Sinkha
Encyclopedia
The Sinkha Project is a series of digital comics
and multimedia
novels created by Marco Patrito, an Italian science-fiction author and illustrator who has published comic novels
in Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Holland and North America since 1984. He has drawn more than 150 cover illustrations for Italian publisher Mondadori.
The Sinkha Universe, originally conceived by Patrito in early 1991, was used as a set for the first Sinkha multimedia novel, which was completely realized using ground-breaking 3D computer graphics
over the course of five years. In 1995, the Sinkha CD-ROM was finally distributed by Virtual Views in Europe, USA and Japan for Mac OS
and Windows
operating systems.
.
Presented as the first multimedia novel completely realized in 3D computer graphics,Sinkha was released in 1995 for Mac OS 7, Windows 3.1 and Windows 95
. It features 8-bit
graphics and a monaural
soundtrack. It specifically requires QuickTime 2 and does not work properly on recent operating systems, although it is possible to run it via emulators like Basilisk
and DOSBox
.
In 1998, Marco Patrito was approached by a Hollywood film producer wanting to turn Sinkha into a movie. Patrito was asked to draw up a "feature film treatment" based on the novel, with the addition of some variants. The draft was approved and pre-production started, but budget troubles quickly arose. A non-negotiable clause was that the movie would have to be done entirely in computer graphics, which at the time were very expensive. When the estimated figure (over twenty million dollars) was judged to be insufficient, a proposal was made to use real and affordable actors that were not overly famous, but the situation stalled. It was impossible to move beyond that impasse, and the project was ultimately abandoned.
However, in 2002, the second multimedia novel, Hyleyn, included an abridged version of Sinkha based on the synopsis of this aborted movie. Subtitled First Encounter, it contained fewer but enhanced (although static) CG artworks, as well as an expanded description of the original events.
In 2008, the original Sinkha was remastered with 24-bit graphics and a full stereophonic soundtrack. It was re-released as Sinkha Zero.
The music of Episode 0 was composed by the neo-prog band Fancyfluid (Sandro Bruni and Fabrizio Goria).
The music of Episode 1 was composed by Ettore Cimpincio.
The music of Episode 2 was composed by Bjørn Lynne
, Nery Bauer and Jacek Dojwa.
The music of Episode 3 was composed by Bjørn Lynne
, Nery Bauer and Jacek Dojwa.
Episode 0 was developed on Macintosh
with the following tools:
All other Episodes were developed on PC
with the following tools:
Digital comics
Digital comics can refer to either comics created entirely on a computer or comics released digitally ....
and multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
novels created by Marco Patrito, an Italian science-fiction author and illustrator who has published comic novels
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
in Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Holland and North America since 1984. He has drawn more than 150 cover illustrations for Italian publisher Mondadori.
The Sinkha Universe, originally conceived by Patrito in early 1991, was used as a set for the first Sinkha multimedia novel, which was completely realized using ground-breaking 3D computer graphics
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...
over the course of five years. In 1995, the Sinkha CD-ROM was finally distributed by Virtual Views in Europe, USA and Japan for Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
and 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...
operating systems.
Episodes
As of 2008, the Sinkha Project is composed of four multimedia novels (Episodes 0, 1, 2 and 3) and three graphic novels (Episodes 1, 2 and 3). The printed versions are available in Italian, French, Portuguese and German languages. Episodes 0 and 1 were also published in English on special issues of the American magazine Heavy MetalHeavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
.
Sinkha 0: First Encounter [1995]
Sinkha tells the story of Hyleyn, a bold girl who lives in the mysterious city of Thalissar. This gigantic and gloomy agglomeration of howling metal, located on the hostile planet Ogon, proves to be of great interest to the Sinkha, a race of immortals who send their living starship Darcron to investigate.Presented as the first multimedia novel completely realized in 3D computer graphics,Sinkha was released in 1995 for Mac OS 7, Windows 3.1 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...
. It features 8-bit
8-bit color
8-bit color graphics is a method of storing image information in a computer's memory or in an image file, such that each pixel is represented by one 8-bit byte. The maximum number of colors that can be displayed at any one time is 256....
graphics and a monaural
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
soundtrack. It specifically requires QuickTime 2 and does not work properly on recent operating systems, although it is possible to run it via emulators like Basilisk
Basilisk II
Basilisk II is an open source software emulator which emulates the 680x0-based Apple Macintosh computer on a variety of operating systems, including BeOS, Linux, AmigaOS, Windows NT, Mac OS X and even on the Sony PSP....
and DOSBox
DOSBox
DOSBox is emulator software that emulates an IBM PC compatible computer running MS-DOS. It is intended especially for use with old PC games. DOSBox is free software....
.
