Synapse Gaming is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 based video game engine developer. It is best known for lighting and rendering technology, integrated into the SunBurn XNA Game Engine

SunBurn XNA Game Engine

SunBurn XNA Game Engine is an indie game engine that equips developers to create games, simulations, and visualizations. SunBurn’s complete feature se includes forward and deferred rendering, collisions, advanced materials, high dynamic range lighting , bloom, and the SunBurn editor.It can produce...

 and previously, Garage Games' Torque

Torque

Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....

 Lighting Kit.

Synapse Gaming's interest in and development of lighting, rendering, and other elements of game technology have enabled independent game developers to create games with visuals that can compete with AAA title releases. It was started by John Kabus, initially working in partnership with Garage Games. Garage Games released the following products with Synapse Gaming's lighting and rendering technology in them:

• Torque Lighting Pack (2003)
• Torque Lighting Kit (2004)
• Torque Shader Engine (2006)

In 2008, Synapse Gaming embarked on a partnership with Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

, building new technology using XNA which retails as the SunBurn Engine. The resulting XNA products include:

• SunBurn Lighting and Rendering Engine (2008)
• Salty Jim's Putt Putt Island (2010)
• SunBurn XNA Game Engine (2011)

Microsoft recognizes Synapse Gaming as an official partner, and App Hub members receive discounts. In 2010, Synapse Gaming released a mobile mini-golf video game for Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone 7

Windows Phone is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft, and is the successor to its Windows Mobile platform, although incompatible with it. Unlike its predecessor, it is primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market...

called "Salty Jim's Putt Putt Island."