Mario

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Mario Theme
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Mario
Mario character
3D render of a cartoon plumber with a mustache, a large round nose, a red cap with the letter M, a red shirt, blue overalls, and brown shoes.
Mario, as depicted in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
First appearanceDonkey Kong (1981)
Created byShigeru Miyamoto
Designed by
Voiced byCharles Martinet (1991–2023)
Kevin Afghani (2023–present)
Others:
Portrayed by
In-universe information
FamilyLuigi (brother)
NationalityItalian (games)[22]
Italian American (other media)

Mario (/mɑːri/, /mæri/) is a character from the Mario franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario is an Italian plumber who resides in the Mushroom Kingdom with his younger twin brother, Luigi. Their adventures generally involve rescuing Princess Peach from the villain Bowser while using power-ups that give them different abilities.[23][24]

Mario first appeared as the player character of the 1981 platformer game Donkey Kong. Originally Miyamoto wanted to use Popeye as the protagonist, but was unable to acquire the licensing rights, leading him to create Mario.[25] Many elements of Mario's design were due to the graphical limitations of arcade hardware, such as a large nose, a mustache to accentuate his nose, and overalls to make his arms more identifiable.[26] Originally called "Mr. Video" and "Jumpman", he was renamed Mario after Nintendo of America's landlord, Mario Segale. Following his appearance in Donkey Kong, he would make cameo appearances in other video games before making his appearance in Super Mario Bros. (1985), a Nintendo Entertainment System game that started the Super Mario series. Charles Martinet voiced Mario from 1991 to 2023, before being succeeded by Kevin Afghani.

After Super Mario Bros., Mario began to branch off into different genres and has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation. These include puzzle games such as Dr. Mario, role-playing games such as Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi, and sports games such as Mario Kart and Mario Tennis. He has appeared in other Nintendo properties, such as in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games. Mario has also appeared in animated media, including three series produced by DIC Entertainment (voiced by Lou Albano and later Walker Boone). He was portrayed by Bob Hoskins in the live-action Super Mario Bros. film in 1993 and voiced by Chris Pratt in The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023.

An established pop culture icon, Mario holds multiple Guinness World Records titles, such as "Most Prolific Video Game Character", "Longest-running Computer Game Character", and "Godfather of gaming". He has appeared in a variety of merchandise, such as clothing and collectible items, and people and places have been nicknamed after him. He has inspired a considerable amount of unofficial media.

Concept and creation[edit]

Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario.

Shigeru Miyamoto created Mario while developing Donkey Kong in an attempt to produce a successful video game for Nintendo; previous games, such as Sheriff, had not achieved the success of games such as Namco's Pac-Man.[27] Originally, Miyamoto wanted to create a game that used the 1930s characters Popeye, Bluto, and Olive Oyl.[28][29] At the time, however, as Miyamoto was unable to acquire a license to use the characters (and would not until 1982 with Popeye), he ended up creating an unnamed player character, along with Donkey Kong and Lady (later known as Pauline).[28]

In the early stages of Donkey Kong, Mario was drawn using pixel dots in a 16x16 grid.[30] The focus of the game was to escape a maze, while Mario did not have the ability to jump. However, Miyamoto soon introduced jumping capabilities for the player character, reasoning that "If you had a barrel rolling towards you, what would you do?"[31][27] Continuing to draw from 1930s media, King Kong served as an inspiration, and Mario was set in New York City.[32][33][34]

Name[edit]

Though the protagonist was unnamed in the Japanese release of Donkey Kong, he was named "Jumpman" in the game's English instructions[35] and "little Mario" in the sales brochure.[36] Miyamoto envisioned a "go-to" character he could use in any game he developed if needed, albeit in cameo appearances as Miyamoto did not, at the time, expect the character to become singularly popular.[37] To this end, he originally named the character "Mr. Video", comparing what he intended for the character's appearances in later games to the cameos that Alfred Hitchcock had done within his films.[38] In retrospect, Miyamoto commented that if he had named Mario "Mr. Video", Mario likely would have "disappeared off the face of the Earth."[38]

The character was named after Mario Segale, a real estate developer.[29]

According to a widely circulated story, during the localization of Donkey Kong for American audiences, Nintendo of America's warehouse landlord, Mario Segale, confronted then-president Minoru Arakawa, demanding back rent. Following a heated argument in which the Nintendo employees eventually convinced Segale he would be paid, they opted to name the character in the game Mario after him.[39][40] A friend of Mario Segale commented: "My direct understanding and perception is that Mario Segale doesn't mind at all the fact that his name inspired such an iconic character, and that he shows humble pride in that fact in front of his grandchildren and close-knit adult circles."[41]

While it is implied by the title of the Mario Bros. series, in a 1989 interview, his full name was stated not to be "Mario Mario".[42] The first notable use of "Mario Mario" was in the 1993 live-action film adaptation of the Super Mario series, and was further used in Prima's official video game strategy guides, in 2000 for Mario Party 2[43] and in 2003 for Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.[44] In 2012, after Mario voice actor Charles Martinet stated that the character's name was, in fact, "Mario Mario" at the San Diego Comic-Con,[45] Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata said Mario had no last name,[46] with which Miyamoto agreed the month after.[47] Two months after Iwata's death in July 2015, Miyamoto changed his stance, asserting at the Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary festival that Mario's full name was indeed "Mario Mario".[48][49] Mario can also be referred to as "Super Mario" when he acquires the Super Mushroom power-up.[50]

Appearance and profession[edit]

By Miyamoto's own account, Mario's profession was chosen to fit with the game design: since Donkey Kong takes place on a construction site, Mario was made into a carpenter; and when he appeared again in Mario Bros., it was decided that he should be a plumber, because a lot of the game is situated in underground settings.[22] Mario's character design, particularly his large nose, draws on Western influences; once he became a plumber, Miyamoto decided to "put him in New York" and make him Italian,[22] light-heartedly attributing Mario's nationality to his mustache.[51] Other sources have Mario's profession chosen to be carpentry in an effort to depict the character as an ordinary hard worker, making it easier for players to identify with him.[52] After a colleague suggested that Mario more closely resembled a plumber, Miyamoto changed Mario's profession accordingly and developed Mario Bros.,[28] featuring the character in the sewers of New York City.[53]

Due to the graphical limitations of arcade hardware at the time, Miyamoto clothed the character in red overalls and a blue shirt to contrast against each other and the background, making the movements of his arms easily perceptible.[54] A red cap was added to let Miyamoto avoid drawing the character's hairstyle, forehead, and eyebrows, as well as to circumvent the issue of animating his hair as he jumped.[28][22] To give distinctly human facial features with the limited graphical abilities, Miyamoto drew a large nose and a mustache, which avoided the need to draw a mouth and facial expressions.[55] Omitting a mouth circumvented the problem of clearly separating the nose from the mouth with a limited number of pixels available.[54]

Over time, Mario's appearance has become more defined; blue eyes, white gloves, brown shoes, a red "M" in a white circle on the front of his hat and gold buttons on his overalls have been added. According to an interview, Japanese character designer Yōichi Kotabe, who worked on redesigning characters in Super Mario Bros. (1985), revealed that Mario's M on his hat was originally the resemblance of McDonald's logo; Kotabe later changed the design of M and straightened its lines to clearly distinguish the difference.[56] The colors of his shirt and overalls were also reversed from a blue shirt with red overalls to a red shirt with blue overalls. Miyamoto attributed this process to the different development teams and artists for each game as well as advances in technology.[52]

Voice acting[edit]

Charles Martinet voiced Mario for over 30 years before shifting to a brand ambassador position.

Mario was voiced by Charles Martinet from 1991 to 2023.[57][58] When he crashed the audition,[59] the directors were preparing to close for the night, already packing up when he arrived. He was prompted with "an Italian plumber from Brooklyn"; when he heard the phrase, he immediately thought of a stereotypical Italian accent with a voice similar to that of a mobster.[60] He then assumed the voice would be too harsh for children, so he planned on using a voice of an older figure.[60] However, according to Martinet, the audition for Mario was the only time where his thoughts crashed and he spoke complete nonsense. After he was prompted the character, he babbled the following in a soft and friendly voice instead:[61]

"Hello, ima Mario. Okey dokey, letsa make a pizza pie together, you go get somea spaghetti, you go geta some sausage, I getta some sauce, you gonna put some spaghetti on the sausage and the sausage on the pizza, then I'm gonna chasea you with the pizza, then you gonna chasea me with the pizza, and gonaa makea lasagne."[62]

The voice he chose was derived from another voice role he used to play the character Gremio from William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.[59][63] Martinet kept speaking with the voice until the audition tape ran out; the clip was the only tape sent back to Nintendo, and when the director called the company he said he "found our Mario".[57][64] For the following years he would use the voice for an attraction at trade shows: small tracking sensors were glued onto his face, and he would voice a 3D model of Mario's head on a television while he remained hidden behind a curtain. When attendees would approach the screen, they could talk and interact with Mario.[59][57][65] The attraction was successful and would be used for five years until he was called by Miyamoto, requesting that he use the voice for a video game.[59]

His first official video game voice role would be the CD rerelease of Mario Teaches Typing in 1994, but his first major voice acting role was Super Mario 64. He received instructions on the types of sound clips needed from Miyamoto, and Martinet appreciated the fun tone of the game and later called Miyamoto a genius.[60] He has since also continued to voice other various Mario characters, such as Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi.[60] His time in the studio recording voice clips consisted of "45 takes of every sound [he] can think of", according to Martinet at a Q&A in Canada.[66] What time he gives vocals for the game varies, and according to him has ranged from three years before a game's release to one week. The amount of clips varies as well, ranging from one hour of audio to 20.[63][67] Martinet was recognized by the Guinness World Records for the most roles performed with the same character, at the time one hundred, and is the most of any video game voice actor.[68] As of January 2022, he has voiced Mario in over 150 games and has recorded 5 million audio files with the voice.[63][66] In an interview, Martinet said he wants to continue voicing the character until he "drops dead", or until he can no longer perform the voice accurately.[66] In August 2023, Nintendo announced Martinet would be retiring from the voice role of Mario,[58] though he would continue to promote the franchise as a "Mario Ambassador". Voice actor Kevin Afghani succeeded Martinet in Super Mario Bros. Wonder the following October.[69][70]

Characteristics[edit]

Mario is depicted as a portly plumber who lives in the fictional land of the Mushroom Kingdom with Luigi, his younger, taller brother.[28][71][72] The original Mario Bros. depicted Mario and Luigi as Italians in New York,[22] with the television series and films specifying them as originating from the borough Brooklyn.[71] Mario's infancy, in which he was transported by a stork to the Mushroom Kingdom, was first depicted in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.[73][74] In a 2005 interview, Miyamoto stated that Mario's physical age was about 24–25 years old,[75][76] and Nintendo Power stated that his birthday is October 11.[77][78]

