browser-based
A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection.
History
In earlier computing models like client-serve ...
games.
The site was created by
GarageGames
GarageGames was a game technology and software developer. GarageGames was the parent company of GG Interactive, developers of educational technology in the areas of computer science, video game development and programming. In addition, the compa ...
after being acquired by IAC/InterActive Corp in 2007 and released a year later. InstantAction's goal was to allow publishers and developers the ability to embed games across the internet through the use of InstantAction's embed-tech. Publishers were then able to set monetary rates, including social features, release free demos and more. Users were required to download an initial plug-in that would be used across all games using the InstantAction platform. Game downloads were transparently broken into small "chunks", which were streamed onto disk behind the scenes, allowing players to start playing much faster than ordinary downloads. The games were downloaded to the user's hard-drive, allowing them to play the game instantly after initial download, wherever the game was embedded.
InstantAction's platform initially hosted eight games that featured the ability to add friends, chat, and create parties which could jump from game to game together without being forced to leave the party and rejoin it. In 2010, these games were taken down after InstantAction announced it was focusing on embedded 3D gaming technology for external websites, rather than operating its own website. Several developers have shown interest in releasing said games at some point, however.
On November 11, 2010, it was announced that InstantAction would be "winding down" their operations.
History
In 2007, GarageGames was acquired by
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American businessman. He is Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. Diller was inducted into the Television Hall of ...
and InterActive Corporation (NASD: IACI) and was renamed InstantAction. Soon after this announcement, InstantAction.com went into open beta on March 31, 2008.
On July 15, 2009, it was announced that
Louis Castle
Louis Castle is an American video games designer. He is known for co-founding Westwood Studios, designing the PC game ''Blade Runner'', and collaborating with Steven Spielberg on the ''Boom Blox'' and ''Boom Blox Bash Party'' video games for the ...
would become the new
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of GarageGames, after Josh Williams stepped down in late 2008. It was also announced that InstantAction would be split into two divisions, one in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
and the other in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
.
On March 13, 2010, InstantAction.com was taken down as a gaming portal, with the company instead moving to support the embedding of 3D games on external websites. On April 29, 2010, the company released a 20-minute demo of The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition with the option to buy the full game, while the previous games, known as the Arcade, remained offline. This was the first game to take advantage of their new embed-tech platform.
On August 16, 2010, the company unveiled Instant Jam at
Gamescom
Gamescom (stylized as gamescom) is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since 2018, it has been organised by ''game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche'' (English: Associa ...
. It launched in open beta and was the company's second, and ultimately last game to feature their embed-tech.
On October 23, 2010, it was announced that InstantAction sold the Tribes IP to
Hi-Rez Studios
Hi-Rez Studios is an American video game company. The company was established in 2005 by Erez Goren and Todd Harris. Hi-Rez Studios' games include the squad-based shooter ''Global Agenda'', the critically acclaimed '' Tribes: Ascend'', the third- ...
, developers of
Global Agenda
''Global Agenda'' is a class-based shooter online team-based game by Hi-Rez Studios developed using Unreal Engine 3. ''Global Agenda'' was started in 2005 as the studio's first project. The game went live on February 1, 2010.MMO A Mystical Land.
On November 11, 2010, InstantAction's community manager announced that the company was shutting down, though the TorquePowered.com website would be kept active. InstantAction stated that they were "winding down operations" and thanked all their customers "for their support."
On December 22, 2010, Eric Preisz posted an update informing everyone that they were no longer looking for buyers of their Torque engine, and that the future "looks bright."
On January 20, 2011, it was announced that Graham Software Development were the new owners of the Torque engine, and the company was renamed back to GarageGames.
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 ...
that consisted of two teams: team alpha and team beta. The game included several gametypes, including
Deathmatch
Deathmatch, also known as free-for-all, is a gameplay mode integrated into many shooter games, including first-person shooter (FPS), and real-time strategy (RTS) video games, where the goal is to kill (or "frag") the other players' characters a ...
, Team Deathmatch and
Capture the Flag
Capture the flag (CTF) is a traditional outdoor sport where two or more teams each have a flag (or other markers) and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base", and bring it safely back to their own base. ...
. It was considered a "spiritual successor" to
Tribes
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
, and featured similar elements such as skiing and jetpacks. After InstantAction was shut down, the game was re-released as a stand-alone downloadable client on December 20, 2010. The game is being developed by community members and previous InstantAction interns.Visit www.legionsoverdrive.com to play the game. \
''Rokkitball'' was a team-based game similar to
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
or
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
with futuristic weaponry. The game launched on InstantAction.com in April 2008 with support for up to eight players. Players move around an arena and use a magnetic beam to grab a ball and shoot it into holes in the wall to score points. Smaller, higher holes are worth more points than the lower, larger ones. Players have a limited amount of energy, which is needed to sprint and to use the "magno-beam" that holds the ball. Energy constantly regenerates when not being used. Players can shoot rockets in order to propel the ball, make enemy players lose all their energy, or knock the ball out of an enemy’s grip. There were four arenas for Rokkitball: Gauntlet, Cathedral, S-Hook, and Canyon. It is currently unknown what the future of ''Rokkitball'' is.
