GarageGames
Encyclopedia
GarageGames is located in Las Vegas
, Nevada
, USA
, where it was moved after being acquired by IAC in 2007. As the makers of Torque game development technology, they have provided cross-platform technology and tools since 2000. The Torque Game Engine was the original technology behind the Tribes series
of games, and has been used since to develop countless games on Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, including GarageGames' own Marble Blast Ultra
which is a best-selling hit on Xbox Live Arcade. GarageGames was re-named InstantAction after its acquisition. However, GarageGames recently returned to their roots in the independent games arena with new management and a refocused and streamlined product base. The original company name, GarageGames, has returned, replacing the names InstantAction and Torque Powered.
In 2007, the company was acquired by Barry Diller and Interactive Corporation (NASD: IAC) and re-named InstantAction.
GarageGames was founded in Eugene, OR by four industry veterans: Jeff Tunnell, Tim Gift, Rick Overman, and Mark Frohnmayer. The founders literally worked in their garage on severance checks and released Torque Game Engine in August 2001. The name GarageGames is intentionally similar to the term "garage band", and is meant to evoke a similar concept in game development. The stated goal of GarageGames is to offer licensing of game engines and publishing to virtually anyone, in contrast to leaving would-be game makers at the mercy of large publishers driven by sales in the retail channel. To that end, in 2007, GarageGames also announced the development of a new game platform called InstantAction at InstantAction.com.
On July 15, 2009, it was announced that Louis Castle
, notable for his Command & Conquer
series, would become the new CEO of GarageGames after its former CEO stepped down. The company headquarters were subsequently moved to Las Vegas with some employees relocating to Portland, OR. Shortly after the move, the "GarageGames" brand was retired entirely.
On November 11, 2010 it was announced that IAC was shutting down InstantAction, and the intellectual property for the Torque game engine would be sold off. On January 20, 2011, it was announced that the Torque engine and GarageGames brand had been bought, and the company was re-launched, as GarageGames once again, with new CEO Eric Preisz. They have moved to a new office in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Torque 2D
iTorque 2D
Torque X
Torque Game Builder (TGB)
Torque Game Engine (TGE)
Torque Game Engine Advanced (TGEA)
Torque for Wii
Torque 360
Torque Networking Library (open source)
, NC Soft, Sony
, Disney, Vivendi Universal, Hasbro
, and many other game teams and publishers and its officially supported middleware for Microsoft
and Nintendo
. Minions of Mirth
and Dreamlords are successful Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) implementations. Games like Think Tanks, Marble Blast Ultra
, Screwjumper and others are more core, or action-oriented.
Torque is also a solution
for non-game applications like Serious Games and virtual worlds. It's been licensed by NASA
, L3
, Lockheed Martin
and it has been used successfully for dozens of virtual worlds applications like Onverse
and by IBM for internal and external training simulations. Torque is currently used for education in more than 200 schools and universities worldwide.
and has been published on Shockwave.com, Yahoo Games and Real Arcade. Marble Blast Gold
is available on GarageGames' website and Marble Blast Ultra
is currently an Arcade Hit title on Xbox LIVE Arcade.
Based on its free source predecessor: Zap! (also released by Garage Games).
Another freesource spin off, Bitfighter, was also released by independent developer Chris Eykamp in 2007. This game uses several of the same elements of the original Zap! game.
with rocket launchers and magno-beams. Launched in April 2008 with support for up to eight players, Rokkitball puts players on an ultramodern playfield with multiple goals. The tactics reward a combination of precision fire and team positioning to disrupt the enemy and control the field. The game is no longer available since InstantAction was shutdown.
. The platform offered console quality games in a streaming play experience inside a web browser. InstantAction.com launched with a closed beta in January 2008. On February 2008, the beta became invitation based. On March 6, 2008, InstantAction.com went into full open beta. The site featured a total of 8 games, 4 of which are from independent developers (Galcon
, Lore: Aftermath, Ace of Aces, and ZAP!) and the remaining 4 are first party games (Fallen Empire: Legions
, Rokkitball, Marble Blast Online, and ThinkTanks).
In March 2010, it was announced that InstantAction would also become a digital distributor and had developed a way to bring any game to the browser, and embed them on any website. On April 29, 2010, InstantAction released The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, while the rest of the site, specifically the games they hosted, remained offline.
