Rockstar Vancouver Inc. (formerly Barking Dog Studios Ltd.) was a Canadian
video game developer
A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...
and a studio of
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...
based in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
. The studio is best known for developing ''
Bully
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by ot ...
'' (2006).
Six former
Radical Entertainment
Radical Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver. The studio is best known for developing '' The Simpsons: Hit & Run'', '' Prototype'' and '' Prototype 2'', as well as entries in the ''Crash Bandicoot'' franchise ...
developers—Glenn Barnes, Peter Grant, Michael Gyori, Christopher Mair, Brian Thalken, and Sean Thompson—founded the company as Barking Dog Studios in May 1998. In its early years, Barking Dog briefly assisted
Relic Entertainment
Relic Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as THQ Canada Inc.) is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver, founded in 1997. The studio specializes in real-time strategy games and is known for series such as ''Homeworld'', '' Warhammer 40 ...
with ''
Homeworld
''Homeworld'' is a real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sierra Entertainment, Sierra Studios on September 28, 1999, for Microsoft Windows. Set in space, the science fiction game follows the Kushan exil ...
'' (1999) before being greenlit to develop an
expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or an ...
, ''
Homeworld: Cataclysm'' (2000). The studio also developed ''
Counter-Strike
''Counter-Strike'' (''CS'') is a series of multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video games in which teams of terrorists battle to perpetrate an act of terror (bombing, hostage-taking, assassination) while counter-terrorists try to preven ...
''s "Beta 5" update (1999), ''
Global Operations'' (2002), and ''
Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon'' (2002).
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City and founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993.
The company owns two major publishing labels, Rockstar Games and 2K, which operate internal g ...
acquired Barking Dog in August 2002 and it became part of Rockstar Games as Rockstar Vancouver. The studio then developed ''Bully'' and was one of the Rockstar Games studios leading the development of ''
Max Payne 3
''Max Payne 3'' is a 2012 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on May 15, 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; a Microsoft Windows port was released on May 29, 2012, followed by an OS X p ...
'' (2012). In July 2012, Rockstar Games merged Rockstar Vancouver into
Rockstar Toronto
Rockstar Games Toronto ULC (trade name: Rockstar Toronto; formerly Imagexcel, Alternative Reality Technologies, and Rockstar Canada) is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Oakville, Ontario. The company was ...
, with Rockstar Vancouver's thirty-five employees being given the option to relocate to Rockstar Toronto or any other Rockstar Games studio.
History
Early years (1998–2002)
Rockstar Vancouver was founded as Barking Dog Studios by Glenn Barnes, Peter Grant, Michael Gyori, Christopher Mair, Brian Thalken, and Sean Thompson.
They had worked at developer
Radical Entertainment
Radical Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver. The studio is best known for developing '' The Simpsons: Hit & Run'', '' Prototype'' and '' Prototype 2'', as well as entries in the ''Crash Bandicoot'' franchise ...
until the company faced financial difficulties the late 1990s.
As the studio's partnership with
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
had faltered, it lost its
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
licence and was briefly in
receivership
In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...
.
This prompted the formation of multiple companies by employees who left Radical Entertainment, including
Black Box Games
EA Black Box (formerly Black Box Games) was a video game developer based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 1998 by former employees of Radical Entertainment and later acquired by Electronic Arts (EA). The developers are primarily k ...
.
The sextet established Barking Dog in May 1998.
They sought a "non-corporate, non-pretentious" name during a brainstorming session and settled on one derived from the Barking Dog, a
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
in California.
The company formally began operating on 16 July 1998 after signing its first publishing contract.
The nascent studio worked with developer
Relic Entertainment
Relic Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as THQ Canada Inc.) is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver, founded in 1997. The studio specializes in real-time strategy games and is known for series such as ''Homeworld'', '' Warhammer 40 ...
and publisher
Sierra Studios
Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genre, ...
on
programming for the 1999 game ''
Homeworld
''Homeworld'' is a real-time strategy video game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sierra Entertainment, Sierra Studios on September 28, 1999, for Microsoft Windows. Set in space, the science fiction game follows the Kushan exil ...
'', and were shortly thereafter greenlit to develop an
expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or an ...
, ''
Homeworld: Cataclysm''. During this time, Barking Dog moved into Relic's offices and had roughly twenty employees engaged in the game's development.
''Cataclysm'' was announced in February 2000 and released in September that year.
When an updated version was released via the
GOG.com
GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through its ...
platform in June 2017, its name was changed to ''Homeworld: Emergence'' because
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the company was founded on February 8, 1991, under the name Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three graduat ...
had since registered the "Cataclysm"
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
for ''
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm''.
Around 1999,
Valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...
became interested in ''
Counter-Strike
''Counter-Strike'' (''CS'') is a series of multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video games in which teams of terrorists battle to perpetrate an act of terror (bombing, hostage-taking, assassination) while counter-terrorists try to preven ...
