The TMS34010, developed by

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globa ...

and released in 1986, was the first programmable graphics processor

integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...

. While specialized graphics hardware existed earlier, such as blitters, the TMS34010 chip is a

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circ ...

which includes graphics-oriented instructions, making it a combination of a

CPU A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, a ...

and what would later be called a

GPU A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...

. It serves both purposes in a number of high-profile arcade games beginning with 1988's '' Narc'' and also ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a ...

'' and ''

NBA Jam ''NBA Jam'' (sometimes "Jam" for short) is a long-running basketball video game series based on the National Basketball Association (NBA). Initially developed as arcade games by Midway, the game found popularity with its photorealistic digiti ...

''. ''

Hard Drivin' ''Hard Drivin'' is a driving simulation video game developed by Atari Games in 1989. It invites players to test drive a sports car on courses that emphasize stunts and speed. The game features one of the first 3D polygon driving environments v ...

'' (1989) from Atari Games contains two of the processors. The TMS34010 was used in professional-level video accelerator cards for

IBM PC compatibles IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones. ...

in the early 1990s. The TMS34010 is a

bit The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represente ...

addressable, 32-bit processor, with two

register file A register file is an array of processor registers in a central processing unit (CPU). Register banking is the method of using a single name to access multiple different physical registers depending on the operating mode. Modern integrated circuit- ...

s, each with fifteen registers and sharing a sixteenth stack pointer. The instruction set supports drawing into two-dimensional bitmaps, arbitrary variable-width data, conversion of pixel data to different bit depths, and arithmetic operations on

pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the ...

s. Positions in bitmaps can be specified either as X, Y coordinates or as addresses. The TMS34010 is capable of executing any general-purpose program and is supported by an

ANSI The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organi ...

compliant

C compiler This page is intended to list all current compilers, compiler generators, interpreters, translators, tool foundations, assemblers, automatable command line interfaces ( shells), etc. Ada Compilers ALGOL 60 compilers ALGOL 68 compilers cf. ...

. Most of the arcade games that use the processor were written in native assembly language, not C. The design of the TMS34010 was led by Karl Guttag, who previously worked on the

TMS9918 VDP TMS9918A VDP TMS9918A VDP TMS9928A The TMS9918 is a video display controller (VDC) manufactured by Texas Instruments, in manuals referenced as 'Video Display Processor' (VDP) and introduced in 1979. The TMS9918 and its variants were used ...

video chip. Development took place at TI facilities in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

(UK) and

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

(US). First

silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic ...

was working in Houston in December 1985, with shipment of development boards to IBM's workstation facility in

Kingston, New York Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the Unite ...

, in January 1986. Texas Instruments follow-up processor, the

TMS34020 The TMS34010, developed by Texas Instruments and released in 1986, was the first programmable graphics processor integrated circuit. While specialized graphics hardware existed earlier, such as blitters, the TMS34010 chip is a microprocessor w ...

, can be used with a

floating point In computing, floating-point arithmetic (FP) is arithmetic that represents real numbers approximately, using an integer with a fixed precision, called the significand, scaled by an integer exponent of a fixed base. For example, 12.345 can ...

coprocessor to render three-dimensional graphics.

Uses

Arcade video games

The TMS34010 was used in many coin-operated

arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arc ...

s from 1988–1997. Atari Games *''

'' (1989) *''

S.T.U.N. Runner ''S.T.U.N. Runner'' (Spread Tunnel Underground Network Runner) is 3D racing/shooter game released in arcades by Atari Games in 1989. The player pilots a futuristic vehicle which can exceed 900 mph, through various tunnels and courses with c ...

'' (1989) *''

Race Drivin' ''Race Drivin'' is a driving arcade game that invites players to test drive several high-powered sports cars on stunt and speed courses. The game is the sequel to 1989's ''Hard Drivin and was part of a new generation of games that featured 3D ...

'' (1990) *''

Steel Talons ''Steel Talons'' is a 3D combat flight simulator arcade game released by Atari Games in 1991. The player takes on the role of a pilot for an "AT1196 Steel Talons combat helicopter". ''Steel Talons'' was ported to the Sega Genesis, Atari Lynx, Ata ...

'' (1991) Williams / Midway *'' NARC'' (1988) *''

Smash TV ''Smash TV'' is a 1990 arcade video game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams Electronics Games. It is a dual-stick shooter (one for moving and the other for firing) in the same vein as 1982's ''Robotron: 2084'' (co-created b ...

