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Tom Hall
Tom Hall is an American game designer best known for his work with id Software on titles such as ''Doom'' and ''Commander Keen''. Career Hall attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he earned a B.S. in Computer Science. In 1987, Hall worked at Softdisk Inc., where he was both a programmer and the editor of ''Softdisk'', a software bundle delivered monthly. Along with some of his co-workers, John Carmack, John Romero and Adrian Carmack, he founded id Software. He served as creative director and designer there, working on games such as the ''Commander Keen'' series, ''Wolfenstein 3D'', ''Spear of Destiny'', and ''Doom''. After some disputes with John Carmack about the design for ''Doom'', Tom left id Software in August 1993 to join Apogee/3D Realms. He was the game designer for ''Rise of the Triad'', produced ''Terminal Velocity'', and helped in varying degrees on ''Duke Nukem II'' and ''Duke Nukem 3D'' as well. He also worked on the ''Prey'' engine until August ...
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Spear Of Destiny (computer Game)
''Wolfenstein 3D'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by 3D Realms, Apogee Software and FormGen. Originally released on May 5, 1992, for DOS, it was inspired by the 1981 Muse Software video game ''Castle Wolfenstein'', and is the third installment in the ''Wolfenstein'' series. In ''Wolfenstein 3D'', the player player character, assumes the role of Allies of World War II, Allied spy William "B.J." Blazkowicz during World War II as he escapes from the Nazi Germany, Nazi German prison Castle Wolfenstein and carries out a series of crucial missions against the Nazis. The player traverses each of the game's level (video games), levels to find an elevator to the next level or kill a boss (video games), final boss, fighting Nazi soldiers, dogs, and other enemies with knives and a variety of guns. ''Wolfenstein 3D'' was the second major independent release by id Software, after the ''Commander Keen'' series of episodes. In mid-1991, programmer J ...
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Wolfenstein 3D
''Wolfenstein 3D'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software and FormGen. Originally released on May 5, 1992, for DOS, it was inspired by the 1981 Muse Software video game ''Castle Wolfenstein'', and is the third installment in the '' Wolfenstein'' series. In ''Wolfenstein 3D'', the player assumes the role of Allied spy William "B.J." Blazkowicz during World War II as he escapes from the Nazi German prison Castle Wolfenstein and carries out a series of crucial missions against the Nazis. The player traverses each of the game's levels to find an elevator to the next level or kill a final boss, fighting Nazi soldiers, dogs, and other enemies with knives and a variety of guns. ''Wolfenstein 3D'' was the second major independent release by id Software, after the ''Commander Keen'' series of episodes. In mid-1991, programmer John Carmack experimented with making a fast 3D game engine by restricting the gameplay and viewpoint to ...
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Video Game Design
Video game design is the process of designing the content and rules of video games in the pre-production stage and designing the gameplay, environment, storyline and characters in the production stage. Some common video game design subdisciplines are world design, level design, system design, content design, and user interface design. Within the video game industry, video game design is usually just referred to as "game design", which is a more general term elsewhere. The video game designer is very much like the director of a film; the designer is the visionary of the game and controls the artistic and technical elements of the game in fulfillment of their vision. However, with very complex games, such as MMORPGs or a big budget action or sports title, designers may number in the dozens. In these cases, there are generally one or two principal designers and many junior designers who specify subsets or subsystems of the game. As the industry has aged and embraced alternative prod ...
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GameSpy
GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameSpy brand to other video game publishers through a newly established company, GameSpy Industries, which also incorporated his Planet Network of video game news and information websites, and GameSpy.com. GameSpy merged with IGN in 2004; by 2014, its services had been used by over 800 video game publishers and developers since its launch. In August 2012, the GameSpy Industries division (which remained responsible for the GameSpy service) was acquired by mobile video game developer Glu Mobile. IGN (then owned by News Corporation) retained ownership of the GameSpy.com website. In February 2013, IGN's new owner, Ziff Davis, shut down IGN's "secondary" sites, including GameSpy's network. This was followed by the announcement in April 2014 that G ...
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Deus Ex (video Game)
''Deus Ex'' is a 2000 action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive. Set in a cyberpunk-themed dystopian world in the year 2052, the game follows JC Denton, an agent of the fictional agency United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition (UNATCO), who is given superhuman abilities by nanotechnology, as he sets out to combat hostile forces in a world ravaged by inequality and a deadly plague. His missions entangle him in a conspiracy that brings him into conflict with the Triads, Majestic 12, and the Illuminati. ''Deus Ex''s gameplay combines elements of the first-person shooter with stealth elements, adventure, and role-playing genres, allowing for its tasks and missions to be completed in a variety of ways, which in turn lead to differing outcomes. Presented from the first-person perspective, the player can customize Denton's various abilities such as weapon skills or lockpicking, increasing his effectiveness in these areas; this opens up differe ...
