Krome Studios Melbourne, originally Beam Software,
was an Australian
video game development
Video game development (sometimes shortened to gamedev) is the process of creating a video game. It is a multidisciplinary practice, involving programming, design, art, audio, user interface, and writing. Each of those may be made up of more speci ...
studio founded in 1980 by Alfred Milgrom and
Naomi Besen and based in
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...
.
Initially formed to produce books and software to be published by Melbourne House, a company they had established in London in 1977,
the studio operated independently from 1987 until 1999, when it was acquired by Infogrames, who changed the name to Infogrames Melbourne House Pty Ltd..
[ Documentation for a 2007 exhibition.] In 2006 the studio was sold to
Krome Studios.
The name Beam was a contraction of the names of the founders: Naomi Besen and Alfred Milgrom.
History
Home computer era
In the early years, two of Beam's programs were milestones in their respective genres. ''
The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...
'', a 1982 text adventure by Philip Mitchell and
Veronika Megler, sold more than 500,000 copies.
It employed an advanced parser by Stuart Richie and had real-time elements. Even if the player didn't enter commands, the story would move on.
[DeMaria, Rusel and Wilson, Johnny L. (2004) ''High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games'' McGraw-Hill/Osborne, Berkeley, Calif., p. 347, ] In 1985 Greg Barnett's two-player
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
game ''
The Way of the Exploding Fist'' helped define the genre of one-on-one fighting games on the home computer.
The game won Best Overall Game at the
Golden Joystick Awards.
In 1987 Beam's UK publishing arm, Melbourne House, was sold to
Mastertronic
Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were launched on April 2, 1984. At its peak the label was one of the largest software publishers in the UK, achieved ...
for £850,000. Beam chairman Alfred Milgrom recounted, "...around 1987 a lot of our U.K. people went on to other companies and at around the same time the industry was moving from 8-bit to 16-bit. It was pretty chaotic. We didn't have the management depth at that time to run both the publishing and development sides of things, so we ended up selling off the whole Melbourne House publishing side to Mastertronic."
[ Subsequent games were released through varying publishers. The 1988 fighting games '' Samurai Warrior'' and ''Fist +'', the third instalment in the Exploding Fist series, were published through Telecomsoft's ]Firebird
Firebird and fire bird may refer to:
Mythical birds
* Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures
** Fenghuang, sometimes called Chinese phoenix
* Vermilion bird, one of the four symbols of the Chinese constella ...
label. 1988 also saw the release of space- shoot'em-up ''Bedlam'', published by GO!, one of U.S. Gold's labels, and '' The Muncher'', published by Gremlin Graphics.
Shift to consoles and PCs
In 1987 Nintendo granted a developer's licence for the NES and Beam developed games on that platform for US and Japanese publishers. Targeted at an Australian audience, releases such as '' Aussie Rules Footy'' and ''International Cricket
International cricket matches are played between the teams representing their nations, administrated by the International Cricket Council. The main forms are Test matches, ODI matches and T20I matches.
Most games are played as part of "tou ...
'' for the NES proved successful. In 1992 they released the original title ''Nightshade
Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...
'', a dark superhero comedy game. The game was meant to be the first part in a series, but no sequels were ever made; however, it served as the basis for ''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 ...
''. Released in 1993, ''Shadowrun'' also used an innovative dialogue system using the acquisition of keywords which could be used in subsequent conversations to initiate new branches in the dialogue tree
A dialogue tree, or conversation tree, is a gameplay mechanic that is used throughout many adventure games (including action-adventure games) and role-playing video games. When interacting with a non-player character, the player is given a choice ...
. Also in 1993 they released '' Baby T-Rex'', a Game Boy
The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...
platform game that the developer actively sought to adapt the game to a number of different licensed properties in different countries around the world including the animated film '' We're Back!'' in North America and the puppet character Agro in their home country of Australia.
