<s>
Timelapse	B-Application
is	O
a	O
1996	O
graphic	O
adventure	O
game	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
GTE	O
Entertainment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inspired	O
by	O
the	O
game	O
Myst	B-Application
,	O
it	O
tasks	O
the	O
player	O
with	O
the	O
rescue	O
of	O
an	O
archaeologist	O
trapped	O
in	O
another	O
dimension	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Timelapse	B-Application
was	O
commercially	O
successful	O
,	O
with	O
sales	O
of	O
250,000	O
units	O
by	O
late	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Timelapse	B-Application
is	O
a	O
first-person	O
graphic	O
adventure	O
patterned	O
after	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Myst	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
made	O
up	O
of	O
five	O
areas	O
:	O
Easter	O
Island	O
,	O
Egypt	O
,	O
Maya	O
,	O
Anasazi	O
and	O
Atlantis	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Professor	O
Alexander	O
Nichols	O
,	O
a	O
friend	O
of	O
the	O
unnamed	O
and	O
silent	O
player	O
character	O
,	O
has	O
called	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
Easter	O
Island	O
,	O
where	O
he	O
believes	O
he	O
has	O
found	O
a	O
link	O
to	O
the	O
legendary	O
city	O
of	O
Atlantis	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
encounters	O
a	O
robot	B-Algorithm
which	O
appears	O
to	O
be	O
constructed	O
out	O
of	O
energy	O
in	O
each	O
civilisation	O
;	O
this	O
robot	B-Algorithm
is	O
not	O
named	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
"	O
The	O
Guardian	O
"	O
in	O
official	O
materials	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
the	O
Genepods	O
of	O
the	O
Egyptians	O
,	O
Mayans	O
,	O
and	O
Anasazi	O
are	O
collected	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
access	O
Atlantis	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
traps	O
the	O
Guardian	O
inside	O
a	O
stasis	O
tube	O
and	O
discovers	O
the	O
Atlantis	B-Application
timegate	O
,	O
with	O
Professor	O
Nichols	O
still	O
trapped	O
inside	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Professor	O
failed	O
to	O
complete	O
the	O
timegate	O
connections	O
with	O
the	O
genepods	O
before	O
attempting	O
to	O
access	O
Atlantis	B-Application
,	O
so	O
he	O
remains	O
trapped	O
until	O
the	O
player	O
character	O
can	O
free	O
him	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
Professor	O
is	O
released	O
back	O
to	O
Easter	O
Island	O
,	O
the	O
Timegate	O
is	O
destroyed	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
two-minute	O
countdown	O
begins	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
which	O
Atlantis	B-Application
will	O
launch	O
into	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
player	O
waits	O
for	O
the	O
countdown	O
to	O
run	O
out	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
plays	O
a	O
cutscene	O
of	O
Atlantis	B-Application
launching	O
into	O
space	O
with	O
the	O
player	O
aboard	O
,	O
then	O
warping	O
to	O
the	O
Atlantean	O
homeworld	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
of	O
letting	O
the	O
countdown	O
run	O
out	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
choose	O
to	O
escape	O
from	O
Atlantis	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
this	O
point	O
the	O
game	O
shows	O
a	O
cutscene	O
of	O
Atlantis	B-Application
blasting	O
off	O
from	O
the	O
point	O
of	O
view	O
of	O
the	O
player	O
in	O
an	O
escape	O
pod	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Timelapse	B-Application
was	O
conceived	O
in	O
early	O
1994	O
by	O
lead	O
designer	O
and	O
producer	O
Lori	O
Nichols	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
worked	O
at	O
GTE	O
Entertainment	O
since	O
1991	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Her	O
main	O
inspiration	O
for	O
the	O
project	O
was	O
Myst	B-Application
,	O
which	O
she	O
later	O
said	O
had	O
"	O
combined	O
puzzles	O
,	O
graphics	O
,	O
and	O
story	O
in	O
a	O
style	O
that	O
I	O
had	O
never	O
seen	O
before.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
She	O
sought	O
to	O
build	O
a	O
superior	O
game	O
upon	O
this	O
foundation	O
that	O
drew	O
from	O
her	O
fascination	O
with	O
archaeology	O
,	O
ancient	O
cultures	O
,	O
science	O
fiction	O
and	O
the	O
myth	O
of	O
Atlantis	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Timelapse	B-Application
remained	O
in	O
the	O
prototyping	O
stage	O
for	O
six	O
months	O
:	O
Nichols	O
and	O
Deren	O
collaborated	O
with	O
programmer	O
Tim	O
Bank	O
to	O
create	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Egyptian	O
