Antic Software was a

software company A software company is a company whose primary products are various forms of software, software technology, distribution, and software product development. They make up the software industry. Types There are a number of different types of soft ...

associated with ''

Antic Alphanumeric Television Interface Controller (ANTIC) is an LSI ASIC dedicated to generating 2D computer graphics to be shown on a television screen or computer display. Under the direction of Jay Miner, the chip was designed in 1977-1978 by ...

'', a magazine for the Atari 8-bit family of computers. Bound into issues of the magazine, the Antic Software catalog initially sold Atari 8-bit games, applications, and utilities from the recently defunct Atari Program Exchange. Original submissions were later added, as well as

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

collections, with all software provided on self-documented disk. When the Atari ST was released, it became a mixture of Atari 8-bit and Atari ST software and sold some major Atari ST titles such as CAD-3D. The magazine insert changed names several times, eventually being branded as ''The Catalog''. ''Antic'' assistant editor Gigi Bisson wrote in the May 1986 issue that, " ntic Softwarekept the magazine afloat during the lean year," referring to the period following Atari, Inc.'s financial collapse.

History

When the Atari Program Exchange (APX) was shut down by Atari CEO

James J. Morgan James J. Morgan (born 1942) is a former American executive who served as CEO of Atari from 1983 to 1984 and CEO of Philip Morris USA from 1994 to 1997. James Morgan first joined Philip Morris in 1963 following his graduation from Princeton Univer ...

in 1984, Gary Yost convinced ''Antic'' magazine's publisher, James Capparell, to create Antic Software. Yost contacted many of the programmers from APX to re-publish their works with Antic. The APX software was rebranded in mid-1984 as ''APX Classics from Antic''. In 1985 the magazine insert was called ''Antic Arcade'' (despite including more than games). By 1986 it was branded ''The Catalog'' with the emphasis on Atari ST applications.

Software

Atari 8-bit family

*''Colourspace'', light synthesizer from

Jeff Minter Jeff Minter (born 22 April 1962) is an independent English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the name Yak. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and has created dozens of games during his career, which began in 19 ...

. *''Dandy Dungeon'', renamed version of Atari Program Exchange game ''

Dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle des ...

''. *''HomeCard'', filing system written by '' Preppie!'' programmer

Russ Wetmore Russ Wetmore is an American computer programmer and video game designer best known for writing commercial games and applications for the Atari 8-bit family in the early to mid 1980s. His ''Frogger''-inspired '' Preppie!'' was published by Adventu ...

and Sparky Starks. *''Mars Mission II'', sequel to ''

Caverns of Mars ''Caverns of Mars'' is a vertically scrolling shooter for the Atari 8-bit family of home computers. It was programmed by Greg Christensen, with some features added by Richard Watts, and published by the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. ''Cav ...

''. Another sequel, ''Phobos'', was previously sold through the Atari Program Exchange, then later by Antic Software. *''RAMbrandt'', image editor.

Atari ST

*'' CAD-3D'', 3D modeling system and related add-ons. ''CAD-3D'' is a precursor to ''

3D Studio MAX Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio and 3D Studio Max, is a professional 3D computer graphics program for making 3D animations, models, games and images. It is developed and produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It has modeling capab ...

''. *''Spectrum 512'', Atari ST paint program allowing 512 colors per image instead of the standard 16.

Legacy

Gary Yost went on to form The Yost Group which created and licensed products to

Autodesk Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquartere ...

: Autodesk Animator, Autodesk Animator Pro, Autodesk 3D Studio, and

Autodesk 3DS MAX Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio and 3D Studio Max, is a professional 3D computer graphics program for making 3D animations, models, games and images. It is developed and produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It has modeling capab ...

. 3D Studio is a direct successor of CAD-3D.

References

Defunct software companies Atari 8-bit family {{ict-company-stub