In 1997, Beam relaunched the Melbourne House brand, under which they published the PC titles '' Krush Kill 'n' Destroy'' (KKND), and the sequels ''KKND Xtreme'' and '' KKND2: Krossfire''.[ They released ''KKND2'' in South Korea well before they released it in the American and European markets, and pirated versions of the game were available on the internet before it was available in stores in the U.S. They were the developers of the 32-bit versions of '' Norse By Norse West: The Return of the Lost Vikings'' for the ]Sega Saturn
The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...
, PlayStation
is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
and PC in 1996.[ They also helped produce ]SNES
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania an ...
games such as '' WCW SuperBrawl Wrestling'', '' Super Smash TV'' and an updated version of ''International Cricket'' titled '' Super International Cricket''.[ They ported the Sega Saturn game '' Bug!'' to Windows 3.x in August 1996.
1998 saw a return to RPGs with '' Alien Earth'', again with a dialogue tree format. Also in 1998, the studio developed racing games '' DethKarz''][ and '' GP 500''.
In 1999 Beam Software was acquired by Infogrames and renamed to Infogrames Melbourne House Pty Ltd.
]
2000s
They continued to cement a reputation as a racing game developer with '' Le Mans 24 Hours'' and '' Looney Tunes: Space Race'' (both Dreamcast
The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...
and PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
), followed by '' Grand Prix Challenge'' (PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
), before going into third-person shooters with '' Men in Black II: Alien Escape'' (PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
, GameCube
The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...
).
In 2004 the studio released ''Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...
'' for the PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
games console based on the then current Transformers Armada franchise by Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...
. The game reached the top of the UK PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
games charts, making it Melbourne House's most successful recent title.
The studio then completed work on PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
and PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...
ports of Eden's next-generation Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
title '' Test Drive: Unlimited''.
In December 2005, Atari decided to shift away from internal development, seeking to sell its studios, including Melbourne House. In November 2006, Krome Studios acquired Melbourne House from Atari
Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...
and was renamed to Krome Studios Melbourne. It was closed on 15 October 2010, along with the main Brisbane office. Next to the game development, Beam Software also had the division Smarty Pants Publishing Pty Ltd., that created software titles for kids, as well as the proprietary video compression technology VideoBeam, and Famous Faces, a facial motion capture hardware and software solution.
Games
As Beam Software
* 1982: ''Strike Force'' (TRS-80), '' Hungry Horace'', '' Horace Goes Skiing'', '' Horace and the Spiders'', ''The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...
'', '' Penetrator'' (Commodore 64, Microbee, Timex Sinclair 2068, TRS-80, ZX Spectrum)
* 1983: ''H.U.R.G: High-Level User-Friendly Real-Time Games Designer'' (ZX Spectrum)
* 1984: '' Castle of Terror'' (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum), ''Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...
'' (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum), '' Mugsy'' (ZX Spectrum), '' Sherlock'' (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum), ''Zim Sala Bim'' (Commodore 64)
* 1985: ''Gyroscope
A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining Orientation (geometry), orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in ...
'', '' Lord of the Rings: Game One'', '' Terrormolinos'', '' The Way of the Exploding Fist'' (Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 16, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum), ''Starion'' (Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum).
* 1986: '' Asterix and the Magic Cauldron'' (Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum), ''Fist: The Legend Continues'' Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum), ''Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of the British weekly anthology Comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977). He is the magazi ...
'' (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum), ''Knuckle Busters'' (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum), '' Mugsy's Revenge'', '' Rock'n Wrestle''
* 1987: '' Inspector Gadget and the Circus of Fear'' (Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum), '' Shadows of Mordor'' (Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Commodore 64, Macintosh, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum), ''Street Hassle
''Street Hassle'' is the eighth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in February 1978 by Arista Records. Richard Robinson and Reed produced the album. It is the first commercially released pop album to employ binaural r ...
'' (Commodore 64, MS-DOS, ZX Spectrum)
* 1988: '' Samurai Warrior: The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo'' (Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum), '' The Muncher'' (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum)
* 1989: '' 720°'' (NES), ''Back to the Future
''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985 ...
