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Cinematronics, LLC
Cinematronics, LLC, later known as Maxis South, was a Texas-based developer of games for the PC and Mac, founded in 1994 by David Stafford, Mike Sandige and Kevin Gliner. They developed '' Tritryst'' for Virgin Interactive, ''Full Tilt! Pinball'' for Maxis, and ''Jack Nicklaus 4'' for Accolade. The Space Cadet pinball table from ''Full Tilt!'' was also included with Microsoft Plus 95 and several versions of Microsoft Windows. Maxis bought the company in 1996 and renamed it Maxis South; at the time there were 13 employees. As Maxis South, they developed games such as '' Marble Drop'' and an unreleased '' Diablo''-type game called ''Crucible''. The studio was closed and the employees were laid off when Maxis was acquired by Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maxis
Maxis is an American video game developer and a Division (business), division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by Electronic Arts, EA in 1997. Maxis is best known for its simulation games, including ''The Sims'', ''Spore (2008 video game), Spore'' and ''SimCity''. In the late 2010s, Maxis suffered from a series of studio closures and layoffs. This included the shutdown of Maxis Emeryville in 2015, EA Salt Lake in 2017, and a wave of layoffs at Redwood Shores in 2018. With the remainder of Maxis reorganised under EA Mobile, and EA opening new studios under the label from 2019, some commentators have suggested that only the brand name from the original studio survives. History Independent studio (1987-1997) Maxis was founded in 1987 by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and Jeff Braun to help publish ''SimCity (1989 video game), SimCity'' on home computers. Before then, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Accolade (company)
Accolade, Inc. (later Infogrames North America, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher based in San Jose, California. The company was founded as Accolade in 1984 by Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead, who had previously co-founded Activision in 1979. The company became known for numerous sports game series, including ''HardBall!, Jack Nicklaus'' and ''Test Drive''. By the early 1990s, Accolade saw critical acclaim for '' Star Control'' (1990), as well as strong sales for ''Bubsy'' (1993). However, Sega sued Accolade for creating unauthorized Sega Genesis games by reverse-engineering the console's boot-protection. Accolade won the case on appeal, overturning an injunction from the lower court that had interrupted their sales and development. The founders soon left the company. The new chief executive, Peter Harris, attracted new investment from Time Warner. The following year, Accolade president Jim Barrett replaced him. He focused on existing franchises hoping ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the designers and programmers responsible for its games as "software artists." EA published numerous games and some productivity software for personal computers, all of which were developed by external individuals or groups until 1987's ''Skate or Die!''. The company shifted toward internal game studios, often through acquisitions, such as Distinctive Software becoming EA Canada in 1991. Currently, EA develops and publishes games of established franchises, including ''Battlefield'', ''Need for Speed'', ''The Sims'', ''Medal of Honor'', ''Command & Conquer'', ''Dead Space'', ''Mass Effect'', ''Dragon Age'', ''Army of Two'', ''Apex Legends'', and '' Star Wars'', as well as the EA Sports titles '' FIFA'', ''Madden NFL'', ''NBA Live'', ''NHL'', an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition to the information produced by ''GameSpot'' staff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums. It has been owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. In 2004, ''GameSpot'' won "Best Gaming Website" as chosen by the viewers in Spike TV's second ''Video Game Award Show'', and has won Webby Awards several times. The domain ''gamespot.com'' attracted at least 60 million visitors annually by October 2008 according to a Compete.com study. History In January 1996, Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein quit their positions at IDG and founded SpotMedia Communications. SpotMedia then launched ''GameSpot'' on May 1, 1996. Originally, ''GameSpot'' focused solely on personal computer games, so a sis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diablo (video Game)
''Diablo'' is an action role-playing video game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment in January 1997, and is the first installment in the video game series of the same name. Set in the fictional Kingdom of Khanduras in the mortal realm, the player controls a lone hero battling to rid the world of Diablo, the Lord of Terror. Beneath the town of Tristram, the player journeys through sixteen randomly generated dungeon levels, ultimately entering Hell in order to face Diablo. An expansion pack, '' Diablo: Hellfire'', was released in November 1997 by Synergistic Software. In 1998, Electronic Arts released ''Diablo'' for the PlayStation. This version, developed by Climax Studios, featured direct control of the main character's direction using the PlayStation controller, as opposed to point-and-click movement. A Sega Saturn version was considered by Electronic Arts but never released. ''Diablo'' has been considered one of the greatest games of all time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marble Drop