He wears a long-sleeved red shirt, a pair of blue overalls with yellow buttons, brown shoes, white gloves, and a red cap with a red "M" printed on a white circle. In Donkey Kong, he wore a pair of red overalls, and a blue shirt. In Super Mario Bros., he wore a brown shirt with red overalls. He has blue eyes, and, like Luigi, has brown hair, and a dark brown or black mustache. This consistent difference in color is attributed to being a relic from designing the characters for their original platforms, wherein certain features were actively distinguished while others had to be curtailed due to technical limitations.[79]

Mario's occupation is plumbing, though in the original Donkey Kong games he is a carpenter.[22] Mario has also assumed several other occupations: in the Dr. Mario series of puzzle games, which debuted in 1990, Mario is portrayed as a medical physician named "Dr. Mario";[80] in the Game Boy game Mario's Picross, Mario is an archaeologist;[81] in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, Mario is the president of a profitable toy-making company.[82] Mario is an athlete in Mario sports games in games such as tennis and golf, as well as a kart racer in the Mario Kart series.[83] In September 2017, Nintendo confirmed on their official Japanese profile for the character that Mario was no longer considered a plumber,[84] but the statement was changed in March 2018.[85] Although according to Nintendo, Mario has seven careers, which include plumber, doctor, racer, martial artist, basketball player, baseball player, and soccer player.[86]

Nintendo's characterization of Mario as a Brooklynite Italian-American has been described as an example of mukokuseki, or "nationlessness", with "roots across [the] three continents" of Europe, North America, and Japan.[87]

Relationships[edit]

Mario usually saves Princess Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom and purges antagonists, such as Bowser, from various areas; since his first game, Mario has usually had the role of saving the damsel in distress.[71] Originally, he had to rescue his girlfriend Pauline in Donkey Kong (1981) from Donkey Kong.[88] Pauline was soon replaced by Princess Peach in Super Mario Bros.,[28] although Pauline has reappeared in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series and is considered "Mario's friend" instead.[89] Mario reprises his role of saving Peach in the Super Mario series,[71] but Mario himself was rescued by Peach in role-reversal in Super Princess Peach.[90] Mario rescued Princess Daisy of Sarasaland in Super Mario Land,[91] but Luigi has since been more linked to her; in Super Smash Bros. Melee, the text explaining Daisy states that "After her appearance in Mario Golf, some gossips started portraying her as Luigi's answer to Mario's Peach."[92]

Luigi is Mario's younger fraternal twin brother, who is taller, slimmer, and can jump higher than him.[72][93] He is a companion in the Mario games,[72] and the character whom the second player controls in two-player sessions of many of the video games.[94] Luigi has also occasionally rescued Mario as seen in Mario Is Missing! and the Luigi's Mansion series.[95] Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins for the Game Boy saw the arrival of Wario, Mario's greedy counterpart and self-declared arch rival, who usually assumes the role of a main antagonist or an antihero.[96] The dinosaur character Yoshi serves as Mario's steed and sidekick in games such as Super Mario World.[97] Toad is Mario's trusted close friend, who gives him advice and supports him throughout his journey to rescue Princess Peach.[98]

Abilities[edit]

During the development of Donkey Kong, Mario was known as Jumpman (ジャンプマン, Janpuman).

ACDC

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See also[edit]

GANT

GANT theme by inkvbvs. Icons and artwork by mattahan.

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Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry theme by m0dus

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Devil May Cry Theme
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Devil May Cry
Genre(s)
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Capcom
Creator(s)Hideki Kamiya
Platform(s)
First releaseDevil May Cry
August 23, 2001
Latest releaseDevil May Cry 5: Special Edition
November 10, 2020

Devil May Cry[a] is an urban fantasy action-adventure game franchise created by Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom. The series centers on the demon hunter Dante and his efforts to thwart various demon invasions of Earth. Its gameplay consists of combat scenarios in which the player must attempt to extend long chains of attacks, avoiding damage and exhibiting stylized combat by varying their attacks; this combat, along with time and the number of items collected and used, are considered in grading the player's performance.

The series alludes to Italian poet Dante's Divine Comedy. Hideki Kamiya created Devil May Cry after a failed attempt to develop a Resident Evil game with the first game originally being conceived as Resident Evil 4. Kamiya wanted to create a game with more action features, which Capcom felt the series did not need. The games were directed by Hideaki Itsuno and writer Bingo Morihashi. Capcom announced a new game, DmC: Devil May Cry (developed by Ninja Theory and supervised by Capcom), during the 2010 Tokyo Game Show. A high-definition remastering of the three PlayStation 2 titles was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012, and in 2018 for the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The latest game is Devil May Cry 5, released on March 8, 2019.

The series has been successful; the main entries has sold 31 million copies worldwide and received Capcom's Platinum Title award.[1] The success of the video-game series has led to comic books, novelizations, two animated series, guides, collectibles, publications, and a variety of action figures.

Games[edit]

Release timeline
2001Devil May Cry
2002
2003Devil May Cry 2
2004
2005Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
2006Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening – Special Edition
2007Devil May Cry (mobile)
2008Devil May Cry (mobile)
Devil May Cry 4
2009
2010
2011
2012Devil May Cry HD Collection
2013DmC: Devil May Cry
2014
2015Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition
2016
2017
2018Devil May Cry HD Collection (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
2019Devil May Cry 5
2020Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition
2021
2022
2023
2024Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat
  • Devil May Cry: Players assume the role of Dante, a skilled demon hunter. The gameplay focuses on fast-paced, highly stylized combat; a high style ranking requires long attack and evasion strings while avoiding damage. Although the game also features puzzle-solving and exploration elements retained from its survival-horror origins, they are downplayed in favor of action. In later games, the system was modified; players had to vary their attacks to maintain their style rank.[2] The Devil Trigger enables a player's character to assume a devilish form with additional powers (based on their current weapon), while the character's strength and speed increase, and health is slowly restored.[2]
Screenshot
Dante attacks an enemy with the sword Alastor. The word "Cool!" assesses the player's performance in combat.
  • Devil May Cry 2: Dante is generally the game's lead character. Two other playable characters, Lucia and Trish are also available. The ability to perform combination attacks in mid-air and evasion and weapon-change buttons were introduced. With the latter, a player can cycle through ranged weapons without switching to the inventory screen.
  • Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening: A selection of gameplay styles were added, allowing the player to focus on favorite techniques or weapons. Each of the four styles gains experience points, which unlock more techniques and abilities without costing red orbs (the series' currency). A second weapon-change button was added, allowing the player to cycle through a character's melee weaponry.[3] The game was re-released as Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition with new skills for Dante and the ability to play as Vergil.[4]
  • Devil May Cry: Two different mobile games for feature phones were released in 2007–2008. One has similar gameplay to Devil May Cry 3 and uses enemies and characters from that game. The other one is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up.[5]
  • Devil May Cry 4: This entry introduces a new protagonist, Nero, who is playable alongside the returning Dante. Nero's Devil Bringer arm gives players the ability to pull distant enemies in to be attacked or destroyed. Nero is also armed with a sword which can be throttled up, allowing players to pre-charge it for extra damage on the next hit; with precise timing, it can be charged after each attack for extra damage and style. As Dante, players can switch fighting styles in mid-combat, allowing more varied and unique combos.[6] The game was re-released as Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition, featuring the ability to play as Vergil as well as returning characters Lady and Trish.
  • Devil May Cry HD Collection: A collection of the series' first three games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, ported by Pipeworks Software and Double Helix Games, eventually released on March 22, 2012, in Japan and March 29, 2012, in the US.[7] It was later ported to the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on March 13, 2018.[8][9]
  • DmC: Devil May Cry: This reboot of the series introduced a new continuity. Players could reach hidden areas with the Ophion whip and grappling hook. The environment often "attacks" Dante by changing its architecture and infrastructure to a more-hostile form, prompting fast-paced chase sequences and platforming scenarios.[10][11]
  • Devil May Cry 5: This game continues the original continuity from Devil May Cry 4. It again features Nero and Dante as playable characters, as well as a new character named V. Nero's Devil Bringer arm is replaced with a selection of swappable cybernetic arms dubbed Devil Breakers, each one featuring distinct gameplay mechanics. V remotely commands three demons in battle due to his weak physical state.[12] The game was re-released as Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition, featuring the ability to play as Vergil.
  • Devil May Cry: Peak of Combat: A mobile-phone game by Yunchang Games, based on Devil May Cry 3. Its rendition of Dante's appearance was criticized, and the developers promised to fix it when the game left the beta period for release in 2020.[13]

Plot[edit]

The series begins two millennia before the first game with the demon Sparda, the Black Knight, defeating Demon World ruler Mundus. Sparda stops Mundus from conquering the human world by sealing several Hellgates and Temen-Ni-Gru (the last portal) with a ritual requiring his blood and the aid of a human priestess. Sparda meets Eva, who gives birth to his twin sons Dante and Vergil.

The plot begins with Devil May Cry 3, a year after Dante has a falling-out with Vergil.[14] A large tower erupts from the ground near the shop, and Dante interprets it as a challenge from Vergil.[15] Dante is defeated in Temen-Ni-Gru by Vergil, who takes his locket and leaves with Arkham. Dante's dormant devil power revives him, and he resumes pursuing his brother. Vergil wants to use the pendants their mother gave them in a ritual to create a portal to the Demon World. The battle is joined by Lady, who wants to avenge her mother's death by Arkham; Arkham manipulated the three into completing the ritual, which would allow him to acquire Sparda's sword: the Force Edge.[16][17] Dante and Vergil defeat him, and resume battling each other. The portal begins to close, and Vergil approaches it. Dante pleads with his brother not to go, but Vergil leaps into the Demon World before the portal closes. Vergil is tested and encounters Mundus, his mother's killer. When Lady returns to the human world, she coins the phrase "devil may cry"; Dante uses it for the shop.[18][19]

Dante is confronted in Devil May Cry by Trish, who reveals that Mundus is planning to return and only a descendant of Sparda can defeat him.[20] He explores Mallet Island (where Mundus is set to return), encountering demons which include Mundus' general:[21] the undead Vergil, Nelo Angelo.[22] As Dante approaches Mundus, he falls into a trap which reveals that Trish is the demon's agent; he saves her, however, because she resembles his mother. Trish saves Dante from Mundus, and Dante realizes his father's power.[23] Dante defeats Mundus when Trish helps him return Mundus to the Demon World.[24] Dante and Trish escape as the island collapses and work together in the Devil Never Cry shop.

In the Devil May Cry: The Animated Series anime, Trish is a demon hunter; Dante is the bodyguard of Patty, a young heiress who becomes obsessed with him. Patty's mother is descended from a sorcerer who sealed the power of Abigail, an ancient devil lord. Patty is targeted by Sid, a demon seeking Abigail's power. Lady and Trish fight demons summoned by Sid, and Dante kills him.

