<s>
The	O
Virtual	B-Application
Theatre	I-Application
is	O
a	O
computer	O
game	O
engine	O
designed	O
by	O
Revolution	O
Software	O
to	O
produce	O
adventure	O
games	O
for	O
computer	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
its	O
first	O
release	O
,	O
it	O
rivaled	O
competing	O
engines	O
like	O
LucasArts	O
 '	O
SCUMM	B-Application
and	O
Sierra	O
's	O
Creative	O
Interpreter	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
then	O
high	O
level	O
of	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
The	O
engine	O
was	O
first	O
proposed	O
in	O
1989	B-Application
,	O
while	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
to	O
use	O
it	O
,	O
Lure	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Temptress	I-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1992	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
Beneath	B-Application
a	I-Application
Steel	I-Application
Sky	I-Application
(	O
1994	O
)	O
,	O
Broken	B-Application
Sword	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Shadow	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Templars	I-Application
(	O
1996	O
)	O
and	O
Broken	B-Application
Sword	I-Application
II	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Smoking	I-Application
Mirror	I-Application
(	O
1997	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
games	O
(	O
Broken	B-Application
Sword	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Shadow	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Templars	I-Application
and	O
Broken	B-Application
Sword	I-Application
II	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Smoking	I-Application
Mirror	I-Application
)	O
that	O
use	O
a	O
Virtual	B-Application
Theatre	I-Application
variant	O
engine	O
can	O
now	O
be	O
played	O
on	O
modern	O
hardware	O
using	O
ScummVM	B-Device
,	O
which	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
allows	O
the	O
engine	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
platforms	O
where	O
the	O
titles	O
were	O
not	O
officially	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2012	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
confirmed	O
that	O
the	O
engine	O
would	O
be	O
revived	O
as	O
"	O
Virtual	B-Application
Theatre	I-Application
7	O
"	O
for	O
the	O
fifth	O
Broken	O
Sword	O
titled	O
Broken	B-Application
Sword	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Serpent	I-Application
's	I-Application
Curse	I-Application
(	O
2013	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
their	O
debut	O
adventure	O
game	O
,	O
Lure	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Temptress	I-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
1992	O
for	O
Amiga	B-Device
,	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
and	O
PC	B-Device
,	O
Cecil	O
,	O
Warriner	O
,	O
Sykes	O
and	O
Dan	O
Marchant	O
created	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
engine	O
titled	O
"	O
Virtual	B-Application
Theatre	I-Application
"	O
,	O
which	O
Warriner	O
wrote	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
Beneath	B-Application
a	I-Application
Steel	I-Application
Sky	I-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
1994	O
for	O
Amiga	B-Device
,	O
and	O
PC	B-Device
,	O
Revolution	O
used	O
an	O
updated	O
version	O
of	O
Virtual	B-Application
Theatre	I-Application
,	O
Virtual	B-Application
Theatre	I-Application
2.0	O
,	O
written	O
by	O
Warriner	O
and	O
Sykes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
because	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
six	O
times	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
Lure	B-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Temptress	I-Application
,	O
non-player	O
characters	O
had	O
to	O
perform	O
much	O
simpler	O
tasks	O
than	O
in	O
its	O
predecessor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Broken	B-Application
Sword	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Shadow	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Templars	I-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
1996	O
for	O
PC	B-Device
,	O
Mac	B-Device
and	O
PlayStation	B-Device
,	O
and	O
its	O
sequel	O
,	O
Broken	B-Application
Sword	I-Application
II	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Smoking	I-Application
Mirror	I-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
1997	O
for	O
PC	B-Device
and	O
PlayStation	B-Device
,	O
also	O
used	O
modified	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Virtual	B-Application
Theatre	I-Application
engine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
Broken	B-Application
Sword	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Serpent	I-Application
's	I-Application
Curse	I-Application
a	O
brand-new	O
engine	O
(	O
VT7	O
)	O
was	O
developed	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
deal	O
with	O
multiple	O
platforms	O
and	O
,	O
in	O
particular	O
,	O
with	O
screen	O
resolution	O
(	O
the	O
system	O
is	O
built	O
on	O
C++	B-Language
and	O
OpenGL	B-Application
,	O
and	O
a	O
custom	O
scripting-language	O
to	O
implement	O
the	O
game	O
itself	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Virtual	B-Application
Theatre	I-Application
allowed	O
non-player	O
characters	O
to	O
traverse	O
the	O
world	O
in	O
seemingly	O
random	O
patterns	O
,	O
interacting	O
with	O
their	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
the	O
engine	O
's	O
first	O
release	O
,	O
it	O
rivaled	O
competing	O
engines	O
such	O
as	O
LucasArts	O
 '	O
SCUMM	B-Application
engine	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Sierra	O
's	O
Creative	O
Interpreter	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
then	O
high	O
level	O
of	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
faster	O
on	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
than	O
the	O
C	B-Language
code	I-Language
that	O
was	O
used	O
by	O
many	O
USA	O
programmers	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compared	O
to	O
the	O
Sierra	O
titles	O
,	O
the	O
engine	O
became	O
in	O
this	O
respect	O
more	O
sophisticated	O
,	O
a	O
reason	O
why	O
Revolution	O
did	O
the	O
conversion	O
of	O
King	B-Application
's	I-Application
Quest	I-Application
VI	I-Application
to	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
of	O
the	O
in-game	O
objects	O
(	O
including	O
non-player	O
characters	O
)	O
in	O
Virtual	B-Application
Theatre	I-Application
occupied	O
space	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
unique	O
feature	O
for	O
an	O
engine	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
remedied	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Broken	B-Application
Sword	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Shadow	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Templars	I-Application
,	O
where	O
the	O
protagonist	O
,	O
if	O
found	O
his	O
way	O
blocked	O
by	O
another	O
character	O
,	O
could	O
simply	O
walk	O
through	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
games	O
(	O
Broken	B-Application
Sword	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Shadow	I-Application
of	I-Application
the	I-Application
Templars	I-Application
and	O
Broken	B-Application
Sword	I-Application
II	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Smoking	I-Application
Mirror	I-Application
)	O
that	O
use	O
a	O
Virtual	B-Application
Theatre	I-Application
variant	O
engine	O
can	O
now	O
be	O
played	O
on	O
modern	O
hardware	O
using	O
ScummVM	B-Device
.	O
</s>
