American Laser Games was a company based in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

that created numerous

light gun A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol. Early history The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sensing ...

laserdisc video game An interactive film is a video game or other interactive media that has characteristics of a cinematic film. In the video game industry, the term refers to a movie game, a video game that presents its gameplay in a cinematic, scripted manner, ...

s featuring

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

full motion video Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information duri ...

. The company was founded in the late 1980s by Robert Grebe, who had originally created a system to train police officers under the company name ICAT (Institute for Combat Arms and Tactics) and later adapted the technology for

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

s. Its first hit game was ''

Mad Dog McCree ''Mad Dog McCree'' is the first live-action laserdisc video game released by American Laser Games. It originally appeared as an arcade game in 1990. The game gained considerable attention for its live-action video style, bearing similarities to ...

'', a

light gun shooter Light gun shooter, also called light gun game or simply gun game, is a shooter video game genre in which the primary design element is to simulate a shooting gallery by having the player aiming and discharging a gun-shaped controller at a scre ...

set in the

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

. By mid-1995 they were recognized as the leading company in the medium of laserdisc-based arcade games. Almost all arcade games released by the company were light gun shooters and a number of them also had an Old West theme. Later, the company turned toward

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

technology to release its games.

Ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

of its arcade titles were released for the

Sega CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan, ...

CD-i The Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-I, later CD-i) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage device, data storage format that was mostly developed and marketed by Dutch company Philips. It was created as an extension of Compact Disc Di ...

and

DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicatio ...

computers equipped with

CD-ROM drive A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced ...

s. The company was particularly supportive of the 3DO, not only releasing versions of its games for the console, but also offering a modified version of the 3DO platform as an upgrade kit for existing arcade video game cabinets, supporting

compressed video In information theory, data compression, source coding, or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation. Any particular compression is either lossy or lossless. Lossless compression ...

versions of their games at a lower cost. In 1995, American Laser Games released ''Mazer'' for the 3DO home market and ''

Orbatak ''Orbatak'' is a video game developed and published by American Laser Games for the arcade. A 3DO Interactive Multiplayer version was announced but never released. Gameplay ''Orbatak'' is a time-based game where the player controls spheres usi ...

'' (3DO-powered) for the arcade - their first and only in-house non-Full motion video based games. The company also released a series of light-gun controllers, including the 3DO Game Gun and the PC Gamegun, for home computer use. The latter proved unsuccessful due to its poor accuracy. American Laser Games lasted until the mid-to-late 1990s, by which time it had begun making "games for girls" for the PC under the moniker Her Interactive, beginning with

McKenzie & Co ''McKenzie & Co.'' is a full-motion video CD-ROM dating sim game released by Her Interactive in 1995, designed to be played by girls. It was available for Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and Mac OS. A 3DO Interactive Multiplayer version was planned ...

.CD-ROM games for girls
" ''Guardian.'' New Straits Times. June 1, 1995. In response to a major slump in the arcade industry, American Laser Games ended its direct manufacturing of coin-op machines in November 1995, and turned its focus to developing games for the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

and

Sony PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divi ...

. This failed to revive the company's fortunes, and revenues in 1996 were roughly half of the $16 million it generated in 1995. At the end of 1996 ALG laid off a third of its staff, Jan Claesson replaced Grebe as president, and the company began focusing primarily on the Her Interactive line, cancelling all the games in their mainstream line except for ''Shining Sword''. The company eventually closed its doors and was bought out by Her Interactive, which had been spun off before ALG closing and is still making games as of January 2018. In 2000, the development and publishing rights to all of the games that were produced by American Laser Games were purchased by Digital Leisure, Inc from Her Interactive. Many of these games were then re-released for the PC and in

DVD TV game An interactive film is a video game or other interactive media that has characteristics of a cinematic film. In the video game industry, the term refers to a movie game, a video game that presents its gameplay in a cinematic, scripted manner, ...

format.

Games

Light gun arcade games

*''

'' (1990) *''

Who Shot Johnny Rock? ''Who Shot Johnny Rock?'' is a live-action full-motion video laserdisc video game produced by American Laser Games and released for the arcades in 1991, and then for the DOS, Sega CD, 3DO and CD-i platforms around 1994. As part of a series of si ...

'' (1991) *''

Space Pirates Space pirates are a type of stock character from space opera and soft science fiction. The archetype evolved from the air pirate trope popular from the turn of the century until the 1920s. By the 1930s, space pirates were recurring villains in t ...

'' (1992) *'' Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold'' (1992) *'' Gallagher's Gallery'' (1992)Referred to as ''Shooting Gallery'' in promotional material, and as ''Gallagher'' on cabinet artwork. *'' Crime Patrol'' (1993) *'' Crime Patrol 2: Drug Wars'' (1993) *''

The Last Bounty Hunter ''The Last Bounty Hunter'' is a live-action laserdisc video game released by American Laser Games in 1994. Like almost all of the games produced by the now-defunct company, it is a rail shooter and, like the two installments in the ''Mad Dog McCree ...

'' (1994) *'' Fast Draw Showdown'' (1994) *''Shootout at Old Tucson'' (1994, limited arcade release. 3DO port was cancelled)

Other games

*'' Mazer'' *'' Way of the Warrior'' (with Naughty Dog) *''

'' *''

.'' *''McKenzie & Co. : More Friends'' *''The Vampire Diaries'' *'' Battles in Time'' (with QQP) *''Shining Sword'' (cancelled)

Notes

References

External links