''
Marble Blast Ultra
''Marble Blast Ultra'' is a 3D puzzle action game involving a marble developed by GarageGames. It was released on January 25, 2006 for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. It is the sequel to '' Marble Blast Gold''. It features 60 levels, enhan ...
'' is a 3D platformer in which the player maneuvers a marble to collect gems or reach the end of the level. Variations of this game have been developed for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows.
''Lore: Aftermath'' was a multiplayer mech combat game, and a sequel to Dark Horizons Lore: Invasion. Players control mechs called MAV, and can use preconfigured mechs or access the “MAV Lab” to create their own with customized looks, weapons, and statistics. The developers are planning on distributing the game elsewhere once they secure the rights from InstantAction.
''
Think Tanks
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental or ...
'' was originally created as a stand-alone game for the PC, and was eventually ported to InstantAction. There are two game modes: Deathmatch(Battlemode) and Scrum. Both can be played with or without teams. In Battlemode, players try to shoot and destroy the other tanks. In Scrum, players try to get a ball and drive it to a goal placed on the field. The game is no longer available to purchase. However here is a small but dedicated community a www.planetthinktanks2.com An independent master server and game servers are running. The community has also expanded the game types to multiple game types: Capture the Flag, Keepaway, Dodgeball, & Rollerball. The game is very easily modded and there are currently thousands of unique maps available. These include all of the maps, objects and effects developed for the failed InstantAction platform.
'' ZAP!'' was a multiplayer top-down space shooter. The player controls a triangular ship and tries to accomplish different objectives depending on the mode. Most modes involve shooting enemy ships with various weapons and moving flags around. There are six modes in ZAP! These include BustIn, CTF (Capture the Flag), ZoneControl, Retrieve, Hunters, and ZapMatch. The game is no longer available to play or purchase. However, its successo Bitfighter is currently being developed by a small community.
Galcon
''Galcon'' is a series of real-time strategy video games for Android, iPhone, webOS, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Flash, which were developed by Phil Hassey. It is set in space and involves maneuvering fleets of ships to capture enemy planets.
...
is 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 where players try to eliminate the enemy by sending ships to take over their planets. Every ship that is sent will destroy one ship docked on the enemy planet; once the planet is reduced to 0 ships, a ship can conquer it. The planet will then begin to produce ships for the new owner. The goal is to capture all the planets on that particular map. While no longer available on InstantAction, it's available for purchase at Galcon.co
''Ace of Aces'' is a World War I dog-fighting game where players fly fighter planes and attempt to score points by shooting down enemy planes or blowing up the enemy base. Players can choose to play as either the Axis or the Allies. In the single-player Training Mode, players can complete two tutorials: one on Marksmanship, which teaches the basic controls, and one on Ground Attack, which teaches how to assault the enemy base. The Multiplayer Battle Mode features five different modes: Team Dogfight, Furball, Fox and Hounds, Rescue the Spy (CTF), and Base War. Mad Otter Games, the developers of ''Ace of Aces'', are planning on re-releasing the game at AceofAcesthegame.co
''Rev'' was an arcade racing game developed by Luma Arcade. It never got past the private beta phase, though the developers have still shown interest in releasing the game at some point.
'' The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition'' was the first game to be released on InstantAction's embed-tech platform. The game is an enhanced remake of The Secret of Monkey Island developed by
LucasArts
Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game brand licensing, licensor that is part of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George Lucas as a video game development group alongside his film company; as ...
. It was originally released on July 15, 2009 for the PC,
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
iPod Touch
The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...
. On April 29, 2010 InstantAction released a 20-minute demo of the game to show off the companies new embed technology, along with the option to buy the full game for $9.99.
''Instant Jam'' was a music rhythm game similar to Guitar Hero, only in the browser. The game supported 2000 songs at launch, with plans to add more in the months thereafter. Instant Jam scanned the user's hard drive for any songs matching the services own database of note charts, and offered Amazon.com and iTunes links to buy songs they didn't already have. Players could either use their keyboard or Rock Band and Guitar Hero controllers to play. It was shut down the same day InstantAction was and will not return.
Previous games
'' Screwjumper'' was a game where players try to get to the bottom of the mine shaft and then escape it after detonating it. The story is that aliens have invaded and as part of the ScrewJumper team, the player needed to help to destroy those mines and thus save the planet. The player had a choice of three different characters playable in 20 different levels (ranging from very easy to very hard) which contained different obstacles as well as bonuses. The game was both single-player and multiplayer and featured 5 modes (although only 4 were available at any point) and eventually dropped to 2 modes.
''Cyclomite'' was an action/puzzle game developed by
Wideload Games
Wideload Games was an American video game developer located in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 2003 by Alexander Seropian—the co-founder of Bungie and head behind the games '' Halo: Combat Evolved'', ''Myth'', and ''Marathon''—and six ...
that was removed in 2008. The game involved rotating a multicolored sphere as meteors of different colors approached it. Players had to align the sphere so that the meteors made contact with the section that was the same color. Ian Tornay (Crash7800) explained why the game was taken off the site in a video podcast, saying that "A lot of the users who tried Cyclomite as their first game didn't stick around."
'' PlayTribes'', Starsiege: Tribes in the browser, was originally planned to release on InstantAction but was canceled when the company sold the
Tribes
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...