Viola (plant)

Viola (US /vaɪˈoʊlə/ and UK /ˈvaɪ.ələ/) is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae. It is the largest genus in the family, containing between 525 and 600 species. Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, however some are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes.

Some Viola species are perennial plants, some are annual plants, and a few are small shrubs. A large number of species, varieties and cultivars are grown in gardens for their ornamental flowers. In horticulture the term "pansy" is normally used for those multi-coloured, large-flowered cultivars which are raised annually or biennially from seed and used extensively in bedding. The terms "viola" and "violet" are normally reserved for small-flowered annuals or perennials, including the species.

Description

Viola typically have heart-shaped, scalloped leaves, though a number have palmate leaves or other shapes. The vast majority of Viola species are herbaceous, and a substantial number are acaulescent in habit - meaning they lack any noticeable stems and the foliage and flowers appear to rise from the ground; the remaining species have short stems with foliage and flowers produced in the axils of the leaves. The simple leaves of plants with either habit are arranged alternately; the acaulescent species produce basal rosettes. Plants always have leaves with stipules that are often leaf-like.

Violet (Peanuts)

Violet Gray is a fictional character featured in the long-running syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. She was initially a major character, until she began to fade into the background.

Violet is best known as a snobby upper-class girl who likes bragging and, tagged along by her friends Patty (her best friend) and Lucy, often teases and torments Charlie Brown.

In addition to the comic strip, Violet has appeared alongside other Peanuts characters in numerous Peanuts television specials, cinematic movies, theatrical plays, and video games.

History

Violet was first featured in the February 7, 1951 Peanuts strip. From there on, Violet's character changed and developed until she began to become less prominent than the other major characters, with her forthcoming appearances reduced to mere cameos. Her last comic strip appearance, discounting the reruns of the strip, was on the November 27, 1997 Peanuts strip.

Character Outline

Appearance

Violet (video game)

Violet is a work of interactive fiction by Jeremy Freese. It is a one-room puzzle game. It took first place in the 2008 Interactive Fiction Competition with an average score of 8.53. That score is the highest of any Interactive Fiction Competition entry from 1999 through 2012.Violet was selected as the best interactive fiction game for 2008 by both the Jay Is Games staff and audience.Violet took 35.1% of the vote in the Jay Is Games audience award, compared to 18.7% for the second place winner, Lost Pig.Violet won four awards in the 2008 XYZZY Awards: Best game, writing, individual puzzle ("Disconnecting the Internet in Violet/Getting rid of the key in Violet"), and individual NPC (Violet, the eponymous character).

The protagonist of Violet is a graduate student trying to write 1,000 words for his dissertation. The protagonist's girlfriend, Violet, threatens to leave otherwise. The protagonist faces a stream of distractions, including a window with a view of the campus, and a computer with access to blogs and webcomics. In the course of the game, the protagonist must "reconsider—and risk wrecking—" his career and relationship.

Ultima VII: The Black Gate

Ultima VII: The Black Gate is the seventh installment of the Ultima series of role-playing video games, released on April 16, 1992.

The Black Gate was critically acclaimed and commercially successful, being widely lauded as a high point in the series and as one of the best RPGs ever created. In an interview with GameSpot, Richard Garriott stated that Ultima VII "was the most masterfully executed of the Ultima series." He has also often stated that the game was, along with Ultima IV, his own favorite installment overall.

Gameplay

Game system

Ultima VII introduced major changes in the Ultima series. The most serious alteration is that as far as the player is concerned, the world is no longer tile and grid-based; tiles are still used internally (in a largely improved way where the tiles themselves are smaller and frequently grouped), but they no longer affect character and monster movement or the item placement the same way. The maps are also more visibly multi-layered, and objects and things can be stacked on top of each other. This can also affect movement, and be part of puzzles; some places are inaccessible unless the player stacks items to form stairs. A striking visual change is that the gameworld now takes up the entire screen in its original DOS environment, while previous Ultimas used a substantial portion of the screen for text, dialogue, buttons, icons, and the like.