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PLAYER
The PD Animation package
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Version 1.00

ANIMATION and CARTOONS 

  My first memory of any form of animation or "cartoon" was 'Felix
The Cat' which was created in the pioneering days of TV in the early
part of the century. Felix was a black and white cat that got up to
all sorts of silly things - a bit like 'Mickey Mouse' who came later
in the 1940s. Both of which were quite simple yet very effective
forms of entertainment. As with many cartoon characters that followed
they were indestructible, as personified by the legendary
'Wile Coyote' who over the years has been squashed, blown up, drowned
and generally treated badly, as too was 'Sylvester' the cat, and Tom
from 'Tom & Jerry'. It's escapism! And that's what attracts me to
animation. The word cartoon is often misused as it in refers to a
preparatory drawing for a possible subsequent painting.

  So, on to my review of the PD animation program for the Arc by
Emmet Spiers named 'Player', a very simple yet effective sprite
displayer.

  When 'Player' is clicked, it installs on the icon bar and fully
multi-tasks. From the menu the is the obligatory INFO and QUIT, and
also OPTIONS which controls the speed of the animation and the scale.
The animation can also be made to reverse at the end of the sequence,
therefore doubling the amount of  time on screen, which is useful in
some situations and can make a few frames seem like a lot more,
providing an endless, continuous film.

  So how do you create an animation for 'Player' to animate? Well
this is very simple. First you create a sprite file and drag it to
the TV icon that is the 'Player' icon. A small window will open
displaying whatever the sprite is.  If there is more than one sprite
(treated like a frame) 'Player will display the sprites in sequence.
No need to number them or give them special names as 'Player' just
shows them in the order they appear in the file - simple!

  Now if this has whetted your appetite to create some animations of
your own you can contact Emmet at the address below. Send him a
formatted disk and the postage for it's return. (a first class stamp
should be OK, but I'm sure he'd also appreciate any donations. You
will then be sent the current version of 'Player'. "Simple Init?"

Emmet Spiers, 6 Parklands Place,Guildford,Surrey GU1 2PS

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