On November 11, 2010, InstantAction announced that they would be shutting down, along with all of their games. However Torquepowered.com (garagegames.com) would continue to operate while InstantAction explored opportunities with potential buyers for Torque. They were eventually bought by Graham Software Development in January 2011, and renamed back to GarageGames.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where it was moved after being acquired by IAC in 2007. As the makers of Torque game development technology, they have provided cross-platform technology and tools since 2000. The Torque Game Engine was the original technology behind the Tribes series
Tribes series
Tribes is a series of science fiction first-person shooter computer games originally developed by Dynamix, a subsidiary of Sierra Entertainment...
of games, and has been used since to develop countless games on Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, including GarageGames' own Marble Blast Ultra
Marble Blast Ultra
Marble Blast Ultra is a 3D puzzle/action game involving a marble developed by GarageGames. It was released on January 25, 2006 for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. It is the sequel to Marble Blast Gold. It features 60 brand new levels, enhanced graphics, 2 new power-ups and a multiplayer mode...
which is a best-selling hit on Xbox Live Arcade. GarageGames was re-named InstantAction after its acquisition. However, GarageGames recently returned to their roots in the independent games arena with new management and a refocused and streamlined product base. The original company name, GarageGames, has returned, replacing the names InstantAction and Torque Powered.
History
GarageGames released the Torque Game Engine in 2001. The engine was used to create the hit Tribes game series, and was released at an initial price point of $100 per seat. This marked the first time a professional game engine used in AAA retail 3D games could be licensed at price points affordable to small, independent game developers. Later, the company expanded it's product lines with additional tools, and more advanced engines, while introducing tiered licensing at price points ranging from $100 to $1500 per seat. In 2006, the company announced it's developer community had surpassed 100,000 users. In 2005, the company also introduced Enterprise licenses for large companies and educational institutions available for annual fees ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, gaining more than 200 educational institution licensees. The company further expanded into launching several of its own games, including Marble Blast Ultra, a hit on Xbox Live Arcade.In 2007, the company was acquired by Barry Diller and Interactive Corporation (NASD: IAC) and re-named InstantAction.
GarageGames was founded in Eugene, OR by four industry veterans: Jeff Tunnell, Tim Gift, Rick Overman, and Mark Frohnmayer. The founders literally worked in their garage on severance checks and released Torque Game Engine in August 2001. The name GarageGames is intentionally similar to the term "garage band", and is meant to evoke a similar concept in game development. The stated goal of GarageGames is to offer licensing of game engines and publishing to virtually anyone, in contrast to leaving would-be game makers at the mercy of large publishers driven by sales in the retail channel. To that end, in 2007, GarageGames also announced the development of a new game platform called InstantAction at InstantAction.com.
On July 15, 2009, it was announced that Louis Castle
Louis Castle
-Career:Castle co-founded Westwood Studios with Brett Sperry in 1985. Castle remained with Westwood when it was bought by Electronic Arts in 1998 and he was a vice president and General Manager of EA's Blueprint Studio...
, notable for his Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer series
Command & Conquer is a video game franchise, mostly of the real-time strategy style as well as a first-person shooter game based on the former...
series, would become the new CEO of GarageGames after its former CEO stepped down. The company headquarters were subsequently moved to Las Vegas with some employees relocating to Portland, OR. Shortly after the move, the "GarageGames" brand was retired entirely.
On November 11, 2010 it was announced that IAC was shutting down InstantAction, and the intellectual property for the Torque game engine would be sold off. On January 20, 2011, it was announced that the Torque engine and GarageGames brand had been bought, and the company was re-launched, as GarageGames once again, with new CEO Eric Preisz. They have moved to a new office in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Licensing
GarageGames originally offered the Torque Game Engine for sale in 2000. Eschewing industry standards for game engine licensing, they offered the technology under a per-seat "Indie" license for a much cheaper price than available alternatives. The Indie licensing model (available to individuals and companies with less than $250,000 in annual revenues) and the price endure today. GarageGames also offers "Commercial" licensing options to companies with more than $250,000 in annual revenues. Estimates based on the size of the GarageGames community (200,000+) put the number of Torque licensees in the 100,000 range.Products
Torque 3DTorque 2D
iTorque 2D
Torque X
Torque Game Builder (TGB)
Torque Game Engine (TGE)
Torque Game Engine Advanced (TGEA)
Torque for Wii
Torque 360
Torque Networking Library (open source)
- GarageGames.com also sells more than 100 3rd party game development products.
Applications
Torque is primarily a game development technology. Various versions of the engine have been used to develop more than 200 published games. It has been licensed by Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, NC Soft, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Disney, Vivendi Universal, Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
, and many other game teams and publishers and its officially supported middleware for Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
. Minions of Mirth
Minions of Mirth
Minions of Mirth is a role-playing game for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows by Prairie Games, Inc. The game includes both a single-player and a massively multi-player mode...
and Dreamlords are successful Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) implementations. Games like Think Tanks, Marble Blast Ultra
Marble Blast Ultra
Marble Blast Ultra is a 3D puzzle/action game involving a marble developed by GarageGames. It was released on January 25, 2006 for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. It is the sequel to Marble Blast Gold. It features 60 brand new levels, enhanced graphics, 2 new power-ups and a multiplayer mode...