Dante is invited by Lucia in Devil May Cry 2 to meet her mother, Matier. Dante learns that Arius is collecting artifacts (Arcana) to summon the demon lord Argosax.[25] Dante flips a coin, and decides to help.[26] Lucia confronts Arius, who reveals that he created her.[27] Lucia gives Dante the last of the Arcana before facing Arius alone.[28] Dante encounters Matier, who asks him to take the Arcana to save Lucia from Arius.[29] Lucia attacks Arius, but he captures her. Dante arrives, trades the Arcana for Lucia, and attacks Arius (who escapes).[30] A stream of energy strikes the Ouroboros tower, and a portal to the demon world opens. Dante and Lucia argue about who will enter, and Dante determines that he will go.[31] After Dante leaves, Arius returns to the human world and Lucia defeats him.[32]

In Devil May Cry 4, Dante and Trish discover foul play within the Order of the Sword and investigate while learning its religious leader's scheme to conquer the world using demonic power. Dante seemingly assassinates the Sanctus, only to face a young holy knight named Nero, who awakened his demonic forces as a descendant of Sparda. Nero quests to capture Dante while gaining Yamato, only to learn the Order's dark secrets before being captured by Sanctus through his girlfriend. Dante manages to cripple Sanctus's plans before freeing Nero to finish the job. The two part ways on good terms with Nero allowed keeping Yamato.

In Devil May Cry 5, set several years after Devil May Cry 4, Nero runs a mobile branch of Dante's Devil May Cry business.[33] He befriends Nico, a weapons artist and descendant of the gunsmith who crafted Dante's Ebony and Ivory handguns.[34] Nero's Devil Bringer arm from Devil May Cry 4 is stolen; armed with a prosthetic Devil Breaker created by Nico, he leaves with Dante and the demon hunter V to face their "strongest foe yet".[35][36]

Although the series' timeline had placed Devil May Cry 4 before Devil May Cry 2, it was retconned with the release of Devil May Cry 5.[37][38] DmC: Devil May Cry, developed by Ninja Theory, is not part of the timeline and takes place in an alternate universe from the main series. Along with a very different looking Dante, it moves away from the gothic look of the previous games to a more contemporary setting with some social commentary on mass media and culture.[39]

Development[edit]

16th-century painting of Dante Alighieri
The series is loosely based on the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (pictured).

After the completion of Resident Evil 2 in 1998, preliminary work on a PlayStation 2 installment of the Resident Evil series began by Team Little Devil under the direction of Hideki Kamiya.[40] Early research and development included a trip to Spain to examine castles as a basis for the game's environments. Its prototype, however, was a radical departure from the Resident Evil formula and the survival horror genre. Kamiya rewrote the story and changed its premise, drawing from Italian poet Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy[41][42] for Devil May Cry.[43]

Strider, another Capcom franchise, is cited as a vital influence on the Devil May Cry games and their action, particularly in their inclusion of the "boss rush".[44][45]

Despite the success of the original game, its sequel was not created by Kamiya or Team Little Devils.[46][47] Although an unidentified director was placed in charge of the project, Capcom was dissatisfied with their work and assigned Hideaki Itsuno "with only 4 to 5 months remaining in development" to steer the project back on course.[48] Despite Itsuno's limited time on the project, he is the only person credited as director in the final version of the game.[49] According to producer Tsuyoshi Tanaka, the design aim was to make Devil May Cry 2 bigger than its predecessor; Tanaka estimated that the game's environments were about nine times larger than the first.[50]

After Devil May Cry 2's mixed reception, Capcom decided to develop the next game like the more critically successful Devil May Cry. Gameplay elements, such as environment size and battle engine, were reconsidered.[51] In the original game, Vergil was killed by demons early and his soul was controlled by Mundus; Bingo Morihashi wanted to create an alternate universe in which Vergil was alive. However, Kamiya gave Morihashi the freedom to rework Vergil's backstory and make him a living teenager for Devil May Cry 3.[52] As a result, the game was designed as a prequel to the series, set several years before the events of the first game.

Development of Devil May Cry 4 began shortly after its predecessor's success.[53] The development team had 80 members.[54] A new protagonist was discussed many times at Capcom, but was not approved until producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi said that Dante had to be in the game.[55] Kobashi said before the game's release that they wanted to make Dante seem significantly more powerful than Nero, to create an obvious difference between the strength of a "veteran" compared to a "rookie".[56] Writer Morihashi collaborated with film director Yuji Shimomura, who worked on the earlier games. Morihashi left Capcom at one point, but returned at Itsuno's request. It took him a year to finish writing the game; he had difficulty with the characterization of Nero, the new protagonist. Dante returned as a supporting character.[57]

Although the fourth game was a commercial and critical success, the staff considered rebooting the series because other game series had better sales.[58] They chose Ninja Theory, impressed with their work on Heavenly Sword (which the staff thought would work with a Devil May Cry game).[59] However, in 2013 Itsuno expressed interest in developing a fifth installment.[60] It was originally thought that Itsuno intended for the series to go on hiatus or end if Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition was not a commercial success,[61] but he said in a GameSpot interview that the series' future did not depend on Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition's sales. He alleviated fears that DmC: Devil May Cry's sales would kill the series, confirming that Capcom was satisfied with them.[62] In mid-January 2016, Itsuno tweeted that he had begun work on a new project.[63] Reuben Langdon and Johnny Yong Bosch, who had done voice acting and motion capture for Dante and Nero in Devil May Cry 4, took pictures of themselves in motion-capture gear in March 2016; this led to speculation that a new Devil May Cry game was in development.[64] According to Capcom Vancouver, "It's not a game that [they] announced that [they are] working on at [their] studio".[65] On May 17, 2018, the domain name "DevilMayCry5.com" was registered under Capcom's Onamae domain register.[66]

Devil May Cry 5, featuring the return of Dante and Nero, was confirmed at E3 2018 for release the following year.[67] Most of the team had worked on the recently released Resident Evil 7, and were experienced with the game engine; Itsuno was influenced by his work in Monster Hunter: World to provide content appealing to new gamers but also felt that making the game challenging would appeal to long-time fans.[68] Other members of the staff had worked on the reboot game DmC: Devil May Cry, but the Osaka team was more willing to make a sequel to the fourth installment of the main series. The team listened to fan opinions about previous games to ensure that the new game appealed to them; an "auto" mode facilitated combos.[69] Itsuno was moved to tears by a film in which three robots combined into a giant robot to overcome their foe, and wanted to create similar moments.[70] He wanted to convey the style of a Hollywood movie such as Marvel's Avengers series.[71] In November 2017, Kamiya expressed interest in making a remake of the first installment and a crossover game with Dante and Bayonetta.[72]

Other media[edit]

Light novels[edit]

The series has several print adaptations. Two Devil May Cry light novels, written by Shinya Goikeda and illustrated by Shirow Miwa, were published in Japan in 2002 and translated and published in the United States in 2006. The first, Devil May Cry Volume 1, was published in Japan in conjunction with the release of the first game and explored Dante in an adventure set before the game's events. The second, entitled Devil May Cry Volume 2 in the US, was published in Japan to coincide with the second game's release and is set after the first game's events. Tokyopop published the books in the United States in June and November 2006, respectively.[73][74]

Bingo Morihashi wrote a Devil May Cry 4 novel entitled Devil May Cry 4 Deadly Fortune. The two-volume novel, published in Japan in 2009, has a number of scenes which were not included in the original game due to time constraints.[75][76] A prequel novel by Morihashi titled Before the Nightmare, set before Devil May Cry 5 and leading to the beginning of the game, was published on March 1, 2019.[77]

Comics and manga[edit]

Three issues of a comic adaptation of the first game were published by the Canadian Dreamwave Productions in 2004, but the series was left unfinished when the company went bankrupt the following year.[78] On July 25, 2008, WildStorm (a DC Comics imprint) and Capcom announced that they would collaborate on a Devil May Cry comic-book series. Details about the series were planned to be announced at a later date,[79] but no new information has been provided.

Two volumes of a planned three-part Devil May Cry 3 manga series have been published in Japan and the United States. Set a year before the events of Devil May Cry 3, the manga describes how the characters come to be at the beginning of the game.

On March 7, 2019, Capcom announced that a tie-in manga entitled Devil May Cry 5 Visions of V would be serialized on the Japanese manga-hosting site Line Manga (LINE マンガ).[80] The manga's prologue was published before the serialization began. Illustrated by Tomio Ogata, the manga (only available in Japan) would update every other Sunday beginning on April 27.[81][82][83]

Animation[edit]

Anime[edit]

An anime series, Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, premiered on Japan's Wowow TV network on June 12, 2007. The 12-episode series,[84][85] produced by Madhouse, was directed by Shin Itagaki. Bingo Morihashi, a writer of the third and fourth games, was one of its writers.

Animated series[edit]

In November 2018, Adi Shankar announced that he had acquired the rights to produce a Devil May Cry animated series for Netflix.[86] Shankar, who has been completing a similar animated series for Konami's Castlevania franchise, said that he considered both series part of a shared "Bootleg Multiverse".[87]

In November 2021, Shankar revealed that the show's first season will have 8 episodes.[88] He also have plans for a connected "multi-season arc", like what he did with Castlevania, and that fan-favorite characters will make their debut throughout the series.[88] In November 2023, Netflix announced that the series will premiere in 2024.[89]

Film[edit]

On February 28, 2011, Screen Gems (which made Resident Evil into a film series) had purchased feature-film rights to the Devil May Cry series.[90] Kyle Ward was hired to write the screenplay for the film (based on DmC: Devil May Cry), which would be Dante's origin story.[91][92][93] No news has emerged about the project's status.

Plays[edit]

Capcom produced Sengoku Basara vs. Devil May Cry a staged amalgam of the Devil May Cry and Sengoku Basara series, in August 2015. In the play, Dante, Lady, Trish, and Vergil encounter mysterious historical ruins while chasing a devil and are sent back in time to Japan's Warring States period; there, they meet Date Masamune, Sanada Yukimura, and other characters from the Sengoku Basara franchise. The play ran at the AiiA 2.5 Theater in Tokyo for 18 performances. Masanari Ujigawa wrote and directed the play, and Hideaki Itsuno and Izaki Matsuno collaborated on the scenery. Kazushi Miyakoda and Tetsuya Yamaura were the producers, supervised by Hiroyuki Kobayashi and Makoto Yamamoto.[94]

Devil May Cry: The Live Hacker, a musical, ran for 13 performances in March 2019 at Zepp DiverCity in Tokyo. Jun Yoriko wrote and directed the musical and its video,[95] and a DVD was released in late August of that year.[96]

Soundtracks[edit]

The Devil May Cry series has seen the release of seven separate soundtracks. Initially, Capcom was very reluctant to release an officially sanctioned soundtrack for the Devil May Cry series, due to worries that the products would sell poorly. As a means of testing the market, Capcom decided to ask for pre-release sales.[97]

In other games[edit]

Devil May Cry characters appear in the PlayStation versions of the Viewtiful Joe games, another Capcom series created by Hideki Kamiya; Dante is a playable character in the PlayStation 2 port of the first Viewtiful Joe. The PSP version of Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble also includes Dante and costumes based on Vergil, Trish, Sparda, Marionette, and Plasma.

In a deal between Capcom and Atlus, Megami Tensei character designer Kazuma Kaneko created Dante and Vergil's demonic forms in Devil May Cry 3. In return, Atlus included Dante in his Devil May Cry 2 costume as a character in an enhanced release of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (Maniax in Japan). The English localization of Nocturne was based on the game's Maniax edition.[98]

Dante and Trish are playable characters in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, and Vergil, Dante, and Trish are playable characters in its Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 update. Dante and Vergil retain their Kazuma Kaneko-designed Devil Trigger forms since they are based on the third game of the Devil May Cry series. Dante is also a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.

