Storm Impact was a

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

developer Developer may refer to: Computers * Software developer, a person or organization who develop programs/applications * Video game developer, a person or business involved in video game development, the process of designing and creating games * Web d ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

located in

Glenview, Illinois Glenview is an incorporated village located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, approximately 15 miles northwest of the Chicago Loop. Per the 2020 census, the population was 48,705. The current Village President is Michael Jenny. Geography ...

, active from 1989 to 1997. Storm Impact's development team consisted of David Cook and artist Tom Zehner, with help from Dan Schwimmer and Dave Friedman. Storm Impact initially licensed their products to third-party publishers, but switched to self-publishing their products as shareware in 1993.

Products

Storm Impact's first product was the role-playing video game '' TaskMaker'', released in 1989 by XOR Corporation. In 1990, XOR released Storm Impact's most commercially successful published product, the

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

sim ''MacSki''. ''MacSki'' was reviewed positively in '' Macworld'', and was inducted into the ''Macworld'' Game Hall of Fame as Best Sports Game for 1990. In 1993, Storm Impact released its most commercially successful shareware product, an upgraded version of ''TaskMaker''. In 1994, Storm Impact released an upgraded shareware version of ''MacSki''. In 1996, Storm Impact released the shareware

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...

''Asterbamm'' and the

technical support Technical support (abbreviated as tech support) is a call centre type customer service provided by companies to advise and assist registered users with issues concerning their technical products. Traditionally done on the phone, technical suppor ...

utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosoph ...

''Technical Snapshot''. David Cook describes both releases as "sales bombs". In 1997, Storm released ''The Tomb of the TaskMaker'', a sequel to ''TaskMaker''.

Litigation

In 1998, Storm Impact and David Cook sued Software of the Month Club, a California corporation that distributed a commercial shareware compilation CD-ROM including the shareware versions of ''TaskMaker'' and ''MacSki''. Storm Impact and Cook alleged that Software of the Month Club's distribution of Storm Impact's products constituted

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

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, false designation of origin, and deceptive trade practices. United States District Judge

James Zagel James Block Zagel (born March 4, 1941) is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and a novelist. Early life and education Born in Chicago, Illinois, to Jewish ...

found for Storm on the count of copyright infringement, stating that Software of the Month Club "unquestionably violated the express restrictions of both TaskMaker and MacSki, eviscerating any claim that Storm effectively consented to unlimited distribution of its products by posting them on the Internet." Storm was awarded $20,000 in statutory damages.

Demise

Storm Impact's owner David Cook attributes the company's demise to market change and undercapitalization. He notes a number of contributing factors: the Macintosh's market share had declined, game technology progressed beyond the company's ability to produce a competitive product, and the company's shareware model meant that developers had to process orders and support products years after their release.

References

{{reflist

External links

Storm Impact
Macintosh software companies Video game development companies Defunct software companies of the United States Defunct video game companies of the United States