world	O
as	O
their	O
demo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Research	O
and	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
technology	O
were	O
key	O
focuses	O
during	O
this	O
time	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
team	O
planned	O
to	O
use	O
ray-traced	B-Algorithm
and	O
pre-rendered	O
visuals	O
at	O
a	O
resolution	O
of	O
640x480	O
,	O
a	O
technique	O
that	O
Nichols	O
said	O
"	O
had	O
n't	O
been	O
done	O
before	O
"	O
in	O
a	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
marketing	O
manager	O
Mike	O
Yuen	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
worked	O
extensively	O
with	O
focus	O
groups	O
while	O
prototyping	O
,	O
both	O
to	O
refine	O
Timelapse	B-Application
and	O
to	O
determine	O
players	O
 '	O
opinions	O
on	O
Myst	B-Application
and	O
similar	O
adventure	O
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
camera	O
was	O
included	O
because	O
these	O
players	O
felt	O
that	O
the	O
feature	O
would	O
have	O
improved	O
Myst	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similarly	O
,	O
tester	O
criticism	O
that	O
Myst	B-Application
was	O
"	O
devoid	O
of	O
life	O
"	O
led	O
to	O
an	O
emphasis	O
on	O
animation	O
in	O
the	O
worlds	O
of	O
Timelapse	B-Application
,	O
according	O
to	O
Deren	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
completion	O
of	O
Timelapses	B-Application
demo	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
submitted	O
it	O
for	O
approval	O
by	O
the	O
internal	O
"	O
product	O
review	O
"	O
board	O
at	O
GTE	O
Entertainment	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
company	O
agreed	O
to	O
move	O
the	O
game	O
into	O
full	O
production	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creation	O
of	O
Timelapse	B-Application
was	O
highly	O
collaborative	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Timelapse	B-Application
was	O
displayed	O
at	O
the	O
1996	O
Electronic	O
Entertainment	O
Expo	O
(	O
E3	O
)	O
in	O
June	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
show	O
,	O
a	O
writer	O
for	O
Computer	O
Games	O
Strategy	O
Plus	O
described	O
it	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
visually	O
stunning	O
game	O
,	O
with	O
full-screen	O
ray-traced	B-Algorithm
graphics	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Timelapse	B-Application
was	O
released	O
on	O
October	O
15	O
,	O
1996	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
list	O
price	O
of	O
$70	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
shipped	O
first	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
simultaneously	O
with	O
its	O
Prima	O
Games	O
strategy	O
book	O
—	O
an	O
effort	O
by	O
GTE	O
to	O
increase	O
bundled	O
sales	O
of	O
Timelapse	B-Application
and	O
its	O
guide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
1997	O
,	O
Variety	O
reported	O
that	O
Timelapse	B-Application
and	O
the	O
GTE-published	O
Titanic	B-Application
:	I-Application
Adventure	I-Application
Out	I-Application
of	I-Application
Time	I-Application
were	O
both	O
"	O
selling	O
well	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
collapse	O
,	O
Timelapse	B-Application
fell	O
out	O
of	O
print	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
rights	O
to	O
Timelapse	B-Application
were	O
obtained	O
in	O
February	O
1998	O
by	O
the	O
company	O
Barracuda	O
,	O
founded	O
by	O
Michael	O
Kaye	O
and	O
Mike	O
Yuen	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
original	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
mid-1999	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
announced	O
a	O
distribution	O
deal	O
with	O
DICE	O
Computer	O
Games	O
to	O
re-distribute	O
Timelapse	B-Application
in	O
more	O
than	O
12	O
countries	O
across	O
Europe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inside	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
Games	I-Application
nominated	O
Timelapse	B-Application
as	O
its	O
pick	O
for	O
1996	O
's	O
best	O
adventure	O
game	O
,	O
but	O
ultimately	O
gave	O
the	O
award	O
to	O
Titanic	B-Application
:	I-Application
Adventure	I-Application
Out	I-Application
of	I-Application
Time	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
editors	O
called	O
it	O
"	O
the	O
only	O
Myst-style	O
game	O
of	O
the	O
year	O
that	O
'	O
worked	O
 '	O
.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
PC	O
Magazine	O
included	O
Timelapse	B-Application
in	O
its	O
1996	O
holiday	O
shopping	O
recommendations	O
guide	O
.	O
</s>