'' (NES), '' Bad Street Brawler'' (NES), ''Aussie Games'' (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum), Sgt. Slaughter’s Mat Wars (Commodore 64)
* 1990: '' Back to the Future Part II & III'' (NES), '' Dash Galaxy in the Alien Asylum'' (NES), '' Fisher-Price: Perfect Fit'' (NES), '' Boulder Dash'' (Game Boy), '' NBA All-Star Challenge'' (Game Boy), '' The Punisher'' (NES), ''Road Blasters'' (NES), ''Bigfoot
Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include:
*"A large, hairy, manlike ...
'' (NES), '' Battle Chess'' (NES)
* 1991: '' Choplifter II'' (Game Boy), '' Hunt for Red October'' (Game Boy, NES), ''Smash TV
''Smash TV'' is a 1990 arcade video game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams Electronics Games. It is a twin-stick shooter in the same vein as 1982's '' Robotron: 2084'', which was co-created by Jarvis. The Super Nintendo Ent ...
'' (NES), ''Family Feud'' (NES), '' J. R. R. Tolkien's Riders of Rohan'' (MS-DOS), '' Aussie Rules Footy'' (NES), '' Power Punch II'' (NES), ''Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' (NES)
* 1992: '' Aussie Rules Footy'' (NES), ''International Cricket
International cricket matches are played between the teams representing their nations, administrated by the International Cricket Council. The main forms are Test matches, ODI matches and T20I matches.
Most games are played as part of "tou ...
'' (NES), ''Nightshade
Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...
'' (NES), '' T2: The Arcade Game'' (Game Boy), '' NBA All-Star Challenge 2'' (Game Boy), ''Tom and Jerry'' (Game Boy), ''Super Smash TV'' (SNES), ''George Foreman's KO Boxing
''George Foreman's KO Boxing'' is a sports video game produced by Acclaim Entertainment, Acclaim, featuring boxer George Foreman, released in 1992. Three years later, Acclaim released another game with Foreman: ''Foreman For Real''.
Gameplay
In ...
'' (Game Boy)
* 1993: '' Baby T-Rex'' (Game Boy), ''We're Back BC'' (Game Boy), ''Agro Soar'' (Game Boy), '' Blades of Vengeance'' (Genesis), '' NFL Quarterback Club'' (Game Boy), '' Radical Rex'' (Genesis), ''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 ...
'' (SNES), ''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, ...
'' (SNES), ''Super High Impact'' (Genesis, SNES), ''Tom and Jerry - Frantic Antics'' (Genesis)
* 1994: '' Choplifter III'' (SNES), '' The Simpsons: Itchy & Scratchy in Miniature Golf Madness'' (Game Boy), '' Radical Rex'' (SNES), '' Super Smash TV'' (GG, SMS), ''Solitaire FunPak'' (Game Boy), ''Stargate'' (Game Boy), '' Super International Cricket'' (SNES), '' WCW: The Main Event'' (Game Boy)
* 1995: ''True Lies
''True Lies'' is a 1994 American action comedy film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Harry Tasker, a U.S. government agent, who struggles to balance his double life as a spy with his familial duties, ...
'' (Game Boy, Genesis, SNES); '' The Dame Was Loaded'' (Macintosh, MS-DOS)
* 1995: '' Bug!'' (PC port), '' Cricket 96'' (MS-DOS)
* 1996: ''5 in One Fun Pak'' (GG); '' WildC.A.T.S'' (SNES)
* 1997: ''Caesars Palace'' (PlayStation), '' Cricket 97'' (MS-DOS, Windows)
* 1997: '' Krush, Kill 'n' Destroy'' (MS-DOS, Windows)
* 1998: '' Dethkarz'' (Windows)
* 1998: '' NBA Action 98'' (PC)
* 1998: '' KKnD 2: Krossfire'' (PC, PlayStation)
* 1999: '' GP 500'' (PC)
As Infogrames Melbourne House/Atari Melbourne House
As Krome Studios Melbourne
References
External links
Official website
via Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
* {{Moby company , company=atari-melbourne-house-pty-ltd , name=Krome Studios Melbourne
Australian companies established in 1980
Australian companies disestablished in 2010
Companies based in Melbourne
Defunct video game companies of Australia
Golden Joystick Award winners
Video game development companies
Video game companies established in 1980
Video game companies disestablished in 2010