|
MicroProse
MicroProse is an American video game publisher and video game developer, developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization (series), Civilization'' and ''X-COM'' series. Most of their internally developed titles were vehicle simulation game, vehicle simulation and strategy video game, strategy games. In 1993, the company lost most of its UK-based personnel and became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte. Subsequent cuts and corporate policies led to Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds leaving and forming Firaxis Games in 1996, as MicroProse closed its ex-Simtex development studio in Austin, Texas. In 1998, following an unsuccessful buyout attempt by GT Interactive, the struggling MicroProse (Spectrum HoloByte) became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hasbro Interactive and its development studios in Alameda, California, and Chapel Hill, North Caroli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civilization (series)
''Civilization'' is a series of turn-based strategy video games, first released in 1991. Sid Meier developed the first game in the series and has had creative input for most of the rest, and his name is usually included in the formal title of these games, such as ''Sid Meier's Civilization VI''. There are seven main games in the series, a number of expansion packs and spin-off games, as well as board games inspired by the video game series. The series is considered a formative example of the 4X genre, in which players achieve victory through four routes: "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate". All titles in the series share similar gameplay, centered on building a civilization on a macro-scale from prehistory up to the near future. Each turn allows the player to move their units on the map, build or improve new cities and units, and initiate negotiations with the human or computer-controlled players. The player will also choose technologies to research. These reflect the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeff Briggs
Jeffery L. Briggs (born March 10, 1957) is the American founder and former President and CEO of Firaxis Games, a video game developer based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, United States. He was previously a game designer at MicroProse but left that company in 1996 along with Sid Meier and Brian Reynolds to form Firaxis Games. Career Briggs holds a doctorate in musical composition and theory from the University of Illinois. Briggs' composition teachers included Samuel Adler, Warren Benson, Joseph Schwantner, Donald Freund, and John Melby. His career began in New York City where he composed music for various events, including dance and theater groups. He took a job as game editor and designer at West End Games where he worked until 1987. He then joined MicroProse Software, where he served as designer, writer, composer and producer, becoming the company's Executive Producer and, finally, its Director of Product Development. Briggs's music first appeared in a 1989 MicroProse release ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atari Interactive
Hasbro Interactive, Inc. (Currently named Atari Interactive, Inc.) is the former video game subsidiary of board game and toy manufacturer Hasbro. Originally formed in 1995 and headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, Hasbro Interactive initially published titles based on existing owned Hasbro IP, such as ''Monopoly'' and '' Mr. Potato Head'' before branching off into publishing third-party properties such as '' Frogger''. Following buyouts of Atari's assets, MicroProse and Avalon Hill in 1998, Hasbro Interactive became one of the largest video game publishers in the world; however, after major financial struggles and losses corresponding from the Dot-com bubble, Hasbro sold the entirety of Hasbro Interactive, excluding Avalon Hill, to French holding company Infogrames Entertainment SA in December 2000. Following the closure of the sale, the company was renamed as Infogrames Interactive, Inc. and its purpose was reduced to becoming a copyright holder for properties formerly publi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sid Meier
Sidney K. Meier ( ; born February 24, 1954) is an American businessman and computer programmer. A programmer, designer, and producer of many strategy video games and simulation video games, including the ''Civilization'' series, Meier co-founded MicroProse in 1982 with Bill Stealey and is the Director of Creative Development of Firaxis Games, which he co-founded with Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds in 1996. For his contributions to the video game industry, Meier was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. Early life and education Meier was born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, to parents of Dutch and Swiss descent, which conferred on him both Canadian and Swiss citizenship upon birth. When he was about three years old, his family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he was raised. At the University of Michigan, he studied history and computer science, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science in 1975. Career Following college, Mei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Stealey
John Wilbur Stealey Sr., better known as Bill Stealey, is an American game developer and publisher, and a former military pilot. Stealey founded MicroProse with Sid Meier in 1982 and released many flight simulators with the company. He was known for his appearances in military uniform and aerial stunts aboard the company's real plane while promoting the games. After a brief retirement in the early 1990s, he founded iEntertainment Network in 1995 and is the current CEO. In 2018 he also re-acquired MicroProse assets and revived the studio with David Lagettie. Stealey acts largely in a consultancy capacity at the revived studio. Career US Air Force and consultancy Stealey had the goal of becoming a fighter pilot and eventually a general. He attended Pennsylvania Military College in the 1960s; he wore glasses but "fought his way into the program" regardless, and was granted a waiver. This allowed him to attend the United States Air Force Academy in 1966, but unfortunately a "min ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Hollis