The DmC: Devil May Cry version of Dante is a playable character in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, and he is a playable character in Project X Zone for the Nintendo 3DS as half of a pair with Darkstalkers' Demitri Maximoff; Lady is a separate character. Dante returns in its sequel, Project X Zone 2, with Vergil; Vergil's future self, Nelo Angelo, is a rival character.

On June 28, 2021, it was announced that a Mii costume based on Dante would appear in the crossover fighting game

Night

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starry sky above a brick chapel
The night sky above a French chapel with the Milky Way and stars visible, and light pollution on the horizon

Night or nighttime is the period of darkness when the Sun is below the horizon. The opposite of nighttime is daytime. Sunlight illuminates one side of the Earth, leaving the other in darkness. Earth's rotation causes the appearance of sunrise and sunset. Moonlight, airglow, starlight, and light pollution dimly illuminate night. The duration of day, night, and twilight varies depending on the time of year and the latitude. Night on other celestial bodies is affected by their rotation and orbital periods. The planets Mercury and Venus have much longer nights than Earth. On Venus, night lasts 120 Earth days. The Moon's rotation is tidally locked, rotating so that the near side of the Moon always faces Earth. Nightfall across the near the side of the Moon results in the lunar phases visible from Earth.

Organisms respond to the changes brought by nightfall, including darkness, increased humidity, and lower temperatures. Their responses include direct reactions and adjustments to circadian rhythms, governed by an internal biological clock. These circadian rhythms, regulated by exposure to light and darkness, affect an organism's behavior and physiology. Animals more active at night are called nocturnal and have adaptations for low light, including different forms of night vision and the heightening of other senses. Diurnal animals are active during the day and sleep at night; mammals, birds, and some others dream while asleep. Fungi respond directly to nightfall and increase their biomass. With some exceptions, fungi do not rely on a biological clock. Plants store energy produced through photosynthesis as starch granules to consume at night. Algae engage in a similar process, and cyanobacteria transition from photosynthesis to nitrogen fixation after sunset. In arid environments like deserts, plants evolved to be more active at night, with many gathering carbon dioxide overnight for daytime photosynthesis. Night-blooming cacti rely on nocturnal pollinators such as bats and moths for reproduction. Light pollution disrupts the patterns in ecosystems and is especially harmful to night-flying insects.

Historically, night has been a time of increased danger and insecurity. Many daytime social controls dissipated after sunset. Theft, fights, murders, taboo sexual activities, and accidental deaths all became more frequent due in part to reduced visibility. Cultures have personified night through deities associated with some or all of these aspects of nighttime. The folklore of many cultures contains "creatures of the night," including werewolves, witches, ghosts, and goblins, reflecting societal fears and anxieties. The introduction of artificial lighting extended daytime activities. Major European cities hung lanterns housing candles and oil lamps in the 1600s. Nineteenth-century gas and electric lights created unprecedented illumination. The range of socially acceptable leisure activities expanded, and various industries introduced a night shift. Nightlife, encompassing bars, nightclubs, and cultural venues, has become a significant part of urban culture, contributing to social and political movements.

Astronomy[edit]

A planet's rotation causes nighttime and daytime. When a place on Earth is pointed away from the Sun, that location experiences night. The Sun appears to set in the West and rise in the East due to Earth's rotation.[1] Many celestial bodies, including the other planets in the solar system, have a form of night.[1][2]

Earth[edit]

diagram, explained in section
Day and night during the winter solstice in the northern hempisphere

The length of night on Earth varies depending on the time of year. Longer nights occur in winter, with the winter solstice being the longest.[3] Nights are shorter in the summer, with the summer solstice being the shortest.[3] Earth orbits the Sun on an axis tilted 23.44 degrees.[4] Nights are longer when a hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun and shorter when a hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun.[5] As a result, the longest night of the year for the Northern Hemisphere will be the shortest night of the year for the Southern Hemisphere.[5]

Night's duration varies least near the equator. The difference between the shortest and longest night increases approaching the poles.[6] At the equator, night lasts roughly 12 hours throughout the year.[7] The tropics have little difference in the length of day and night.[6] At the 45th parallel, the longest winter night is roughly twice as long as the shortest summer night.[8] Within the polar circles, night will last the full 24 hours of the winter solstice.[5] The length of this polar night increases closer to the poles. Utqiagvik, Alaska, the northernmost point in the United States, experiences 65 days of polar night.[9] At the pole itself, polar night lasts 179 days from September to March.[9]

diagram; follow link for details
Diagram of atmospheric refraction at sunrise and sunset

Over a year, there is more daytime than nighttime because of the Sun's size and atmospheric refraction. The Sun is not a single point.[10] Viewed from Earth, the Sun ranges in angular diameter from 31 to 33 arcminutes.[11] When the center of the Sun falls level with the western horizon, half of the Sun will still be visible during sunset. Likewise, by the time the center of the Sun rises to the eastern horizon, half of the Sun will already be visible during sunrise.[12] This shortens night by about 3 minutes in temperate zones.[13] Atmospheric refraction is a larger factor.[10] Refraction bends sunlight over the horizon.[13] On Earth, the Sun remains briefly visible after it has geometrically fallen below the horizon.[13] This shortens night by about 6 minutes.[13] Scattered, diffuse sunlight remains in the sky after sunset and into twilight.[14]

space photograph showing the inhabited areas of the Nile glowing against the dark desert
The drainage basin of the Nile river and delta at night

There are multiple ways to define twilight, the gradual transition to and from darkness when the Sun is below the horizon.[15] "Civil" twilight occurs when the Sun is between 0 to 6 degrees below the horizon. Nearby planets like Venus and bright stars like Sirius are visible during this period.[16] "Nautical" twilight continues until the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon.[17] During nautical twilight, the horizon is visible enough for navigation.[18] "Astronomical" twilight continues until the Sun has sunk 18 degrees below the horizon.[16][19] Beyond 18 degrees, refracted sunlight is no longer visible.[19] The period when the sun is 18 or more degrees below either horizon is called astronomical night.[17]

Similar to the duration of night itself, the duration of twilight varies according to latitude.[19] At the equator, day quickly transitions to night, while the transition can take weeks near the poles.[19] The duration of twilight is longest at the summer solstice and shortest near the equinoxes.[20] Moonlight, starlight, airglow, and light pollution create the skyglow that dimly illuminates nighttime.[21][22] The amount of skyglow increases each year due to artificial lighting.[21]

Other celestial bodies[edit]

The Moon's phase at hourly intervals throughout 2020, as viewed from the Northern Hemisphere

Night exists on the other planets and moons in the solar system.[1][2] The length of night is affected by the rotation period and orbital period of the celestial object.[23] The lunar phases visible from Earth result from nightfall on the Moon.[24] The Moon has longer nights than Earth, lasting about two weeks.[23] This is half of the synodic lunar month, the time it takes the Moon to cycle through its phases.[25] The Moon is tidally locked to Earth; it rotates so that one side of the Moon always faces the Earth.[26] The side of the Moon facing away from Earth is called the far side of the Moon and the side facing Earth is called the near side of the Moon. During lunar night on the near side, Earth is 50 times brighter than a full moon.[27] Because the Moon has no atmosphere, there is an abrupt transition from day to night without twilight.[28]

photograph of hazy and distant sunset
Sunset on Mars

Night varies from planet to planet within the Solar System. Mars's dusty atmosphere causes a lengthy twilight period. The refracted light ranges from purple to blue, often resulting in glowing noctilucent clouds.[29] Venus and Mercury have long nights because of their slow rotational periods.[30] The planet Venus rotates once every 243 Earth days.[31] Because of its unusual retrograde rotation, nights last 116.75 Earth days.[32] The dense greenhouse atmosphere on Venus keeps its surface hot enough to melt lead throughout the night.[33][34] Its planetary wind system, driven by solar heat, reverses direction from day to night. Venus's winds flow from the equator to the poles on the day side and from the poles to the equator on the night side.[35][36] On Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, the temperature drops over 1,000 °F (538 °C) after nightfall.[37]

The day-night cycle is one consideration for planetary habitability or the possibility of extraterrestrial life on distant exoplanets.[38] Some exoplanets, like those of TRAPPIST-1, are tidally locked. Tidally locked planets have equal rotation and orbital periods, so one side experiences constant day, and the other side constant night. In these situations, astrophysicists believe that life would most likely develop in the twilight zone between the day and night hemispheres.[39][40]

Biology[edit]

The giant moray eel is most active by night. Its brain has adapted to rely less on visual input and more on its sense of smell.[41]

Living organisms react directly to the darkness of night.[42] Light and darkness also affect circadian rhythms, the physical and mental changes that occur in a 24-hour cycle.[43] This daily cycle is regulated by an internal "biological clock" that is adjusted by exposure to light.[43] The length and timing of nighttime depend on location and time of year.[44] Organisms that are more active at night possess adaptations to the night's dimmer light, increased humidity, and lower temperatures.[45]

Animals[edit]

Animals that are active primarily at night are called nocturnal and usually possess adaptations for night vision.[46] In vertebrates' eyes, two types of photoreceptor cells sense light.[47] Cone cells sense color but are ineffective in low light; rod cells sense only brightness but remain effective in very dim light.[48] The eyes of nocturnal animals have a greater percentage of rod cells.[47] In most mammals, rod cells contain densely packed DNA near the edge of the nucleus. For nocturnal mammals, this is reversed with the densely packed DNA in the center of the nucleus, which reduces the scattering of light.[49] Some nocturnal animals have a mirror, the tapetum lucidum, behind the retina. This doubles the amount of light their eyes can process.[50]

Many insects fly towards a work light.
Nocturnal insects drawn to an artificial light

The compound eyes of insects can see at even lower levels of light. For example, the elephant hawk moth can see in color, including ultraviolet, with only starlight.[46] Nocturnal insects navigate using moonlight, lunar phases, infrared vision, the position of the stars, and the Earth's magnetic field.[51] Artificial lighting disrupts the biorhythms of many animals.[52] Night-flying insects that use the moon for navigation are especially vulnerable to disorientation from increasing levels of artificial lighting.[53] Artificial lights attract many night-flying insects that die from exhaustion and nocturnal predators.[54] Decreases in insect populations disrupt the overall ecosystem because their larvae are a key food source for smaller fish.[55] Dark-sky advocate Paul Bogard described the unnatural migration of night-flying insects from the unlit Nevada desert into Las Vegas as "like sparkling confetti floating in the beam's white column".[56]

Time-expanded recording of a bat using echolocation to home in on its prey

Some nocturnal animals have developed other senses to compensate for limited light. Many snakes have a pit organ that senses infrared light and enables them to detect heat. Nocturnal mice possess a vomeronasal organ that enhances their sense of smell. Bats heavily depend on echolocation.[57] Echolocation allows an animal to navigate with their sense of hearing by emitting sounds and listening for the time it takes them to bounce back.[57] Bats emit a steady stream of clicks while hunting insects and home in on prey as thin as human hair.[58]

painting of a demon on the chest of a sleeping woman
Fuseli's The Nightmare

People and other diurnal animals sleep primarily at night.[59] Humans, other mammals, and birds experience multiple stages of sleep visible via electroencephalography.[60] The stages of sleep are wakefulness, three stages of non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) including deep sleep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.[61] During REM sleep, dreams are more frequent and complex.[62] Studies show that some reptiles may also experience REM sleep.[63] During deep sleep, memories are consolidated into long-term memory.[64] Invertebrates most likely experience a form of sleep as well. Studies on bees, which have complex but unrelated brain structures, have shown improvements in memory after sleep, similar to mammals.[65]

Compared to waking life, dreams are sparse with limited sensory detail. Dreams are hallucinatory or bizarre, and they often have a narrative structure.[66] Many hypotheses exist to explain the function of dreams without a definitive answer.[66] Nightmares are dreams that cause distress. The word "night-mare" originally referred to nocturnal demons that were believed to assail sleeping dreamers, like the incubus (male) or succubus (female).[67] It was believed that the demons could sit upon a dreamer's chest to suffocate a victim, as depicted in John Henry Fuseli's The Nightmare.[67]

Fungi[edit]

Tendrils protrude through the corpse of a dead insect host still clinging to a plant.
An entomopathogenic fungus extends fruiting bodies from its host.

