FTL Games (Faster Than Light) was the

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 ...

division of Software Heaven Inc. FTL created several popular

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s in the 1980s. Despite the company's small size, FTL products were successful and received positive reviews from critics.

Overview

FTL was founded by Wayne Holder in 1982. Holder started Software Heaven and FTL as its game division after founding Oasis Systems, which specialized in

spell checking In software, a spell checker (or spelling checker or spell check) is a software feature that checks for misspellings in a text. Spell-checking features are often embedded in software or services, such as a word processor, email client, electronic d ...

software. He hired

Bruce Webster Bruce F. Webster is an American academic and software engineer. He is a principal at Bruce F. Webster & Associates and an adjunct professor in computer science at Brigham Young University. Early life and education Webster received a full Nat ...

, with whom he graduated from

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, to head FTL. After Webster left FTL in 1984, Doug Bell joined FTL and served as the Technical Director until FTL ceased operations in 1996.

Release History

FTL released several games throughout its short history. Certain titles were best sellers for the time of their release.

''SunDog: Frozen Legacy''

Holder and Webster co-designed FTL's first game, '' SunDog: Frozen Legacy'', a space trading game. It was released first for the

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

in March 1984. Webster did most of the video game programming, programming for the Apple II version, but resigned from FTL after the release of version 2.0. Doug Bell, Andy Jaros and Michael Newton significantly enhanced the game's graphics when porting the game to the

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

, releasing it in late 1985. ''SunDog'' became the best selling game on the Atari ST during the system's first year, and garnered lavish critical acclaim. The packaging cover art was designed and illustrated by David R. Darrow.My Illustration Career
from David R. Darrow's website

''Oids''

Oids ''Oids'' is a multidirectional shooter developed and self-published by FTL Games in 1987. The game was originally released on the Atari ST, followed by a B&W version for the classic 68k Macintosh in 1990. The Atari ST version, written by Dan Hew ...

'', an action game, was one of FTL's minor releases. The original

version was created by Dan Hewitt who did both the graphics and all of the programming. It received little attention with a later conversion to the

Mac Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

, but received 5 Stars on ''

Macworld ''Macworld'' is a digital magazine and website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG. History ''Macworld'' was founded by David Bunnell and Cheryl Woodard (publishers) and Andrew Fl ...

'' 1990. However the original Atari ST release received rave reviews in the UK, where it remains a cult favourite. Later, after FTL ceased operations, an updated authorized shareware version of ''Oids'' for the Macintosh was developed and released by Kirk Baker. It was however eclipsed by the release of FTL's next game. As with ''SunDog'', the packaging cover art was designed and illustrated by David R. Darrow.

''Dungeon Master''

'' Dungeon Master'' is a fantasy

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

, which popularized real-time gameplay. The game included a number of

user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine fro ...

features that made gameplay particularly enjoyable, from a spell system that seemed to be "logical" to the

intuitive Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning or needing an explanation. Different fields use the word "intuition" in very different ways, including but not limited to: direct access to unconscious knowledg ...

way the player used the mouse to directly manipulate items in the simulated 3D view. It was released on the ST in 1987 and went on to become the ST's best selling product of all time. It was eventually ported to over a dozen platforms in six languages. It received many awards, including the first ''Special Award for Artistic Achievement'' from ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'' when it was initially released. David R. Darrow. returned to illustrate the cover artwork for Dungeon Master.

''Chaos Strikes Back''

A ''Dungeon Master'' sequel, ''

Chaos Strikes Back ''Chaos Strikes Back'' is an expansion and sequel to '' Dungeon Master'', the earlier 3D role-playing video game. ''Chaos Strikes Back'' was released in 1989 and is also available on several platforms (including Atari ST, Amiga, X68000, PC-98, F ...

'', was released in 1989 for most platforms, but notably excluding a PC version. It uses the same engine as ''Dungeon Master'' but features new creatures and

graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of the data, as in design and manufa ...

''Dungeon Master: Theron's Quest''

'' Dungeon Master: Theron's Quest'' was a simplified Dungeon Master version with new dungeons from 1992 for

TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known in Japan as the , is a home video game console developed by Hudson Soft and manufactured by NEC. It was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. The first console of the fourth generation of video game con ...

and the

PC Engine The TurboGrafx-16, known in Japan as the , is a home video game console developed by Hudson Soft and manufactured by NEC. It was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. The first console of the fourth generation, it launched ...

''Dungeon Master II''

'' Dungeon Master II: The Legend of Skullkeep'' was the best-selling game of the week when it was released in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in December 1993. For some reason, it took two years before it was released in the US and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

in 1995 by

Interplay Productions Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...

. While the game had been highly anticipated, by 1995 it was considered too dated and sold poorly. The studio began to break up around this time.

''Dungeon Master Nexus''

'' Dungeon Master Nexus'' was released 1998 for

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 ...

and only the Japanese market under the ''FTL'' and ''Software Heaven'' brand. It was developed and published by ''

Victor Interactive Software was a Japanese video game software publisher and developer, established on October 1, 1996 as a division of Victor Entertainment. Their first game was ''Fish Eyes'' and their last game was ''Fish Eyes 3''. Some of their games used the brand. H ...

''.

References

External links

*
FTL Games , Dungeon Master Encyclopaedia
{{Authority control Defunct video game companies of the United States Video game companies established in 1982 Defunct computer companies based in California 1982 establishments in California Video game companies based in California