early version was first developed for Star Wars: Rebel Assault
, and was followed by a much enhanced version in Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire and then in Full Throttle, Outlaws, and The Dig
. It was also used in the 1998 games Star Wars: Droid Works
, Mysteries of the Sith
, and Mortimer and The Riddles of the Medallion, and its compression technology was incorporated into Star Wars: Behind the Magic
, Star Wars Episode I - Insider's Guide, and Jar Jar's Journey Adventure Book. The use for Full Throttle caused some problems since INSANE was intended to be photorealistic, contrasting to the general cartoony feeling. The rendered environment had to be scaled down to match to the rest of the game world. Later enhancements were made to the compression technology to optimize it for the cartoon style imagery used in Outlaws.
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...
, primarily by programmer/game designer Vincent Lee. Using custom video compression technology, it greatly compresses moving images so that high quality full-screen videos can be displayed even in hi-res graphics modes on the PC.
An early version was first developed for Star Wars: Rebel Assault
Star Wars: Rebel Assault
Star Wars: Rebel Assault was the first CD ROM-only game published by LucasArts, set in the Star Wars universe. It was released for the PC followed by subsequent releases on the Sega CD, Mac and 3DO platforms.-Summary:...
, and was followed by a much enhanced version in Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire and then in Full Throttle, Outlaws, and The Dig
The Dig
The Dig is a graphical adventure game developed by LucasArts and released in 1995, and a game based on an idea for an Amazing Stories episode by Steven Spielberg...
. It was also used in the 1998 games Star Wars: Droid Works
Star Wars: Droid Works
Star Wars DroidWorks is an educational video game made by Lucas Learning, where the purpose is to create a droid using many different parts that can be assembled in almost endless combinations and have said droid complete a mission...
, Mysteries of the Sith
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith is an expansion pack for the first person shooter Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. It was developed and published by LucasArts, and released on January 31, 1998. The expansion includes a single-player mode and fifteen multiplayer maps. The...
, and Mortimer and The Riddles of the Medallion, and its compression technology was incorporated into Star Wars: Behind the Magic
Star Wars: Behind the Magic
Star Wars: Behind the Magic is an interactive CD-ROM released in 1998 by LucasArts.-Summary:It was designed as an in-depth look at the Star Wars trilogy and features a preview for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace....
, Star Wars Episode I - Insider's Guide, and Jar Jar's Journey Adventure Book. The use for Full Throttle caused some problems since INSANE was intended to be photorealistic, contrasting to the general cartoony feeling. The rendered environment had to be scaled down to match to the rest of the game world. Later enhancements were made to the compression technology to optimize it for the cartoon style imagery used in Outlaws.