''Marble Drop'' is a puzzle video game published by Maxis on February 28, 1997. Gameplay Players are given an initial set of marbles that are divided evenly into six colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, with two more colors available to purchase: black and silver (steel). These marbles are picked up and dropped by the players into funnels leading to a series of rails, switches, traps and other devices which grow more complex as the game progresses. The aim is to ensure that each marble arrives in the bin of the same color as the marble. Players must determine how the marble will travel through the puzzle, and how its journey will change the puzzle for the next marble. When a marble runs over certain sections of the puzzle, the paths may be rerouted or cut off, either temporarily or permanently. For example, if the marble runs over a button, it might hop, skip and jump a diversion that sends the next marble down a different road. There are 50 puzzles in total, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interactive Daily
Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but most definitions are related to interaction between users and computers and other machines through a user interface. Interactivity can however also refer to interaction between people. It nevertheless usually refers to interaction between people and computers – and sometimes to interaction between computers – through software, hardware, and networks. Multiple views on interactivity exist. In the "contingency view" of interactivity, there are three levels: #Not interactive, when a message is not related to previous messages. #Reactive, when a message is related only to one immediately previous message. #Interactive, when a message is related to a number of previous messages and to the relationship between them. One body of research has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 servers, and Windows IoT for embedded systems. Defunct Windows families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone. The first version of Windows was released on November 20, 1985, as a graphical operating system shell for MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Windows is the most popular desktop operating system in the world, with 75% market share , according to StatCounter. However, Windows is not the most used operating system when including both mobile and desktop OSes, due to Android's massive growth. , the most recent version of Windows is Windows 11 for consumer PCs and tablets, Windows 11 Enterprise for corporations, and Windows Server 2022 for servers. Genealogy By marketing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microsoft Plus 95
Microsoft Plus! is a discontinued commercial operating system enhancement product by Microsoft. The last edition is the Plus! SuperPack, which includes an assortment of screensavers, themes, and games, as well as multimedia applications. The Microsoft Plus! product was first announced on January 31, 1994, under the Microsoft codenames, internal codename "Frosting". The first edition was an enhancement for Windows 95, Windows 95 Plus! The enhancements that make up Microsoft Plus! were generally developed by Microsoft itself. The Plus! packs also included games and content from third-party companies; for example, in Plus! for Windows XP, the ''Hyperbowl Plus! Edition, HyperBowl'' game developed by HyperEntertainment Inc. was included. Plus! features that enhance the base operating system or provide utility are generally included free of charge in the next release of Windows. Microsoft Plus! was discontinued in favor of Windows Ultimate Extras in Windows Vista. Versions Micro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Nicklaus 4
''Jack Nicklaus 4'' is a 1997 sports golf video game. It was published by Accolade, and is the fourth in a series of video games named after golfer Jack Nicklaus, following '' Jack Nicklaus Golf & Course Design: Signature Edition'' (1992). The original Microsoft Windows version was developed by Cinematronics. Versions were also released for Macintosh and DVD. A PlayStation version titled ''Jack Nicklaus '98'' was also in development. The game was followed by '' Jack Nicklaus 5'', released later in 1997. Gameplay ''Jack Nicklaus 4'' includes eight different game modes. The game features five 18-hole courses, including four real-life courses: Muirfield Village, Colleton River Plantation, Country Club of the South and Cabo del Sol. The fifth course is Winding Springs, a fictional location created by the developers using a golf course designer program that comes with the game. The course designer allows the player to create a custom golf course, one hole at a time. The course d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by both List of U.S. states and territories by area, area (after Alaska) and List of U.S. states and territories by population, population (after California). Texas shares borders with the states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, states of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south and southwest; and has a coastline with the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. Houston is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas and the List of United States cities by population, fourth-largest in the U.S., while San Antonio is the second most pop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imagine Media
Future US, Inc. (formerly known as Imagine Media and The Future Network USA) is an American media corporation specializing in targeted magazines and websites in the video games, music, and technology markets. Headquartered in New York City, the corporation has offices in: Alexandria, Virginia; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Washington, D.C. Future US is owned by parent company, Future plc, a specialist media company based in Bath, Somerset, England. History The company was established when Future plc acquired struggling Greensboro ( N.C.) video game magazine publisher GP Publications, publisher of ''Game Players'' magazine, in 1994. The company launched a number of titles including ''PC Gamer'', and relocated from North Carolina to the San Francisco Bay Area, occupying various properties in Burlingame and South San Francisco. When Chris Anderson, the founder of Future plc, sold Future to Pearson plc he retained GP, renamed Imagine Media, Inc. in June 1995, and operated it as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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