'', a
mod
Mod, MOD or mods may refer to:
Places
* Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band
* M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
co-created by Barking Dog employee
Minh Le
Minh Le (Vietnamese: Lê Minh), also known by his online nickname Gooseman, is a Vietnamese Canadian video game programmer who co-created the ''Half-Life'' mod ''Counter-Strike'' with Jess Cliffe in 1999 and started the ''Counter-Strike'' seri ...
. As it became more deeply involved in the project, the company hired Barking Dog for the mod's "Beta 5" update.
The studio developed roughly 90% of that update, which was released in December 1999.
Le joined Valve shortly thereafter to continue ''Counter-Strike''s development, and the finished game was released in November 2000.
In the same month, Barking Dog was rumoured to be developing a tactical
first-person shooter
First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
, which
Crave Entertainment
Crave Entertainment was an American video game publisher founded in 1997 by Nima Taghavi. Its headquarters was in Newport Beach, California. It was acquired by Handleman Company in 2005 in a deal valued up to $95,000,000 but was then sold to Fil ...
announced as ''
Global Operations'' in December that year.
''Global Operations'' was released in March 2002, co-published by Crave Entertainment and
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 d ...
.
Barking Dog began developing a proprietary
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 i ...
, ARES, in January 2001 and subsequently commenced production on a
real-time strategy
Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, turn ...
game using the engine that June. When the engine was unveiled in April 2002, the company expected to announce the game at that year's
E3.
The game, announced as ''
Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon'', was developed in tandem with ''
Treasure Planet
''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The 43rd Disney animated feature film, it is a science fiction adaptatio ...
'', the Disney film it is based on. Disney's games division,
Disney Interactive
Disney Interactive is an American video game and internet company that oversaw various websites and interactive media owned by The Walt Disney Company.
History
1995–1996: Formation and beginnings
In December 1994, Disney announced that it wa ...
, released the game in November 2002 shortly before the movie.
Acquisition and ''Bully'' (2002–2007)
On 1 August 2002,
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City and founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993.
The company owns two major publishing labels, Rockstar Games and 2K, which operate internal g ...
announced its acquisition of Barking Dog for in cash and 242,450 shares of restricted
common stock
Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other Com ...
, an estimated total value.
As part of the purchase, Barking Dog became part of Take-Two's
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...
label as Rockstar Vancouver.
Rockstar Canada, Rockstar Games' studio in
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton. At its Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census population of 213,759, it is List of tow ...
, was renamed Rockstar Toronto to avoid confusion between the two.
Jamie Leece, the
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of Take-Two's
Gotham Games
Gotham Games, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in New York City. Founded in July 2002 and headed by Jamie Leece, the company was shut down in December 2003.
History
Gotham Games was launched as a publishing label and subsidia ...
label, assisted in the acquisition.
At the time, the studio and its roughly 50 employees were working with Rockstar Games on two games: a military action game and an original title.
In the time following the acquisition, several Rockstar Vancouver employees (including some of its founders) set up new studios, including
Ironclad Games
Ironclad Games is a Canadian PC game developer. The company was founded in 2003 by former employees of Rockstar Vancouver. Ironclad is located in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Titles
Ironclad released their first game, ''Sins of a Solar Empire'' o ...
(founded in 2003),
Kerberos Productions
Kerberos Productions Inc. is a video game developer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company was formed in 2003 by former employees of Rockstar Vancouver.
The company takes its name and logo from Cerberus, a large three-headed c ...
(2004),
Slant Six Games
Slant Six Games was a Canadian independent video game developer founded in 2005. The company's name is derived from the 1959 Chrysler engine of the same name. Slant Six Games' studio was based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They were vot ...
(2005),
Big Sandwich Games (2006),
Hellbent Games
Hellbent Games Inc. is a Canadian video game developer based in Burnaby, British Columbia. The company was founded by Christopher Mair, a founder of Rockstar Vancouver, on 12 June 2006, in Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in weste ...
(2006),
and
United Front Games
United Front Games, Inc. was a Canadian video game development studio based in Vancouver. They created titles for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. They are the dev ...
(2007).
Under Rockstar Games, Rockstar Vancouver was working on ''Spec Ops'', a reboot of
the eponymous series. With music by
Josh Homme
Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...
and
Alain Johannes
Alain Johannes Mociulski (born May 2, 1962) is a Chilean-American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, whose primary instruments are guitar and bass. He is a founding member of several bands, including the alternative rock group Eleven, and has ...
of the band
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...
, the game was to be released in late 2005 but it was cancelled that year.
Rockstar Vancouver's first released game was announced as ''
Bully
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by ot ...
'' in May 2005.