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Anachronox
''Anachronox'' is a 2001 role-playing video game produced by Tom Hall and the Dallas Ion Storm games studio. The game is centered on Sylvester "Sly Boots" Bucelli, a down-and-out private investigator who looks for work in the slums of Anachronox, a once-abandoned planet near the galaxy's jumpgate hub. He travels to other planets, amasses an unlikely group of friends, and unravels a mystery that threatens the fate of the universe. The game's science fiction story was influenced by cyberpunk, film noir, and unconventional humor. The story features a theme of working through the troubles of one's past. The gameplay for ''Anachronox'' is turn-based; the player controls a party of up to three characters as they explore a 3D environment of futuristic cities, space vessels, and outdoor areas. Inspirations for the game include older role-playing video games such as ''Chrono Trigger'' and the Final Fantasy, ''Final Fantasy'' series, animator Chuck Jones and the novel ''Ender's Game''. The ...
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Ion Storm
Ion Storm, L.P. was an American video game developer founded by video game industry veterans John Romero and Tom Hall, both formerly of id Software. Despite an impressive pedigree and high expectations, the company only produced one commercial and critical success, 2000's ''Deus Ex (video game), Deus Ex''. The company was founded in Dallas, Texas in November 1996; a branch in Austin, Texas was opened in 1997. In April 1999, Eidos Interactive acquired 51% of the company in exchange for advances to the developers. The Dallas studio closed in July 2001, leaving the Austin studio as the new headquarters. After financial struggles at Eidos Interactive, the Austin studio followed with its own closure in February 2005. History Formation Ion Storm was founded by John Romero, Tom Hall, Todd Porter and Jerry O'Flaherty on November 15, 1996, with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Hall came up with the name, the "Storm" part coming from Porter's first project for the company. The co ...
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Game Engine
A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software industry. The game engine can also refer to the development software utilizing this framework, typically offering a suite of tools and features for developing games. Developers can use game engines to construct games for video game consoles and other types of computers. The core functionality typically provided by a game engine may include a rendering engine ("renderer") for 2D or 3D graphics, a physics engine or collision detection (and collision response), sound, scripting, animation, artificial intelligence, networking, streaming, memory management, threading, localization support, scene graph, and video support for cinematics. Game engine implementers often economize on the process of game development by reusing/adapting, in ...
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Prey (2006 Video Game)
''Prey'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Human Head Studios, under contract for 3D Realms, and published by 2K Games, while the Xbox 360 version was Porting, ported by Venom Games. The game was initially released in North America and Europe on July 11, 2006. ''Prey'' uses a heavily modified version of id Tech 4 to use portals and variable gravity to create the environments the player explores. The game's story is focused on Cherokee Domasi "Tommy" Tawodi as he, his girlfriend, and grandfather are abducted aboard an alien spaceship known as The Sphere as it consumes material, both inanimate and living, from Earth in order to sustain itself. Tommy's Cherokee heritage allows him to let his spirit roam freely at times and resurrection, come back to life after dying, which gives Tommy an edge in his battle against the Sphere. ''Prey'' had been in development in one form or another since 1995, and has had several major revisions. While the general approach to gameplay, ...
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Duke Nukem 3D
''Duke Nukem 3D'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by 3D Realms. It is a sequel to the platform games ''Duke Nukem'' and ''Duke Nukem II'', published by 3D Realms. ''Duke Nukem 3D'' features the adventures of the titular Duke Nukem, voiced by Jon St. John, who fights against an alien invasion on Earth. Along with ''Wolfenstein 3D'' and ''Doom'', ''Duke Nukem 3D'' is considered to be one of many titles responsible for popularizing first-person shooters, and was released to major acclaim. Reviewers praised the interactivity of the environments, gameplay, level design, and unique risqué humor, a mix of pop-culture satire and lampooning of over-the-top Hollywood action heroes. However, it also incited controversy due to its violence, erotic elements, and portrayal of women. The shareware version of the game was originally released on January 29, 1996 as version 1.0 (later, the shareware version got re-released as version 1.1 on February 20, 1996 and re-released once ...
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