7th Level was a video game development company based in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and founded in 1993. Notable game titles by the company include: the three

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

games (with the aid of Python member

Eric Idle Eric Idle (born 29 March 1943) is an English actor, comedian, songwriter, musician, screenwriter and playwright. He was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python and the parody rock band the Rutles. Idle studied English at Pembroke Co ...

); '' G-Nome'' (1997), a ''

MechWarrior ''MechWarrior'' is a series of video games set in the fictional universe of ''BattleTech''. Games Within the ''MechWarrior'' games, players take control of a single BattleTech technology#BattleMechs, BattleMech and combat other BattleMechs, ...

''-style game; '' Helicops'' (1997), an

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

-inspired game that featured arcade-style aerial combat; and '' Tracer,'' a game where the player hacked computer systems distributed for cash by using a virtual avatar in the design of ''

Neuromancer ''Neuromancer'' is a 1984 science fiction novel by American-Canadian author William Gibson. Set in a near-future dystopia, the narrative follows Case, a computer hacker enlisted into a crew by a powerful artificial intelligence and a traumatis ...

'', ''

Shadowrun ''Shadowrun'' is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic in fiction, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy, and crime fiction, crime, wit ...

'', or '' Snowcrash-''styled virtual worlds.

History

On February 24, 1995, 7th Level announced that they have acquired Distant Thunder Entertainment, Inc., a Dallas-based game developer specializing in 3-D games. The same year the company acquired Lanpro Corp. and Lanpro Localization Center Inc., based in San Francisco, Calif., who localize interactive entertainment and educational multimedia software. On March 1, 1996, 7th Level announced that they have acquired PyroTechnix, a privately held company based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company grew to nearly 300 employees in Texas, California, Ohio, and Europe by June 1996. On November 17, 1997, 7th Level announced their intention to merge with Pulse Entertainment, in order to create P7 Solutions. The following day, the distribution rights for the three Monty Python games were acquired by Panasonic Interactive Media, which ended 7th Level's involvement with the game's development and publishing. The merger announced between 7th Level and Pulse Entertainment was cancelled in April 1998. In February 1999, 7th Level merged with Street Technologies Inc. and formed a website named 7th Street.com, which later became learn.com, tutorials.com, and Taleo, which was acquired by

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational computer technology company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Co-founded in 1977 in Santa Clara, California, by Larry Ellison, who remains executive chairman, Oracle was ...

in 2012. George Grayson, the co-founder of 7th Level, later founded The Imagination Station. Before ceasing all game development, 7th Level had begun working on another title, named '' Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3''. The partially-completed game was sold to

Ion Storm Ion Storm, L.P. was an American video game developer founded in Dallas, Texas in November 1996 by John Romero and Tom Hall, both formerly of id Software ; a branch in Austin, Texas was opened in 1997. In April 1999, Eidos Interactive acquired 5 ...

to finish development.

Titles

References

External links

* (archived) {{Authority control Video game development companies Video game companies established in 1993 Video game companies disestablished in 1998 Defunct video game companies of the United States Video game companies based in Texas Defunct companies based in Texas Companies based in Dallas 1993 establishments in Texas 1998 disestablishments in Texas