Before its release, the game's name and theme attracted some controversy from politicians, parents, and activists like
Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to:
Sports
*Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City
*Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Bright ...
, who regarded it as advocating for
school violence
School violence includes violence between school students as well as attacks by students on school staff. It encompasses physical violence, including student-on-student fighting, corporal punishment; psychological violence such as verbal abuse, ...
.
In Europe, it was renamed ''Canis Canem Edit''.
Upon its release in 2006, the game garnered a positive critical response, and ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
''s Sam Roberts labelled it Rockstar Games' "softest and silliest game, with the warmest heart" in a 2014
retrospective
A retrospective (from Latin ''retrospectare'', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in medicine, software development, popu ...
.
''Max Payne 3'' and closure (2008–2012)
In October 2008, Rockstar Vancouver was rumoured to be developing a third instalment in the ''
Max Payne
''Max Payne'' is a neo-noir third-person shooter video game series developed by Remedy Entertainment (''Max Payne'' and ''Max Payne 2'') and Rockstar Studios (''Max Payne 3''). The series is named after its protagonist, Max Payne, a New York Ci ...
'' series created by
Remedy Entertainment
Remedy Entertainment Oyj, trading internationally as Remedy Entertainment Plc, is a Finnish video game developer based in Espoo. Notable games the studio has developed include the first two instalments in the '' Max Payne'' franchise, ''Alan ...
.
Rockstar Games announced the game as ''
Max Payne 3
''Max Payne 3'' is a 2012 third-person shooter video game developed and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on May 15, 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; a Microsoft Windows port was released on May 29, 2012, followed by an OS X p ...
'' in March 2009, expecting to release it in late 2009.
According to
Dan Houser
Daniel Houser (born November 1973) is an English video game producer, writer, and voice actor, as well as the co-founder (along with his brother Sam) and former vice president of creativity for Rockstar Games. As well as producing video games, ...
, the
creative director
A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...
, a new ''Max Payne'' game was chosen over a ''Bully'' sequel due to what he described as "limited bandwidth and limited studios, and more games to make than we've started".
The development became a co-operation between Rockstar Vancouver, Rockstar Toronto,
Rockstar London
Rockstar London Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in London. Mark Washbrook established the company in November 2005 within Rockstar Games' European publishing offices. The studio's first game was '' ...
, and
Rockstar New England
Rockstar New England, Inc. (formerly Mad Doc Software, LLC) is an American video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Andover, Massachusetts. Ian Lane Davis founded the company as Mad Doc Software in November 1999 after worki ...
.
In a January 2010
open letter
An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally.
Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...
, the wives of several
Rockstar San Diego
Rockstar San Diego, Inc. (formerly Angel Studios, Inc.) is an American video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Carlsbad, California. The studio is best known for developing the ''Midnight Club'' and ''Red Dead'' series.
...
employees claimed that their spouses had regularly worked overtime and that the studio was suffering from mismanagement.
These claims were echoed by former employees of other Rockstar Games studios, including Rockstar Vancouver.
The mismanagement was said to have caused ''Max Payne 3'' missing its intended release window, being rescheduled for August–October 2010.
The game was released in May 2012.
Two months later, on 9 July 2012, Rockstar Games announced that Rockstar Toronto would be moving into larger, custom-built offices in Oakville, into which Rockstar Vancouver would be merged.
Rockstar Vancouver's thirty-five employees were given the option to relocate to the expanded Rockstar Toronto or any other Rockstar Games studio.
Jennifer Kolbe, Rockstar Games'
vice-president
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
of publishing and operations, stated creating a single Canadian team that would "make for a powerful creative force on future projects", while making room for fifty new positions at Rockstar Toronto.
Rockstar Vancouver's legal entity, Rockstar Vancouver Inc., remained formally registered under
Canada's federal company laws. In November 2012, it was transitioned to a
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
corporation as Rockstar Games Vancouver Inc. and then transformed to Rockstar Games Vancouver ULC, an
unlimited liability corporation An unlimited liability corporation (ULC) within Canadian corporate law is a Canadian corporation designation, wherein shareholders are liable up to unlimited amounts for any liability, act or default of the corporation. By comparison, in most corp ...
.
In August 2019, it was renamed Take-Two Interactive Software Vancouver ULC.
Games developed
As Barking Dog Studios
As Rockstar Vancouver
Cancelled
* ''Spec Ops''
References
External links
* (archived)
{{Take-Two Interactive
1998 establishments in British Columbia
2002 mergers and acquisitions
2012 disestablishments in British Columbia
Canadian companies disestablished in 2012
Canadian companies established in 1998
Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies
Companies based in Vancouver
Defunct companies of British Columbia
Defunct video game companies of Canada
Rockstar Games subsidiaries
Take-Two Interactive divisions and subsidiaries
Video game companies disestablished in 2012
Video game companies established in 1998
Video game development companies