'' (1990) *'' Trog'' (1990) *'' Strike Force'' (1991) *''

Super High Impact Super may refer to: Computing * SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player * Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages * Super key (keyboard butto ...

(1991)'' *'' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991) *'' Total Carnage'' (1992) *''

'' (1992) *''

Mortal Kombat II ''Mortal Kombat II'' is a 1993 arcade fighting game originally produced by Midway for the arcades in 1993. It was later ported to multiple home systems, including MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, 32X, Sega Saturn, Super Nint ...

'' (1993) *''

'' (1993) * ''

Mortal Kombat 3 ''Mortal Kombat 3'' is a 1995 arcade fighting game developed by Midway Games and first released into arcades in 1995. It is the third main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1993's ''Mortal Kombat II''. As in the prev ...

'' (1995) * '' Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3'' (1995) *'' WWF WrestleMania'' (1995) * '' NHL: 2-on-2 Open Ice Challenge'' (1995) * '' NBA Hangtime'' (1996) * '' NBA Maximum Hangtime'' (1996) * ''

Rampage World Tour ''Rampage World Tour'' is a video game released in 1997 and is the second game in the '' Rampage'' series. The game was developed as an arcade game for Midway Games by Game Refuge Inc. designers Brian Colin and Jeff Nauman, who conceived and des ...

'' (1997) MicroProse Games *'' F-15 Strike Eagle'' (1991) *''B.O.T.S.S. - Battle of the Solar System'' (1992) Other *''AmeriDarts'' (1989)

Video accelerators

The TMS chips are compliant with the 1989 Texas Instruments Graphics Architecture (TIGA) standard, and in the early 1990s were used in professional-level video coprocessor boards for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few o ...

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...

, and

SCO Unix Xinuos OpenServer, previously SCO UNIX and SCO Open Desktop (SCO ODT), is a closed source computer operating system developed by Santa Cruz Operation (SCO), later acquired by SCO Group, and now owned by Xinuos. Early versions of OpenServer were ...

. In a 1991 article on graphics adapters, ''

PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the presen ...

'' reported that the fastest boards for regenerating

AutoCAD AutoCAD is a commercial computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting software application. Developed and marketed by Autodesk, AutoCAD was first released in December 1982 as a desktop app running on microcomputers with internal graphics controllers. ...

test images were based on the TMS34010. The Aura Scuzzygraph, Radius PowerView, and Radius SuperView external SCSI graphics cards for Apple Macintosh computers are based on the TMS34010.

Sun386i The Sun386i (codenamed ''Roadrunner'') is a discontinued hybrid UNIX workstation/PC compatible computer system produced by Sun Microsystems, launched in 1988. It is based on the Intel 80386 microprocessor but shares many features with the cont ...

uses TMS34010 in the CG5 (Roadracer) videocard. The Amiga A2410 graphics card uses the TMS34010 and was sold in Commodore Amiga UNIX workstations, the Amiga 2500UX and 3000UX. It was developed in conjunction with the University of Lowell. When running Amiga UNIX, the card supports the X Windows System and gives a high resolution 8-bit display. The card can also be used when running Amiga OS, with support libraries and some Retargetable Graphics implementations.

Game console

TI made an unsuccessful effort in 1987 and 1988 to convince games makers such as

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...

and

Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

to write 3D games and create a new

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

market. In 1987 TI provided the first demonstration of true real-time 3D games with stereo sound effects on a

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or te ...

(PC), using a small TMS34010 adapter card (called "The Flippy"). The Flippy was designed as the basis of a game development system for consoles and as a PC gaming card in its own right.

TMS34020

The successor to the TMS34010, the TMS34020 (1988), provides several enhancements including an interface for a special graphics

coprocessor, the TMS34082 (1989). The primary function of the TMS34082 is to allow the TMS340 architecture to generate high quality

three-dimensional Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called '' parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the inform ...

(3D) graphics. The performance level of 60 million vertices per second was advanced at the time. The TMS34020 was used in some arcade games, such as '' Revolution X'' (1994). The Rambrandt

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...

extension card from Progressive Peripherals & Software supported up to four TMS34020, for use in

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), edu ...

simulations.

References

{{reflist * "TI's TMS34020 Graphics System Processor". (31 October 1990). ''

Microprocessor Report ''Microprocessor Report'' is a newsletter covering the microprocessor industry. The publication is accessible only to paying subscribers. To avoid bias, it does not take advertisements. The publication provides extensive analysis of new high-perfo ...

''.

External links

TMS34010 promotional video
Computer-related introductions in 1986 TMS34010 Graphics chips 32-bit microprocessors