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Brad Wardell
Bradley R. Wardell (born June 24, 1971) is an American businessman, programmer, author and AI engineer. He is the founder, president, and CEO of Stardock, a software development and computer games company. Education Wardell graduated from Western Michigan University in 1994 with a degree in Electronic Engineering, specializing in Computer Engineering. Career Wardell was involved in the design and implementation of '' Galactic Civilizations'' for OS/2, one of the platform's few games. He led development of ''OS/2 Essentials'', followed by ''Object Desktop'', a package of utilities and desktop enhancements. When the OS/2 market collapsed, he shifted Stardock to Windows, heading development of PC game ''Entrepreneur'', while coordinating the creation of '' WindowBlinds'' and other ''Object Desktop'' components. Wardell was an early pioneer of digital distribution of games and software, despite the potential for software piracy. Wardell was an early adopter of digital distribut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has Mexico-United States border, an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south and southwest. Texas has Texas Gulf Coast, a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. Covering and with over 31 million residents as of 2024, it is the second-largest state List of U.S. states and territories by area, by area and List of U.S. states and territories by population, population. Texas is nicknamed the ''Lone Star State'' for its former status as the independent Republic of Texas. Spain was the first European country to Spanish Texas, claim and control Texas. Following French colonization of Texas, a short-lived colony controlled by France, Mexico ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utility Software
Utility software is a program specifically designed to help manage and tune system or application software. It is used to support the computer infrastructure - in contrast to application software, which is aimed at directly performing tasks that benefit ordinary users. However, utilities often form part of the application . For example, a batch job may run user-written code to update a database and may then include a step that runs a utility to back up the database, or a job may run a utility to compress a disk before copying files. Although a basic set of utility programs is usually distributed with an operating system (OS), and this first party utility software is often considered part of the operating system, users often install replacements or additional utilities. Those utilities may provide additional facilities to carry out tasks that are beyond the capabilities of the operating system. Many utilities that might affect the entire computer system require the user to have el ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demigod (video Game)
''Demigod'' is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed by Gas Powered Games for Microsoft Windows platform and released on April 14, 2009. The game's title refers to the powerful player characters that battle for supremacy over various zones. The game is multiplayer-oriented and competitive in nature, though it also features a single-player mode against CPU commanded characters. A free demo featuring a multi-player option became available on July 30, 2009 with all gameplay modes unlocked. Gameplay There are two distinct types of Demigod: Assassins and Generals. Assassins rely on their varied combat abilities in a direct fight to kill other Demigods. Generals are a hybrid Demigod that create and support their own minions and other Demigods. ''Demigod'' launched with eight Demigods available, four for each type of Demigod, and added two additional Demigods after release. Development On December 3, 2008, Atari Europe picked up the rights to co-publish and distribute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Taylor (game Designer)
Chris Taylor is a Canadian video game designer best known for ''Total Annihilation'' and the ''Dungeon Siege'' and ''Supreme Commander (video game), Supreme Commander'' series and co-founding the now-defunct studio Gas Powered Games. In 2002, GameSpy named him the "30th most influential person in gaming." In 2019, he revealed he has been working on Kanoogi, a cloud-based gaming platform, and developing his next game, ''Intergalactic Space Empire''. Career Taylor was born in British Columbia and started in the video game industry in the late 1980s at Distinctive Software in Burnaby. His first game was ''Hardball II'' released in 1989. Taylor moved to Seattle, Washington (state), Washington in January 1996 when he joined Cavedog Entertainment as the designer and project leader for the real-time strategy video game ''Total Annihilation'' and its first expansion, ''Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency''. He left Cavedog in March 1998 and later founded Gas Powered Games two mont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gas Powered Games
Wargaming Seattle, formerly known as Gas Powered Games, was a video game developer located in Redmond, Washington. The development studio was started in May 1998 by Chris Taylor (game designer), Chris Taylor and several other ex-Cavedog Entertainment employees. In 2013 they became the Seattle studio of Wargaming (company), Wargaming. Wargaming Seattle was closed down in July 2018. History Gas Powered Games was formed in May 1998 by Chris Taylor (video game designer), Chris Taylor, alongside Jake McMahon, Bartosz Kijanka, Mike Biddlecombe, and Rick Saenz. Their launch title was the 2002 3D computer graphics, 3D role-playing video game ''Dungeon Siege'', video game publisher, published by Microsoft Game Studios. Apart from its custom game engine, graphics engine, it also featured simple and innovative role-playing rules and mechanics that made it stand out from a market already crowded with sword and sorcery/fantasy role-playing games. In 2003 Gas Powered released a stand-alone exp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GamePolitics
GamePolitics.com was a blog which covered the politics of computer and video games. GamePolitics was launched by freelance journalist Dennis McCauley in March 2005. At the time, McCauley was the video game columnist for ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', a position he held from 1998 to 2009. Growing somewhat bored of writing video game reviews, McCauley created GamePolitics in order to track the political, legal and cultural impact of video games. The site was often referred to as GP by followers. Under McCauley's tenure as editor, frequent topics included video game legislation, the effects of media coverage on video games and gamer culture, and stories about high-profile critics and/or supporters of the industry. Early on, GP established itself as a site which included a great deal of original content based on McCauley's reporting. For example, GP published the first interview with Patrick Wildenborg, the Dutch modder who discovered the infamous Hot Coffee mod sex animations embedd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penny Arcade Expo
PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, and Melbourne. Previously, it was also held in San Antonio. PAX was created in 2004 by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the authors of the ''Penny Arcade'' webcomic, because they wanted to attend a show exclusively for gaming. The shows include a keynote speech from an industry insider, game-culture inspired concerts, panels on game topics, exhibitor booths from both independent and major game developers and publishers, a LAN party multiplayer, tabletop gaming tournaments, and video game freeplay areas. History The first Penny Arcade Expo was held on , at the Meydenbauer Center, and was attended by about 3,300 people. Renamed PAX, it became an annual event. Attendance grew rapidly, topping 9,000 in 2005 and 19,000 in 2006. Outgrowing the Meydenbauer Center, the event moved to the Washing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edge (magazine)
''Edge'' is a multi-format video game magazine published by Future plc. It is a UK-based magazine and publishes 13 issues annually. The magazine was launched by Steve Jarratt in 1993. It has also released foreign editions in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. History The magazine was launched in October 1993 by Steve Jarratt, a long-time video games journalist who has launched several other magazines for Future. The artwork for the cover of the magazine's 100th issue was specially provided by Shigeru Miyamoto. The 200th issue was released in March 2009 with 200 different covers, each commemorating a single game; 199 variants were in general circulation, and one was exclusive to subscribers. Only 200 magazines were printed with each cover, sufficient to more than satisfy ''Edge''s circulation of 28,898. In October 2003, the then-editor of ''Edge'', João Diniz-Sanches, left the magazine along with deputy editor David McCarthy and other staff writers. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Impulse (software)
Impulse was a digital distribution and multiplayer platform. Originally developed by Stardock to succeed Stardock Central, it was purchased by GameStop in March 2011, and was subsequently rebranded as GameStop PC Downloads, with the client being renamed GameStop App. The client was discontinued in April 2014. Impulse facilitated the purchase, download and updating of software. The platform also provided blogging, friends-list, chat, game matchmaking, achievements and ranking to certain games. Features Impulse helped users purchase and download software. Purchases were tied to an account on GameStop's servers, and could be downloaded from anywhere that allowed the use of the Impulse client. Storefront Impulse provided a storefront that supports localized currencies, territory restrictions and a process for refunds. Publishers and developers that once used the Impulse storefront include Activision, Atari, Ubisoft, Epic Games, THQ, AVG, Iolo Technologies, Gas Powered Games, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gamasutra
''Game Developer'' (known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021) is a website created in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa TechTarget and acted as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Game Developer'' prior to the latter's closure in 2013. Site sections ''Game Developer'' publishes daily news, features like post-game post-mortems and critical essays from developers, and user-submitted blog posts. The articles can be filtered by topic (All, Console/ PC, Social/Online, Smartphone/ Tablet, Independent, Serious) and category (Programming, Art, Audio, Design, Production, Biz (Business)/Marketing). The site has an online storefront for books on game design, RSS feeds and the website's Twitter account. The site also has a section for users to apply for contracted work and open positions at various development studios. Trade Center Resource While it does post news found on typical video game websites, ''Game Devel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Software Piracy
Online piracy or software piracy is the practice of downloading and distributing copyrighted works digitally without permission, such as music, movies or software. History Nathan Fisk traces the origins of modern online piracy back to similar problems posed by the advent of the printing press. Quoting from legal standards in '' MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.'', he notes that there have historically been a number of technologies which have had a "dual effect" of facilitating legitimate sharing of information, but which also facilitate the ease with which copyright can be violated. He likens online piracy to issues faced in the early 20th century by stationers in England, who tried and failed to prevent the large scale printing and distribution of illicit sheet music. WordStar was so widely pirated that many books on how to use the software appeared, their authors knowing that they were selling documentation for illicit copies. Starting in the 1980s, the availability of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WindowBlinds
WindowBlinds is a computer program that allows users to skin the Windows graphical user interface. It has been developed by Stardock since 1998, and is the most popular component of their flagship software suite, Object Desktop. It is also available separately, and as an ActiveX/COM component called DirectSkin. Introduced in its sixth version, it supports alpha blending effects similar to the compositing of Windows Vista, but on Windows XP. WindowBlinds has been downloaded over 10 million times and was voted "Best Vertical Market Program or Utility" in the 2006 Shareware Industry Awards Foundation People's Choice Awards. As of November 2009 there were 4448 WindowBlinds skins available at WinCustomize, with an average of nine being added per week. Skin formats WindowBlinds skins come in two formats: "Basic" (or "UIS1+") and "Advanced" (or "UIS2"). Basic (UIS1+) Despite its name, the "Basic" skin format can be used to create fully featured skins, and it is still used today. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
