FormGen Corporation was a developer of business software and publisher of video games based in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

History

FormGen was founded in 1987 by friends Randy MacLean and Robert Van Rycke in

Bolton, Ontario Bolton (2021 population 26,795) is an unincorporated village that is the most populous community in the town of Caledon, Ontario. It is located beside the Humber River in the Region of Peel, approximately 50 kilometres northwest of Toronto. In r ...

. It was a software producer and distributor, selling its text-based form generation program through

Radio Shack RadioShack, formerly RadioShack Corporation, is an American retailer founded in 1921. At its peak in 1999, RadioShack operated over 8,000 worldwide stores named RadioShack or Tandy Electronics in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Austra ...

stores in Canada. Van Rycke left the company in October 1988 and was replaced later by James Perkins. The company advanced rapidly in the early 1990s when it made an agreement with

id Software id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and ar ...

to distribute its new games, such as ''

Commander Keen in Aliens Ate My Babysitter ''Commander Keen in Aliens Ate My Babysitter'' (stylized as ''Aliens Ate My Babysitter!'') is a side-scrolling video game, side-scrolling platform game, platform video game developed by id Software and published by FormGen in December 1991 for DOS ...

'', '' Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny'', ''

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

'' (shareware), and with

Apogee Software 3D Realms Entertainment ApS is a video game publisher based in Aalborg, Denmark. Scott Miller founded the company in his parents' home in Garland, Texas, in 1987 as Apogee Software Productions to release his game '' Kingdom of Kroz''. In the ...

(later

3D Realms 3D Realms Entertainment ApS is a video game publisher based in Aalborg, Denmark. Scott Miller (entrepreneur), Scott Miller founded the company in his parents' home in Garland, Texas, in 1987 as Apogee Software Productions to release his game ' ...

) for ''

Rise of the Triad ''Rise of the Triad: Dark War'' is a first-person shooter video game, developed and published by Apogee Software (now 3D Realms) in 1995. The player can choose one of five different characters to play as, each bearing unique attributes such as ...

'' and ''

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 Nuke ...

''. After being based in

North Andover, Massachusetts North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915. History Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...

, FormGen relocated to the Scottsdale Airpark in

, in November 1993. The facility, which measured , was outgrown by October 1995, so the company moved to a nearby office of . FormGen opened its website in April 1996 to serve news and

shareware Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer ...

downloads online.

GT Interactive GT, Gt or G-T may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games * GT Interactive, an American video game developer * GameTrailers, a video game website * '' Golden Tee Golf'', golf video game * ''Gran Turismo'' (series), a series of racing video games ...

acquired FormGen in July 1996.

Lawsuit

FormGen was involved in a landmark intellectual property lawsuit, '' Micro Star v. FormGen Inc.'' They claimed that Micro Star's sale of the ''Nuke It'' compilation of user-created maps and levels infringed on its copyright of the derivative works of ''Duke Nukem 3D'' and won the case on appeal.''Micro Star v. FormGen Inc.''
154.F.3d 1107
(9th Cir. 1999) (opinion full text).

References

Defunct software companies of the United States Defunct video game companies of Canada Defunct video game companies of the United States Software companies established in 1987 Video game companies established in 1987 1987 establishments in Ontario Defunct companies based in Arizona Defunct companies of Ontario {{US-videogame-company-stub