Is there any tool/format that allows animations in a non-GIF format without the use of movie files (e.g. QuickTime, RealPlayer)?

The short answer is no:envy: . You could use flash but thats way to complicated to use in a game. You could also make your own using a series of pictures in another format. I have had this problem before and have found that using a pict graphic with all the frames one after another and a 1 byte num_of_frames peice of daat tacked to the end works. Is this a good enough explanation .

MNG?

PICS?

Why don't you want to use QuickTime movies?

I'm looking for a small format without sound that can support more than 256 colors.

MNG is almost certainly what you want then (as OSC said).

Though Quicktime would probably still be easier to use...

Thanks.