In 1998, Marco Patrito was approached by a Hollywood film producer wanting to turn Sinkha into a movie. Patrito was asked to draw up a "feature film treatment" based on the novel, with the addition of some variants. The draft was approved and pre-production started, but budget troubles quickly arose. A non-negotiable clause was that the movie would have to be done entirely in computer graphics, which at the time were very expensive. When the estimated figure (over twenty million dollars) was judged to be insufficient, a proposal was made to use real and affordable actors that were not overly famous, but the situation stalled. It was impossible to move beyond that impasse, and the project was ultimately abandoned.
However, in 2002, the second multimedia novel, Hyleyn, included an abridged version of Sinkha based on the synopsis of this aborted movie. Subtitled First Encounter, it contained fewer but enhanced (although static) CG artworks, as well as an expanded description of the original events.
In 2008, the original Sinkha was remastered with 24-bit graphics and a full stereophonic soundtrack. It was re-released as Sinkha Zero.
The music of Episode 0 was composed by the neo-prog band Fancyfluid (Sandro Bruni and Fabrizio Goria).
Sinkha 1: Hyleyn [2002]
As an added bonus, Hyleyn includes an abridged version of Sinkha which contains fewer but enhanced (although static) CG artworks, as well as an expanded description of the original events.The music of Episode 1 was composed by Ettore Cimpincio.
Sinkha 2: Atmosphere [2007]
Episodes 2 and 3 were released together on a single CD-ROM. The disc contains two bonus features: an Extra section in which Marco Patrito explains the genesis of the Sinkha Project, and a second section which offers a detailed presentation of the Sinkha Universe.The music of Episode 2 was composed by Bjørn Lynne
Bjørn Lynne
Bjørn Arild Lynne is a Norwegian sound engineer and music composer, now living and working in Stavern, Norway. He has been widely known as a tracker music composer under the name "Dr. Awesome/Crusaders" in the late 1980s–early 90s when he released numerous tunes in MOD format and created music...
, Nery Bauer and Jacek Dojwa.
Sinkha 3: Planet of the Clouds [2007]
Episodes 2 and 3 were released together on a single CD-ROM. The disc contains two bonus features: an Extra section in which Marco Patrito explains the genesis of the Sinkha Project, and a second section which offers a detailed presentation of the Sinkha Universe.The music of Episode 3 was composed by Bjørn Lynne
Bjørn Lynne
Bjørn Arild Lynne is a Norwegian sound engineer and music composer, now living and working in Stavern, Norway. He has been widely known as a tracker music composer under the name "Dr. Awesome/Crusaders" in the late 1980s–early 90s when he released numerous tunes in MOD format and created music...
, Nery Bauer and Jacek Dojwa.
Authoring
The Sinkha Project was created and realized by Marco Patrito, with the collaboration of Fabio Patrito and Tullio Rolandi. Some works and suggestions were contributed by Flavio Chirico and Francesco Chirico (Episode 0), Laura Patrito, Maurizio Manzieri (all Episodes), Marco Rolandi (Episode 1), Daniele Totolo (Episodes 1 and 2) and Massimo Zuanazzi (Episode 2).Episode 0 was developed on Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
with the following tools:
- Strata StudioStrataVision 3DStrataVision 3D was a comprehensive 3D computer graphics software package by Strata. Features include primitives-based modeling with texturising, keyframe animation, raytrace and later radiosity rendering....
- Adobe PhotoshopAdobe PhotoshopAdobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
- Adobe After EffectsAdobe After EffectsAdobe After Effects is a digital motion graphics and compositing software published by Adobe Systems, used in the post-production process of filmmaking and television production. Its main uses are the origination of 2D and 2.5D animation, visual effects compositing and finishing...
- Macromedia DirectorAdobe DirectorAdobe Director is a multimedia application authoring platform created by Macromedia—now part of Adobe Systems. It allows users to build applications built on a movie metaphor, with the user as the "director" of the movie...
- Apple QuickTimeQuickTimeQuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
All other Episodes were developed on PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM 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...
with the following tools:
- Wavefront MayaMaya (software)Autodesk Maya , commonly shortened to Maya, is 3D computer graphics software that runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and Linux, originally developed by Alias Systems Corporation and currently owned and developed by Autodesk, Inc. It is used to create interactive 3D applications, including video...
- Autodesk 3DS Max
- Adobe PhotoshopAdobe PhotoshopAdobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
- Adobe After EffectsAdobe After EffectsAdobe After Effects is a digital motion graphics and compositing software published by Adobe Systems, used in the post-production process of filmmaking and television production. Its main uses are the origination of 2D and 2.5D animation, visual effects compositing and finishing...
- Macromedia DirectorAdobe DirectorAdobe Director is a multimedia application authoring platform created by Macromedia—now part of Adobe Systems. It allows users to build applications built on a movie metaphor, with the user as the "director" of the movie...
External links
- Sinkha - official website
- Virtual Views - Sinkha's publisher
- Marco Patrito - official website
- Maurizio Manzieri - official website
- Shockwave Sound - Bjørn Lynne's music library
- Delos Cyberzine - a review of Sinkha (8-bit version)