Fungi can sense the presence and absence of light, and the nightly changes of most fungi growth and biological processes are direct responses to either darkness or falling temperatures.[44] By night, fungi are more engaged in synthesizing cellular components and increasing their biomass.[68] For example, fungi that preys on insects will infect the central nervous system of their prey, allowing the fungi to control the actions of the dying insect. During the late afternoon, the fungi will pilot their prey to higher elevation where wind currents can carry its spores further. The fungi will kill and digest the insect as night falls, extending fruiting bodies from the host's exoskeleton.[69] Few species of fungi have true circadian rhythms.[44] A notable exception is Neurospora crassa, a bread mold, widely used to study biorhythms.[70]

Plants[edit]

Time-lapse video of a night-blooming cereus

During the day, plants engage in photosynthesis and release oxygen. By night, plants engage in respiration, consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.[71] Plants can draw up more water after sunset, which facilitates new leaf growth.[72] As plants cannot create energy through photosynthesis after sunset, they use energy stored in the plant, typically as starch granules.[73] Plants use this stored energy at a steady rate, depleting their reserves almost right at dawn.[73] Plants will adjust their rate of consumption to match the expected time until sunrise. This avoids prematurely running out of starch reserves,[73] and it allows the plant to adjust for longer nights in the winter.[74] If a plant is subjected to artificially early darkness, it will ration its energy consumption to last until dawn.[74]

Succulent plants, including cacti, have adapted to the limited water availability in arid environments like deserts.[75] The stomata of cacti do not open until night.[76] When the temperature drops, the pores open to allow the cacti to store carbon dioxide for photosynthesis the next day, a process known as crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM).[76][77] Cacti and most night-blooming plants use CAM to store up to

Cartoon

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A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images intended for satire, caricature, or humor; or a motion picture that relies on a sequence of illustrations for its animation. Someone who creates cartoons in the first sense is called a cartoonist,[1] and in the second sense they are usually called an animator.

The concept originated in the Middle Ages, and first described a preparatory drawing for a piece of art, such as a painting, fresco, tapestry, or stained glass window. In the 19th century, beginning in Punch magazine in 1843, cartoon came to refer – ironically at first – to humorous artworks in magazines and newspapers. Then it also was used for political cartoons and comic strips. When the medium developed, in the early 20th century, it began to refer to animated films that resembled print cartoons.[2]

Fine art[edit]

Christ's Charge to Peter, one of the Raphael Cartoons, c. 1516, a full-size cartoon design for a tapestry

A cartoon (from Italian: cartone and Dutch: karton—words describing strong, heavy paper or pasteboard) is a full-size drawing made on sturdy paper as a design or modello for a painting, stained glass, or tapestry. Cartoons were typically used in the production of frescoes, to accurately link the component parts of the composition when painted on damp plaster over a series of days (giornate).[3] In media such as stained tapestry or stained glass, the cartoon was handed over by the artist to the skilled craftsmen who produced the final work.

Such cartoons often have pinpricks along the outlines of the design so that a bag of soot patted or "pounced" over a cartoon, held against the wall, would leave black dots on the plaster ("pouncing"). Cartoons by painters, such as the Raphael Cartoons in London, Francisco Goya's tapestry cartoons, and examples by Leonardo da Vinci, are highly prized in their own right. Tapestry cartoons, usually colored, could be placed behind the loom, where the weaver would replicate the design. As tapestries are worked from behind, a mirror could be placed behind the loom to allow the weaver to see their work; in such cases the cartoon was placed behind the weaver.[2][4]

Mass media[edit]

John Leech, Substance and Shadow (1843), published as Cartoon, No. 1 in Punch, the first use of the word cartoon to refer to a satirical drawing

In print media, a cartoon is a drawing or series of drawings, usually humorous in intent. This usage dates from 1843, when Punch magazine applied the term to satirical drawings in its pages,[5] particularly sketches by John Leech.[6] The first of these parodied the preparatory cartoons for grand historical frescoes in the then-new Palace of Westminster in London.[7]

Davy Jones' Locker, 1892 Punch cartoon by Sir John Tenniel

Sir John Tenniel—illustrator of Alice's Adventures in Wonderlandjoined Punch in 1850, and over 50 years contributed over two thousand cartoons.[8]

Cartoons can be divided into gag cartoons, which include editorial cartoons, and comic strips.

Modern single-panel gag cartoons, found in magazines, generally consist of a single drawing with a typeset caption positioned beneath, or, less often, a speech balloon.[9] Newspaper syndicates have also distributed single-panel gag cartoons by Mel Calman, Bill Holman, Gary Larson, George Lichty, Fred Neher and others. Many consider New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno the father of the modern gag cartoon (as did Arno himself).[10] The roster of magazine gag cartoonists includes Charles Addams, Charles Barsotti, and Chon Day.

Bill Hoest, Jerry Marcus, and Virgil Partch began as magazine gag cartoonists and moved to syndicated comic strips. Richard Thompson illustrated numerous feature articles in The Washington Post before creating his Cul de Sac comic strip. The sports section of newspapers usually featured cartoons, sometimes including syndicated features such as Chester "Chet" Brown's All in Sport.

Editorial cartoons are found almost exclusively in news publications and news websites. Although they also employ humor, they are more serious in tone, commonly using irony or satire. The art usually acts as a visual metaphor to illustrate a point of view on current social or political topics. Editorial cartoons often include speech balloons and sometimes use multiple panels. Editorial cartoonists of note include Herblock, David Low, Jeff MacNelly, Mike Peters, and Gerald Scarfe.[2]

Comic strips, also known as cartoon strips in the United Kingdom, are found daily in newspapers worldwide, and are usually a short series of cartoon illustrations in sequence. In the United States, they are not commonly called "cartoons" themselves, but rather "comics" or "funnies". Nonetheless, the creators of comic strips—as well as comic books and graphic novels—are usually referred to as "cartoonists". Although humor is the most prevalent subject matter, adventure and drama are also represented in this medium. Some noteworthy cartoonists of humorous comic strips are Scott Adams, Charles Schulz, E. C. Segar, Mort Walker and Bill Watterson.[2]

Political[edit]

Political cartoons are like illustrated editorials that serve visual commentaries on political events. They offer subtle criticism which are cleverly quoted with humour and satire to the extent that the criticized does not get embittered.

The pictorial satire of William Hogarth is regarded as a precursor to the development of political cartoons in 18th century England.[11] George Townshend produced some of the first overtly political cartoons and caricatures in the 1750s.[11][12] The medium began to develop in the latter part of the 18th century under the direction of its great exponents, James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson, both from London. Gillray explored the use of the medium for lampooning and caricature, and has been referred to as the father of the political cartoon.[13] By calling the king, prime ministers and generals to account for their behaviour, many of Gillray's satires were directed against George III, depicting him as a pretentious buffoon, while the bulk of his work was dedicated to ridiculing the ambitions of revolutionary France and Napoleon.[13] George Cruikshank became the leading cartoonist in the period following Gillray, from 1815 until the 1840s. His career was renowned for his social caricatures of English life for popular publications.

A cartoon showing a circle of men pointing their fingers at the man to their right with grimaces on their faces.
Nast depicts the Tweed Ring: "Who stole the people's money?" / "'Twas him."

By the mid 19th century, major political newspapers in many other countries featured cartoons commenting on the politics of the day. Thomas Nast, in New York City, showed how realistic German drawing techniques could redefine American cartooning.[14] His 160 cartoons relentlessly pursued the criminal characteristic of the Tweed machine in New York City, and helped bring it down. Indeed, Tweed was arrested in Spain when police identified him from Nast's cartoons.[15] In Britain, Sir John Tenniel was the toast of London.[16] In France under the July Monarchy, Honoré Daumier took up the new genre of political and social caricature, most famously lampooning the rotund King Louis Philippe.

Political cartoons can be humorous or satirical, sometimes with piercing effect. The target of the humor may complain, but can seldom fight back. Lawsuits have been very rare; the first successful lawsuit against a cartoonist in over a century in Britain came in 1921, when J. H. Thomas, the leader of the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR), initiated libel proceedings against the magazine of the British Communist Party. Thomas claimed defamation in the form of cartoons and words depicting the events of "Black Friday", when he allegedly betrayed the locked-out Miners' Federation. To Thomas, the framing of his image by the far left threatened to grievously degrade his character in the popular imagination. Soviet-inspired communism was a new element in European politics, and cartoonists unrestrained by tradition tested the boundaries of libel law. Thomas won the lawsuit and restored his reputation.[17]

Scientific[edit]

Cartoons such as xkcd have also found their place in the world of science, mathematics, and technology. For example, the cartoon Wonderlab looked at daily life in the chemistry lab. In the U.S., one well-known cartoonist for these fields is Sidney Harris. Many of Gary Larson's cartoons have a scientific flavor.

Comic books[edit]

The first comic-strip cartoons were of a humorous tone.[18] Notable early humor comics include the Swiss comic-strip book Mr. Vieux Bois (1837), the British strip Ally Sloper (first appearing in 1867) and the American strip Yellow Kid (first appearing in 1895).

In the United States in the 1930s, books with cartoons were magazine-format "American comic books" with original material, or occasionally reprints of newspaper comic strips.[19]

In Britain in the 1930s, adventure comic magazines became quite popular, especially those published by DC Thomson; the publisher sent observers around the country to talk to boys and learn what they wanted to read about. The story line in magazines, comic books and cinema that most appealed to boys was the glamorous heroism of British soldiers fighting wars that were exciting and just.[20] DC Thomson issued the first The Dandy Comic in December 1937. It had a revolutionary design that broke away from the usual children's comics that were published broadsheet in size and not very colourful. Thomson capitalized on its success with a similar product The Beano in 1938.[21]

On some occasions, new gag cartoons have been created for book publication.