Andy Hollis is an American video game designer, programmer and producer, mainly known for his flight simulators. He was one of the founding members of MicroProse. Video game development He began his career at MicroProse Software, where he was responsible for games such as '' Kennedy Approach'', '' Gunship'', '' F-15 Strike Eagle II'', '' F-19 Stealth Fighter'' and '' F-15 Strike Eagle III'', as well as science fiction titles '' Lightspeed'' and '' Hyperspeed''. In 1993, Hollis joined Origin Systems, where he was responsible for creating games for Electronic Arts' '' Jane's Combat Simulations'' brand. Among the simulations created at Origin are '' AH-64D Longbow'', '' Longbow 2'' and '' Jane's F-15''. In 1996, GameSpot named him as the number five in their listing of the Most Influential People in Computer Gaming, "honored for helping to bring back serious flight simulations that don't alienate beginners." When Origin changed its focus to online games, he moved around within E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spectrum HoloByte
Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher. The company, founded in 1983, was known for its simulation games, notably the ''Falcon'' series of combat flight simulators, and for publishing the first version of ''Tetris'' outside the Soviet Union (in 1988 for MS-DOS). Spectrum HoloByte published games for various home computers and video game consoles. History Spectrum HoloByte was founded in 1983 in Boulder, Colorado, by Jeff Sauter, Phil Adam and Mike Franklin. In 1987 Spectrum HoloByte merged with another game developer, Nexa Corporation, forming a common holding company, Sphere, Inc., and prompting the company's move from Colorado to California. Nexa founder Gilman Louie served as chairman of the combined company. In 1992, Spectrum HoloByte received an investment from Kleiner Perkins, which let the company repurchase shares formerly owned by Robert Maxwell's companies, ending its ties to their bankruptcies. In December 1993, Sphere, Inc. merg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infogrames Entertainment, SA
Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA ()), also known as Atari Group, is a French holding company headquartered in Paris that owns mainly video gaming-related interactive entertainment properties. Atari SA's core subsidiaries include the publisher and marketer Atari, Inc., developers Nightdive Studios and Digital Eclipse, and publisher Infogrames. It also has a blockchain division, Atari X, and additionally owns the websites MobyGames and AtariAge. Through these divisions, the company owns the rights to many video game properties that originated from Accolade, Atari, Inc., Atari Corporation, GT Interactive, Ocean Software, M Network via Intellivision and others. It is the sole owner of the Atari brand since 2001, through its subsidiary Atari Interactive Inc. which licenses the brand to other entities in the group. Infogrames published numerous video games during the 1990s and eventually became one of the largest video game companies in the world through an acquisi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hellcat Ace
''Hellcat Ace'' is a 1982 combat flight simulator video game written by Sid Meier for Atari 8-bit computers and published by MicroProse as their first program. The game was an immediate hit and led Meier to write several new releases for the Atari home computers. Ports of ''Hellcat Ace'' were released for the Commodore 64 in 1983 and IBM PC compatibles in 1984. Gameplay The player flies the Grumman F6F Hellcat in a series of missions. The initial screen allows the user to select a mission from 1 to 10, each with increasing difficulty. An additional four missions are listed but cannot be selected directly in the original version. When a mission is successfully completed, the game moves onto the next mission. On entering a mission the player is inside the Hellcat flying over the Pacific Ocean. They normally start at 10,000 feet altitude, flying north at 200 mph. In the first mission, Flying Tiger, the task is to shoot down a Japanese bomber which is placed directly in front of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Reynolds (game Designer)
Brian Reynolds (born 1967) is an American videogame designer. Reynolds has designed at SecretNewCo, Zynga, Big Huge Games, and MicroProse and has been chairman of the International Game Developers Association. He has played a major part in designing a number of multi-million selling games including '' Civilization II'', ''Rise of Nations'', '' Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri'', and '' FrontierVille''. He has also founded or co-founded three game companies, SecretNewCo, Big Huge Games, and Firaxis Games. Early life and education Reynolds made his first game sale with '' Quest 1'' to '' SoftSide'' magazine, its August 1981 cover feature. He was a gamer in high school, and a SysOp on Randolph School's (Huntsville, Alabama) PDP-11 mainframe computer. A 1990 graduate of the University of the South, Reynolds briefly pursued graduate studies in philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. Career Reynolds initiated his game career with MicroProse where he worked as lead programme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Sparks, Maryland. The company was founded in May 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds following their departure from MicroProse, Meier's earlier venture. They were acquired by Take-Two Interactive in August 2005, and subsequently became part of the publisher's 2K (company), 2K label. Firaxis Games is best known for developing the ''Civilization (series), Civilization'' and ''XCOM'' series, as well as many other games bearing Meier's name. History Firaxis Software was founded on May 1, 1996, by Sid Meier, Brian Reynolds (game designer), Brian Reynolds and Jeff Briggs, three video game designers formerly employed by MicroProse, a video game venture founded by Meier and partner Bill Stealey in 1982. The name "Firaxis", a portmanteau of "fiery" and "axis", was derived from the name of a piece of music created by Briggs. Briggs explained that they decided to stay in the B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
