Time-Gate
Encyclopedia
Time-Gate is an early ZX Spectrum
game from Quicksilva
, and one of the first 3D combat games.
This video game was (unusually for its time) an original concept, i.e. not a port of an arcade game.Although based on the common misconception that time is the fourth dimension (in fact, physicists regard time as a fourth dimension; mathematicians regard "dimension" as referring to space only), it was unusual (particularly when compared with the flood of me-too games which followed it) in that it treated time as a dimension, in which one could travel (albeit backwards only).
; nowhere in either theory is there a single word about time being the fourth dimension, to the exclusion of all other candidates. Indeed, at least one of the current (June 2008) theories of cosmology
requires there to be at least four dimensions of space, regardless of how many time dimensions there are. See also Robert A. Heinlein
's short story "—And He Built a Crooked House—"; it can be found in several SF
anthologies
.) But unlike Time-Gate, these all without exception merely featured a display with some kind of perspective
("the first three dimensions") plus animation
("the fourth") — in no sense did they feature time as a dimension.
These games all rapidly sank without trace, although occasionally thereafter another game featuring time flow (e.g. animation) would wrongly call itself "4D". Ironic
ally, there was at the time of Time-Gates publication a game ("Knot in 3D
" by New Generation Software
) which mathematicians would call 4D (in that it took place on the 3D surface of a 4D hypersphere
); but it was never advertised as such!
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
game from Quicksilva
Quicksilva
Quicksilva was a British games software publisher active during the early 1980s.Amongst the company's successes were Jeff Minter's Gridrunner and Bugaboo , a title licenced from Spanish software house Indescomp S.A....
, and one of the first 3D combat games.
This video game was (unusually for its time) an original concept, i.e. not a port of an arcade game.Although based on the common misconception that time is the fourth dimension (in fact, physicists regard time as a fourth dimension; mathematicians regard "dimension" as referring to space only), it was unusual (particularly when compared with the flood of me-too games which followed it) in that it treated time as a dimension, in which one could travel (albeit backwards only).
Plot
Time-Gate had one embarking on a perilous mission to repel the Squarm invaders who have conquered Earth, by fighting through hordes of same, thus finding and locating the time-gates (hence the name) and using the gates to travel back through time to an earlier era, where one fought through more Squarm to find another gate... Eventually, if one hadn’t been killed by the enemy , one got back to the year before the Squarm invaded, located their home planet, and locked onto it with one’s meson RAM (48K), thereby destroying it and retroactively preventing its inhabitants from ever having invaded in the first place.Technical problems
Time-Gate, due to its intense use of machine-code-driven sound, placed more stress on the Spectrum's sound capabilities than previous games, and thereby inadvertently revealed a design flaw in early machines, whereby the Time-Gate sound effects would crash those machines. This resulted in some people buying the game to stress-test their Spectrums.The wave of "4D" games
Time-Gate was followed by several games (hastily written and rushed out to cash in on its popularity) which, like Time-Gate itself, based their "4D" claim on a common fallacy concerning Einstein and his Theories of Relativity. (Contrary to popular misconception, what Relativity says about time is that it is a fourth dimensionDimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
; nowhere in either theory is there a single word about time being the fourth dimension, to the exclusion of all other candidates. Indeed, at least one of the current (June 2008) theories of cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
requires there to be at least four dimensions of space, regardless of how many time dimensions there are. See also Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
's short story "—And He Built a Crooked House—"; it can be found in several SF
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
anthologies
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
.) But unlike Time-Gate, these all without exception merely featured a display with some kind of perspective
Perspective (graphical)
Perspective in the graphic arts, such as drawing, is an approximate representation, on a flat surface , of an image as it is seen by the eye...
("the first three dimensions") plus animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
("the fourth") — in no sense did they feature time as a dimension.
These games all rapidly sank without trace, although occasionally thereafter another game featuring time flow (e.g. animation) would wrongly call itself "4D". Ironic
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
ally, there was at the time of Time-Gates publication a game ("Knot in 3D
Knot in 3D
Knot in 3D is a ZX Spectrum game by Malcolm Evans, originally published in 1983 by New Generation Software. It resembles a three-dimensional Knot in 3D is a ZX Spectrum game by Malcolm Evans, originally published in 1983 by New Generation Software. It resembles a three-dimensional Knot in 3D is a...
" by New Generation Software
New Generation Software
New Generation Software was a firm famous for the computer games with innovative graphics it produced for the Sinclair ZX81 and ZX Spectrum computers. It was conceived in the spring of 1982 shortly after the lead developer, Malcolm Evans created 3D Monster Maze New Generation Software was a firm...
) which mathematicians would call 4D (in that it took place on the 3D surface of a 4D hypersphere
Hypersphere
In mathematics, an n-sphere is a generalization of the surface of an ordinary sphere to arbitrary dimension. For any natural number n, an n-sphere of radius r is defined as the set of points in -dimensional Euclidean space which are at distance r from a central point, where the radius r may be any...
); but it was never advertised as such!