Animation[edit]

a running horse (animated)
An animated cartoon horse, drawn by rotoscoping from Eadweard Muybridge's 19th-century photos

Because of the stylistic similarities between comic strips and early animated films, cartoon came to refer to animation, and the word cartoon is currently used in reference to both animated cartoons and gag cartoons.[22] While animation designates any style of illustrated images seen in rapid succession to give the impression of movement, the word "cartoon" is most often used as a descriptor for television programs and short films aimed at children, possibly featuring anthropomorphized animals,[23] superheroes, the adventures of child protagonists or related themes.

In the 1980s, cartoon was shortened to toon, referring to characters in animated productions. This term was popularized in 1988 by the combined live-action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, followed in 1990 by the animated TV series Tiny Toon Adventures.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Merriam-Webster's Dictionary.
  2. ^ a b c d Becker 1959
  3. ^ Constable 1954, p. 115.
  4. ^ Adelson 1994, p. 330.
  5. ^ Punch.co.uk. "History of the Cartoon". Archived from the original on 2007-11-11. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  6. ^ Adler & Hill 2008, p. 30.
  7. ^ "Substance and Shadow: Original Editorial Accompanying "Cartoon, No. I"". Victorian web.org. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Sir John Tenniel". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  9. ^ Bishop 2009, p. 92.
  10. ^ Maslin, Michael (May 5, 2016). "The Peter Arno Cartoons That Help Rescue The New Yorker". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  11. ^ a b Press 1981, p. 34.
  12. ^ Chris Upton. "Birth of England's pocket cartoon". The Free Library.
  13. ^ a b Rowson 2015.
  14. ^ Adler & Hill 2008, p. 24.
  15. ^ Adler & Hill 2008, pp. 49–50.
  16. ^ Morris & Tenniel 2005, p. 344.
  17. ^ Samuel S. Hyde, "'Please, Sir, he called me "Jimmy!' Political Cartooning before the Law: 'Black Friday', J.H. Thomas, and the Communist Libel Trial of 1921", Contemporary British History (2011) 25(4), pp. 521–550.
  18. ^ Harvey, R. C. (2001). "Comedy at the Juncture of Word and Image". In Varnum, Robin; Gibbons, Christina T. (eds.). The Language of Comics: Word and Image. University Press of Mississippi. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-57806-414-4.

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Vortex created by the passage of an aircraft wing, revealed by colored smoke
Vortices formed by milk when poured into a cup of coffee
A Kármán vortex street is demonstrated in this photo, as winds from the west blow onto clouds that have formed over the mountains in the desert. This phenomenon observed from ground level is extremely rare, as most cloud-related Kármán vortex street activity is viewed from space

In fluid dynamics, a vortex (pl.: vortices or vortexes)[1][2] is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved.[3][4] Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in the wake of a boat, and the winds surrounding a tropical cyclone, tornado or dust devil.

Vortices are a major component of turbulent flow. The distribution of velocity, vorticity (the curl of the flow velocity), as well as the concept of circulation are used to characterise vortices. In most vortices, the fluid flow velocity is greatest next to its axis and decreases in inverse proportion to the distance from the axis.

In the absence of external forces, viscous friction within the fluid tends to organise the flow into a collection of irrotational vortices, possibly superimposed to larger-scale flows, including larger-scale vortices. Once formed, vortices can move, stretch, twist, and interact in complex ways. A moving vortex carries some angular and linear momentum, energy, and mass, with it.

Overview[edit]

In the dynamics of fluid, a vortex is fluid that revolves around the axis line. This fluid might be curved or straight. Vortices form from stirred fluids: they might be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools, in the wake of a boat or the winds around a tornado or dust devil.

Vortices are an important part of turbulent flow. Vortices can otherwise be known as a circular motion of a liquid. In the cases of the absence of forces, the liquid settles. This makes the water stay still instead of moving.

When they are created, vortices can move, stretch, twist and interact in complicated ways. When a vortex is moving, sometimes, it can affect an angular position.

For an example, if a water bucket is rotated or spun constantly, it will rotate around an invisible line called the axis line. The rotation moves around in circles. In this example the rotation of the bucket creates extra force.

The reason that the vortices can change shape is the fact that they have open particle paths. This can create a moving vortex. Examples of this fact are the shapes of tornadoes and drain whirlpools.

When two or more vortices are close together they can merge to make a vortex. Vortices also hold energy in its rotation of the fluid. If the energy is never removed, it would consist of circular motion forever.

Properties[edit]

Vorticity[edit]

The Crow instability of a jet aeroplane's contrail visually demonstrates the vortex created in the atmosphere (gas fluid medium) by the passage of the aircraft.

A key concept in the dynamics of vortices is the vorticity, a vector that describes the local rotary motion at a point in the fluid, as would be perceived by an observer that moves along with it. Conceptually, the vorticity could be observed by placing a tiny rough ball at the point in question, free to move with the fluid, and observing how it rotates about its center. The direction of the vorticity vector is defined to be the direction of the axis of rotation of this imaginary ball (according to the right-hand rule) while its length is twice the ball's angular velocity. Mathematically, the vorticity is defined as the curl (or rotational) of the velocity field of the fluid, usually denoted by and expressed by the vector analysis formula , where is the nabla operator and is the local flow velocity.[5]

The local rotation measured by the vorticity must not be confused with the angular velocity vector of that portion of the fluid with respect to the external environment or to any fixed axis. In a vortex, in particular, may be opposite to the mean angular velocity vector of the fluid relative to the vortex's axis.

Vortex types[edit]

In theory, the speed u of the particles (and, therefore, the vorticity) in a vortex may vary with the distance r from the axis in many ways. There are two important special cases, however:

A rigid-body vortex
  • If the fluid rotates like a rigid body – that is, if the angular rotational velocity Ω is uniform, so that u increases proportionally to the distance r from the axis – a tiny ball carried by the flow would also rotate about its center as if it were part of that rigid body. In such a flow, the vorticity is the same everywhere: its direction is parallel to the rotation axis, and its magnitude is equal to twice the uniform angular velocity Ω of the fluid around the center of rotation.
An irrotational vortex
  • If the particle speed u is inversely proportional to the distance r from the axis, then the imaginary test ball would not rotate over itself; it would maintain the same orientation while moving in a circle around the vortex axis. In this case the vorticity is zero at any point not on that axis, and the flow is said to be irrotational.

Irrotational vortices[edit]

Pathlines of fluid particles around the axis (dashed line) of an ideal irrotational vortex. (See animation.)

In the absence of external forces, a vortex usually evolves fairly quickly toward the irrotational flow pattern[citation needed], where the flow velocity u is inversely proportional to the distance r. Irrotational vortices are also called free vortices.

For an irrotational vortex, the circulation is zero along any closed contour that does not enclose the vortex axis; and has a fixed value, Γ, for any contour that does enclose the axis once.[6] The tangential component of the particle velocity is then . The angular momentum per unit mass relative to the vortex axis is therefore constant, .

The ideal irrotational vortex flow in free space is not physically realizable, since it would imply that the particle speed (and hence the force needed to keep particles in their circular paths) would grow without bound as one approaches the vortex axis. Indeed, in real vortices there is always a core region surrounding the axis where the particle velocity stops increasing and then decreases to zero as r goes to zero. Within that region, the flow is no longer irrotational: the vorticity becomes non-zero, with direction roughly parallel to the vortex axis. The Rankine vortex is a model that assumes a rigid-body rotational flow where r is less than a fixed distance r0, and irrotational flow outside that core regions.

In a viscous fluid, irrotational flow contains viscous dissipation everywhere, yet there are no net viscous forces, only viscous stresses.[7] Due to the dissipation, this means that sustaining an irrotational viscous vortex requires continuous input of work at the core (for example, by steadily turning a cylinder at the core). In free space there is no energy input at the core, and thus the compact vorticity held in the core will naturally diffuse outwards, converting the core to a gradually-slowing and gradually-growing rigid-body flow, surrounded by the original irrotational flow. Such a decaying irrotational vortex has an exact solution of the viscous Navier–Stokes equations, known as a Lamb–Oseen vortex.

Rotational vortices[edit]

Saturn's north polar vortex

A rotational vortex – a vortex that rotates in the same way as a rigid body – cannot exist indefinitely in that state except through the application of some extra force, that is not generated by the fluid motion itself. It has non-zero vorticity everywhere outside the core. Rotational vortices are also called rigid-body vortices or forced vortices.

For example, if a water bucket is spun at constant angular speed w about its vertical axis, the water will eventually rotate in rigid-body fashion. The particles will then move along circles, with velocity u equal to wr.[6] In that case, the free surface of the water will assume a parabolic shape.

In this situation, the rigid rotating enclosure provides an extra force, namely an extra pressure gradient in the water, directed inwards, that prevents transition of the rigid-body flow to the irrotational state.

Vortex formation on boundaries[edit]

Vortex structures are defined by their vorticity, the local rotation rate of fluid particles. They can be formed via the phenomenon known as boundary layer separation which can occur when a fluid moves over a surface and experiences a rapid acceleration from the fluid velocity to zero due to the no-slip condition. This rapid negative acceleration creates a boundary layer which causes a local rotation of fluid at the wall (i.e. vorticity) which is referred to as the wall shear rate. The thickness of this boundary layer is proportional to (where v is the free stream fluid velocity and t is time).

If the diameter or thickness of the vessel or fluid is less than the boundary layer thickness then the boundary layer will not separate and vortices will not form. However, when the boundary layer does grow beyond this critical boundary layer thickness then separation will occur which will generate vortices.

This boundary layer separation can also occur in the presence of combatting pressure gradients (i.e. a pressure that develops downstream). This is present in curved surfaces and general geometry changes like a convex surface. A unique example of severe geometric changes is at the trailing edge of a bluff body where the fluid flow deceleration, and therefore boundary layer and vortex formation, is located.

Another form of vortex formation on a boundary is when fluid flows perpendicularly into a wall and creates a splash effect. The velocity streamlines are immediately deflected and decelerated so that the boundary layer separates and forms a toroidal vortex ring.[8]

Vortex geometry[edit]

In a stationary vortex, the typical streamline (a line that is everywhere tangent to the flow velocity vector) is a closed loop surrounding the axis; and each vortex line (a line that is everywhere tangent to the vorticity vector) is roughly parallel to the axis. A surface that is everywhere tangent to both flow velocity and vorticity is called a vortex tube. In general, vortex tubes are nested around the axis of rotation. The axis itself is one of the vortex lines, a limiting case of a vortex tube with zero diameter.

According to Helmholtz's theorems, a vortex line cannot start or end in the fluid – except momentarily, in non-steady flow, while the vortex is forming or dissipating. In general, vortex lines (in particular, the axis line) are either closed loops or end at the boundary of the fluid. A whirlpool is an example of the latter, namely a vortex in a body of water whose axis ends at the free surface. A vortex tube whose vortex lines are all closed will be a closed torus-like surface.

A newly created vortex will promptly extend and bend so as to eliminate any open-ended vortex lines. For example, when an airplane engine is started, a vortex usually forms ahead of each propeller, or the turbofan of each jet engine. One end of the vortex line is attached to the engine, while the other end usually stretches out and bends until it reaches the ground.

When vortices are made visible by smoke or ink trails, they may seem to have spiral pathlines or streamlines. However, this appearance is often an illusion and the fluid particles are moving in closed paths. The spiral streaks that are taken to be streamlines are in fact clouds of the marker fluid that originally spanned several vortex tubes and were stretched into spiral shapes by the non-uniform flow velocity distribution.

Pressure in a vortex[edit]

A plughole vortex

The fluid motion in a vortex creates a dynamic pressure (in addition to any hydrostatic pressure) that is lowest in the core region, closest to the axis, and increases as one moves away from it, in accordance with Bernoulli's principle. One can say that it is the gradient of this pressure that forces the fluid to follow a curved path around the axis.

In a rigid-body vortex flow of a fluid with constant density, the dynamic pressure is proportional to the square of the distance r from the axis. In a constant gravity field, the free surface of the liquid, if present, is a concave paraboloid.

In an irrotational vortex flow with constant fluid density and cylindrical symmetry, the dynamic pressure varies as PK/r2, where P is the limiting pressure infinitely far from the axis. This formula provides another constraint for the extent of the core, since the pressure cannot be negative. The free surface (if present) dips sharply near the axis line, with depth inversely proportional to r2. The shape formed by the free surface is called a hyperboloid, or "Gabriel's Horn" (by Evangelista Torricelli).

The core of a vortex in air is sometimes visible because water vapor condenses as the low pressure of the core causes adiabatic cooling; the funnel of a tornado is an example. When a vortex line ends at a boundary surface, the reduced pressure may also draw matter from that surface into the core. For example, a dust devil is a column of dust picked up by the core of an air vortex attached to the ground. A vortex that ends at the free surface of a body of water (like the whirlpool that often forms over a bathtub drain) may draw a column of air down the core. The forward vortex extending from a jet engine of a parked airplane can suck water and small stones into the core and then into the engine.

Evolution[edit]

Vortices need not be steady-state features; they can move and change shape. In a moving vortex, the particle paths are not closed, but are open, loopy curves like helices and cycloids. A vortex flow might also be combined with a radial or axial flow pattern. In that case the streamlines and pathlines are not closed curves but spirals or helices, respectively. This is the case in tornadoes and in drain whirlpools. A vortex with helical streamlines is said to be solenoidal.

As long as the effects of viscosity and diffusion are negligible, the fluid in a moving vortex is carried along with it. In particular, the fluid in the core (and matter trapped by it) tends to remain in the core as the vortex moves about. This is a consequence of Helmholtz's second theorem. Thus vortices (unlike surface waves and pressure waves) can transport mass, energy and momentum over considerable distances compared to their size, with surprisingly little dispersion. This effect is demonstrated by smoke rings and exploited in vortex ring toys and guns.

Two or more vortices that are approximately parallel and circulating in the same direction will attract and eventually merge to form a single vortex, whose circulation will equal the sum of the circulations of the constituent vortices. For example, an airplane wing that is developing lift will create a sheet of small vortices at its trailing edge. These small vortices merge to form a single wingtip vortex, less than one wing chord downstream of that edge. This phenomenon also occurs with other active airfoils, such as propeller blades. On the other hand, two parallel vortices with opposite circulations (such as the two wingtip vortices of an airplane) tend to remain separate.

Vortices contain substantial energy in the circular motion of the fluid. In an ideal fluid this energy can never be dissipated and the vortex would persist forever. However, real fluids exhibit viscosity and this dissipates energy very slowly from the core of the vortex. It is only through dissipation of a vortex due to viscosity that a vortex line can end in the fluid, rather than at the boundary of the fluid.

Further examples[edit]

The visible core of a vortex formed when a C-17 uses high engine power at slow speed on a wet runway.
Kármán vortex streets formed off the island of Tristan da Cunha

Windows Vista #3

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Windows Vista Theme 3
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Windows Vista
Version of the Windows NT operating system
Screenshot of Windows Vista Ultimate, showing its desktop, taskbar, Start menu, Windows Sidebar, Welcome Center, and glass effects of Windows Aero
DeveloperMicrosoft
Source model
Released to
manufacturing
November 8, 2006; 17 years ago (2006-11-08)[2]
General
availability
January 30, 2007; 17 years ago (2007-01-30)[3]
Final releaseService Pack 2[4] (6.0.6002.24170) / July 21, 2017; 6 years ago (2017-07-21)[5]
Marketing targetConsumer and Business
Update method
PlatformsIA-32 and x86-64
Kernel typeHybrid (NT)
UserlandWindows API, NTVDM, SUA
LicenseProprietary commercial software
Preceded byWindows XP (2001)
Succeeded byWindows 7 (2009)
Official websiteWindows Vista (archived at the Wayback Machine)
Support status
Mainstream support ended on April 10, 2012[6]
Extended support ended on April 11, 2017[6]

Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft Windows. It was released to manufacturing on November 8, 2006, and over the following two months, it was released in stages to business customers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released internationally and was made available for purchase and download from the Windows Marketplace; it is the first release of Windows to be made available through a digital distribution platform.[7]

Development of Windows Vista began in 2001 when it was codenamed "Longhorn"; originally envisioned as a minor successor to Windows XP, it gradually included numerous new features from the then-next major release of Windows codenamed "Blackcomb", after which it was repositioned as a major release of Windows, and it consequently underwent a protracted development that was unprecedented for Microsoft. Most new features were prominently based on a new presentation layer codenamed Avalon, a new communications architecture codenamed Indigo, and a relational storage platform codenamed WinFS — all built on the premature .NET Framework; however, this proved to be untenable due to incompleteness of technologies and ways in which new features were added, and Microsoft changed the project in 2004. Many new features were eventually reimplemented during development, but Microsoft ceased using managed code to develop the operating system.[8]

New features of Windows Vista include a graphical user interface and visual style referred to as Windows Aero; a content index and desktop search platform called Windows Search; new peer-to-peer technologies to simplify sharing files and media between computers and devices on a home network; and new multimedia tools such as Windows DVD Maker. Windows Vista included version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, allowing software developers to write applications without traditional Windows APIs. There are major architectural overhauls to audio, display, network, and print sub-systems; deployment, installation, servicing, and startup procedures are also revised. It is the first release of Windows built on Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing initiative and emphasized security with the introduction of many new security and safety features such as BitLocker and User Account Control.

The ambitiousness and scope of these changes, and the abundance of new features earned positive reviews, but Windows Vista was the subject of frequent negative press and significant criticism. Criticism of Windows Vista focused on driver, peripheral, and program incompatibility; digital rights management; excessive authorization from the new User Account Control; inordinately high system requirements when contrasted with Windows XP; its protracted development; longer boot time; and more restrictive product licensing. Windows Vista deployment and satisfaction rates were consequently lower than those of Windows XP, and it is considered a market failure;[9][10] however, its use surpassed Microsoft's pre-launch two-year-out expectations of achieving 200 million users[11] (with an estimated 330 million users by 2009).[12] On October 22, 2010, Microsoft ceased retail distribution of Windows Vista; OEM supply ceased a year later.[13] Windows Vista was succeeded by Windows 7 in 2009.

Mainstream support for Windows Vista ended on April 10, 2012 and extended support ended on April 11, 2017.[6]

Development[edit]

Microsoft began work on Windows Vista, known at the time by its codename "Longhorn", in May 2001,[14] five months before the release of Windows XP. It was originally expected to ship in October 2003 as a minor step between Windows XP and "Blackcomb", which was planned to be the company's next major operating system release. Gradually, "Longhorn" assimilated many of the important new features and technologies slated for Blackcomb, resulting in the release date being pushed back several times in three years. In some builds of Longhorn, their license agreement said "For the Microsoft product codenamed 'Whistler'". Many of Microsoft's developers were also re-tasked to build updates to Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 to strengthen security. Faced with ongoing delays and concerns about feature creep, Microsoft announced on August 27, 2004, that it had revised its plans. For this reason, Longhorn was reset to start work on componentizing the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 codebase, and over time re-incorporating the features that would be intended for an actual operating system release. However, some previously announced features such as WinFS were dropped or postponed, and a new software development methodology called the Security Development Lifecycle was incorporated to address concerns with the security of the Windows codebase, which is programmed in C, C++ and assembly. Longhorn became known as Vista in 2005. Vista in Spanish means view.[15][16]

Longhorn[edit]

Desktop screenshot of Windows Longhorn build 4074, showing the Start menu, an early version of Windows Desktop Sidebar, Windows Explorer, and the Slate visual style

The early development stages of Longhorn were generally characterized by incremental improvements and updates to Windows XP. During this period, Microsoft was fairly quiet about what was being worked on, as their marketing and public relations efforts were more strongly focused on Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003, which was released in April 2003. Occasional builds of Longhorn were leaked onto popular file sharing networks such as IRC, BitTorrent, eDonkey and various newsgroups, and so most of what is known about builds before the first sanctioned development release of Longhorn in May 2003 is derived from these builds.

After several months of relatively little news or activity from Microsoft with Longhorn, Microsoft released Build 4008, which had made an appearance on the Internet around February 28, 2003.[17] It was also privately handed out to a select group of software developers. As an evolutionary release over build 3683, it contained several small improvements, including a modified blue "Plex" theme and a new, simplified Windows Image-based installer that operates in graphical mode from the outset, and completed an install of the operating system in approximately one third the time of Windows XP on the same hardware. An optional "new taskbar" was introduced that was thinner than the previous build and displayed the time differently. The most notable visual and functional difference, however, came with Windows Explorer. The incorporation of the Plex theme made blue the dominant color of the entire application. The Windows XP-style task pane was almost completely replaced with a large horizontal pane that appeared under the toolbars. A new search interface allowed for filtering of results, searching for Windows help, and natural-language queries that would be used to integrate with WinFS. The animated search characters were also removed. The "view modes" were also replaced with a single slider that would resize the icons in real-time, in the list, thumbnail, or details mode, depending on where the slider was. File metadata was also made more visible and more easily editable, with more active encouragement to fill out missing pieces of information. Also of note was the conversion of Windows Explorer to being a .NET application.

Most builds of Longhorn and Vista were identified by a label that was always displayed in the bottom-right corner of the desktop. A typical build label would look like "Longhorn Build 3683.Lab06_N.020923-1821". Higher build numbers did not automatically mean that the latest features from every development team at Microsoft was included. Typically, a team working on a certain feature or subsystem would generate their working builds which developers would test with, and when the code was deemed stable, all the changes would be incorporated back into the main development tree at once. At Microsoft, several "Build labs" exist where the compilation of the entirety of Windows can be performed by a team. The name of the lab in which any given build originated is shown as part of the build label, and the date and time of the build follow that. Some builds (such as Beta 1 and Beta 2) only display the build label in the version information dialog (Winver). The icons used in these builds are from Windows XP.

At the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in May 2003, Microsoft gave their first public demonstrations of the new Desktop Window Manager and Aero. The demonstrations were done on a revised build 4015 which was never released. Several sessions for developers and hardware engineers at the conference focused on these new features, as well as the Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (previously known as "Palladium"), which at the time was Microsoft's proposed solution for creating a secure computing environment whereby any given component of the system could be deemed "trusted". Also at this conference, Microsoft reiterated their roadmap for delivering Longhorn, pointing to an "early 2005" release date.[18]

Development reset[edit]

By 2004, it had become obvious to the Windows team at Microsoft that they were losing sight of what needed to be done to complete the next version of Windows and ship it to customers. Internally, some Microsoft employees were describing the Longhorn project as "another Cairo" or "Cairo.NET", referring to the Cairo development project that the company embarked on through the first half of the 1990s, which never resulted in a shipping operating system (though nearly all the technologies developed in that time did end up in Windows 95 and Windows NT[19]). Microsoft was shocked in 2005 by Apple's release of Mac OS X Tiger. It offered only a limited subset of features planned for Longhorn, in particular fast file searching and integrated graphics and sound processing, but appeared to have impressive reliability and performance compared to contemporary Longhorn builds.[20] Most Longhorn builds had major Windows Explorer system leaks which prevented the OS from performing well, and added more confusion to the development teams in later builds with more and more code being developed which failed to reach stability.

In a September 23, 2005 front-page article in The Wall Street Journal,[21] Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin, who had overall responsibility for the development and delivery of Windows, explained how development of Longhorn had been "crashing into the ground" due in large part to the haphazard methods by which features were introduced and integrated into the core of the operating system, without a clear focus on an end-product. Allchin went on to explain how in December 2003, he enlisted the help of two other senior executives, Brian Valentine and Amitabh Srivastava, the former being experienced with shipping software at Microsoft, most notably Windows Server 2003,[22] and the latter having spent his career at Microsoft researching and developing methods of producing high-quality testing systems.[23] Srivastava employed a team of core architects to visually map out the entirety of the Windows operating system, and to proactively work towards a development process that would enforce high levels of code quality, reduce interdependencies between components, and in general, "not make things worse with Vista".[24] Since Microsoft decided that Longhorn needed to be further componentized, work started on builds (known as the Omega-13 builds, named after a time travel device in the film Galaxy Quest[25]) that would componentize existing Windows Server 2003 source code, and over time add back functionality as development progressed. Future Longhorn builds would start from Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and continue from there.

This change, announced internally to Microsoft employees on August 26, 2004, began in earnest in September, though it would take several more months before the new development process and build methodology would be used by all of the development teams. A number of complaints came from individual developers, and Bill Gates himself, that the new development process was going to be prohibitively difficult to work within.

As Windows Vista[edit]

By approximately November 2004, the company had considered several names for the final release, ranging from simple to fanciful and inventive. In the end, Microsoft chose Windows Vista as confirmed on July 22, 2005, believing it to be a "wonderful intersection of what the product really does, what Windows stands for, and what resonates with customers, and their needs". Group Project Manager Greg Sullivan told Paul Thurrott "You want the PC to adapt to you and help you cut through the clutter to focus on what's important to you. That's what Windows Vista is all about: "bringing clarity to your world" (a reference to the three marketing points of Vista—Clear, Connected, Confident), so you can focus on what matters to you".[26] Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin also loved the name, saying that "Vista creates the right imagery for the new product capabilities and inspires the imagination with all the possibilities of what can be done with Windows—making people's passions come alive."[27]

After Longhorn was named Windows Vista in July 2005, an unprecedented beta-test program was started, involving hundreds of thousands of volunteers and companies. In September of that year, Microsoft started releasing regular Community Technology Previews (CTP) to beta testers from July 2005 to February 2006. The first of these was distributed at the 2005 Microsoft Professional Developers Conference, and was subsequently released to beta testers and Microsoft Developer Network subscribers. The builds that followed incorporated most of the planned features for the final product, as well as a number of changes to the user interface, based largely on feedback from beta testers. Windows Vista was deemed feature-complete with the release of the "February CTP", released on February 22, 2006, and much of the remainder of the work between that build and the final release of the product focused on stability, performance, application and driver compatibility, and documentation. Beta 2, released in late May, was the first build to be made available to the general public through Microsoft's Customer Preview Program. It was downloaded over 5 million times. Two release candidates followed in September and October, both of which were made available to a large number of users.[28]

At the Intel Developer Forum on March 9, 2006, Microsoft announced a change in their plans to support EFI in Windows Vista. The UEFI 2.0 specification (which replaced EFI 1.10) was not completed until early 2006, and at the time of Microsoft's announcement, no firmware manufacturers had completed a production implementation which could be used for testing. As a result, the decision was made to postpone the introduction of UEFI support to Windows; support for UEFI on 64-bit platforms was postponed until Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 and 32-bit UEFI would not be supported, as Microsoft did not expect many such systems to be built because the market was quickly moving to 64-bit processors.[29][30]

While Microsoft had originally hoped to have the consumer versions of the operating system available worldwide in time for the 2006 holiday shopping season, it announced in March 2006 that the release date would be pushed back to January 2007 in order to give the company—and the hardware and software companies that Microsoft depends on for providing device drivers—additional time to prepare. Because a release to manufacturing (RTM) build is the final version of code shipped to retailers and other distributors, the purpose of a pre-RTM build is to eliminate any last "show-stopper" bugs that may prevent the code from responsibly being shipped to customers, as well as anything else that consumers may find troublesome. Thus, it is unlikely that any major new features would be introduced; instead, work would focus on Vista's fit and finish. In just a few days, developers had managed to drop Vista's bug count from over 2470 on September 22 to just over 1400 by the time RC2 shipped in early October. However, they still had a way to go before Vista was ready to RTM. Microsoft's internal processes required Vista's bug count to drop to 500 or fewer before the product could go into escrow for RTM.[31] For most of the pre-RTM builds, only 32-bit editions were released.

On June 14, 2006, Windows developer Philip Su posted a blog entry which decried the development process of Windows Vista, stating that "The code is way too complicated, and that the pace of coding has been tremendously slowed down by overbearing process."[32] The same post also described Windows Vista as having approximately 50 million lines of code, with about 2,000 developers working on the product. During a demonstration of the speech recognition feature new to Windows Vista at Microsoft's Financial Analyst Meeting on July 27, 2006, the software recognized the phrase "Dear mom" as "Dear aunt". After several failed attempts to correct the error, the sentence eventually became "Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all".[33] A developer with Vista's speech recognition team later explained that there was a bug with the build of Vista that was causing the microphone gain level to be set very high, resulting in the audio being received by the speech recognition software being "incredibly distorted".[34]

Windows Vista build 5824 (October 17, 2006) was supposed to be the RTM release, but a bug, where the OOBE hangs at the start of the WinSAT Assessment (if upgraded from Windows XP), requiring the user to terminate msoobe.exe by pressing Shift+F10 to open Command Prompt using either command-line tools or Task Manager prevented this, damaging development and lowering the chance that it would hit its January 2007 deadline.[35]

Development of Windows Vista came to an end when Microsoft announced that it had been finalized on November 8, 2006, and was concluded by co-president of Windows development, Jim Allchin.[36] The RTM's build number had also jumped to 6000 to reflect Vista's internal version number, NT 6.0.[37] Jumping RTM build numbers is common practice among consumer-oriented Windows versions, like Windows 98 (build 1998), Windows 98 SE (build 2222), Windows Me (build 3000) or Windows XP (build 2600), as compared to the business-oriented versions like Windows 2000 (build 2195) or Server 2003 (build 3790). On November 16, 2006, Microsoft made the final build available to MSDN and Technet Plus subscribers.[38] A business-oriented Enterprise edition was made available to volume license customers on November 30, 2006.[39] Windows Vista was launched for general customer availability on January 30, 2007.[3]

New or changed features[edit]

New features introduced by Windows Vista are very numerous, encompassing significant functionality not available in its predecessors.

End-user[edit]

  • Windows Aero is the new graphical user interface, which Jim Allchin stated is an acronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open.[40] Microsoft intended the new interface to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than those of previous Windows versions, and it features advanced visual effects such as blurred glass translucencies and dynamic glass reflections and smooth window animations.[41] Laptop users report, however, that enabling Aero reduces battery life[42][43] and reduces performance. Windows Aero requires a compositing window manager called Desktop Window Manager.
  • Windows Shell offers a new range of organization, navigation, and search capabilities: Task Panes in Windows Explorer are removed, with the relevant tasks moved to a new command bar. The navigation pane can now be displayed when tasks are available, and it has been updated to include a new "Favorite Links" that houses shortcuts to common locations. An incremental search search box now appears at all times in Windows Explorer. The address bar has been replaced with a breadcrumb navigation bar, which means that multiple locations in a hierarchy can be navigated without needing to go back and forth between locations. Icons now display thumbnails depicting contents of items and can be dynamically scaled in size (up to 256 × 256 pixels). A new preview pane allows users to see thumbnails of items and play tracks, read contents of documents, and view photos when they are selected. Groups of items are now selectable and display the number of items in each group. A new details pane allows users to manage metadata. There are several new sharing features, including the ability to directly share files. The Start menu also now includes an incremental search box — allowing the user to press the ⊞ Win key and start typing to instantly find an item or launch a program — and the All Programs list uses a vertical scroll bar instead of the cascading flyout menu of Windows XP.[41]
  • Windows Search is a new content index desktop search platform that replaces the Indexing Service of previous Windows versions to enable incremental searches for files and non-file items — documents, emails, folders, programs, photos, tracks, and videos — and contents or details such as attributes, extensions, and filenames across compatible applications.[41]
  • Windows Sidebar is a translucent panel that hosts gadgets that display details such as feeds and sports scores on the Windows desktop; the Sidebar can be hidden and gadgets can also be placed on the desktop itself.[41]
  • Internet Explorer 7 is a significant revision over Internet Explorer 6 with a new user interface comprising additional address bar features, a new search box, enhanced page zoom, RSS feed functionality, and support for tabbed browsing (with an optional "quick tabs" feature that shows thumbnails of each open tab). Anti-phishing software is introduced that combines client-side scanning with an optional online service; it checks with Microsoft the address being visited to determine its legitimacy, compares the address with a locally stored list of legitimate addresses, and uses heuristics to determine whether an address's characteristics are indicative of phishing attempts. In Windows Vista, it runs in isolation from other applications (protected mode); exploits and malicious software are restricted from writing to any location beyond Temporary Internet Files without explicit user consent.
  • Windows Media Player 11 is a significant update to Microsoft's Windows Media Player for playing and organizing photos, tracks, and videos. New features include an updated GUI for the media library, disc spanning, enhanced audio fingerprinting, instant search capabilities, item organization features, synchronization features, the ability to share the media library over a network with other Windows Vista machines, Xbox 360 integration, and

    Lil Monsters

    Lil Monsters theme by xBiG_BOSSx

    Download: LilMonsters.p3t

    Lil Monsters Theme
    (1 background)

    P3T Unpacker v0.12
    Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon

    This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!

    Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip

    Instructions:

    Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.

    The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.

    The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].

    For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
    p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.