, Screwjumper and others are more core, or action-oriented.
Torque is also a solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
for non-game applications like Serious Games and virtual worlds. It's been licensed by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, L3
L-3 Communications
L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. is a company that supplies command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training devices and services, instrumentation, space, and navigation products. Its customers include...
, Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
and it has been used successfully for dozens of virtual worlds applications like Onverse
Onverse
Onverse is a free online 3D virtual world, social network and gaming platform developed by Onverse, LLC. Onverse, LLC is a privately held company based out of Tempe, Arizona. Its name is a portmanteau of "online" and "universe."-History:...
and by IBM for internal and external training simulations. Torque is currently used for education in more than 200 schools and universities worldwide.
Marble Blast Series
Originally released in 2002, the cross-platform game Marble Blast was created with Torque Game EngineTorque Game Engine
The Torque Game Engine, or TGE, is a 3D computer game engine originally developed by Dynamix for the 2001 FPS Tribes 2. The Torque engine and its many derivative products are available for license from GarageGames, a company formed by many members of the Tribes 2 team at Dynamix...
and has been published on Shockwave.com, Yahoo Games and Real Arcade. Marble Blast Gold
Marble Blast Gold
Marble Blast Gold is a 3D platformer game. It was pre-installed on some Apple Inc. computers like the iMac and iBook. It is also available for Windows operating systems as well as various Linux distributions...
is available on GarageGames' website and Marble Blast Ultra
Marble Blast Ultra
Marble Blast Ultra is a 3D puzzle/action game involving a marble developed by GarageGames. It was released on January 25, 2006 for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. It is the sequel to Marble Blast Gold. It features 60 brand new levels, enhanced graphics, 2 new power-ups and a multiplayer mode...
is currently an Arcade Hit title on Xbox LIVE Arcade.
Think Tanks
GarageGames acquired Bravetree Studios, the original developers of the Think Tanks series of games in 2005. Think Tanks was featured on Xbox LIVE Arcade and currently sells on GarageGames' website.Z.A.P.
Released in March 2008, Z.A.P., also known as Zero All Productivity, was developed in collaboration between GarageGames and Bad Habit Software, a newly formed game studio composed of games industry veterans who have worked on console and PC titles including Syphon Filter, Warhawk, Ratchet & Clank, and Tribes. In Z.A.P. each player pilots a spaceship through a top-down maze while trying to achieve certain objectives, usually some combination of shooting down other players and securing flags. Modes include Capture the Flag, Hunters, Zone Control, Retrieve, and Z.A.P. Match.Based on its free source predecessor: Zap! (also released by Garage Games).
Another freesource spin off, Bitfighter, was also released by independent developer Chris Eykamp in 2007. This game uses several of the same elements of the original Zap! game.
Fallen Empire: Legions
Legions is GarageGames' spiritual successor to the popular Tribes series of games originally developed by Dynamix. The game was put into open beta in 2008 on InstantAction. The game is now out of beta, and was handed over to the community after IAC shutdown InstantAction. The Legions: Overdrive open beta has been released for testing.Rokkitball
Rokkitball is a futuristic team-based game that's best described as basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
with rocket launchers and magno-beams. Launched in April 2008 with support for up to eight players, Rokkitball puts players on an ultramodern playfield with multiple goals. The tactics reward a combination of precision fire and team positioning to disrupt the enemy and control the field. The game is no longer available since InstantAction was shutdown.
Rack'em Up Roadtrip
Rack'em Up Roadtrip is a 2D pool game commissioned by Oberon Media and developed by GarageGames.Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction is a game developed by Monster Studios and GarageGames that features gameplay similar to The Incredible Machine.Game publishing
Early in the company's history, GarageGames offered publishing terms to independent developers for distribution through its website game store that appealed to many small and independent game studios. To date GarageGames has published more than 50 titles in their game store. GarageGames has also self-published a number of titles on console platforms.InstantAction.com
With the 2007 majority investment from IAC, GarageGames announced the development of a new online gaming platform called InstantActionInstantAction
InstantAction was a web gaming site and digital distributor featuring 3D, browser-based games.The site was created by game and technology developer GarageGames after its acquisition in 2007 and released a year later. InstantAction's goal was to allow publishers and developers the ability to embed...
. The platform offered console quality games in a streaming play experience inside a web browser. InstantAction.com launched with a closed beta in January 2008. On February 2008, the beta became invitation based. On March 6, 2008, InstantAction.com went into full open beta. The site featured a total of 8 games, 4 of which are from independent developers (Galcon
Galcon
Galcon is a series of real time strategy video games for Android, iPhone, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Flash, which were developed by Phil Hassey...
, Lore: Aftermath, Ace of Aces, and ZAP!) and the remaining 4 are first party games (Fallen Empire: Legions
Fallen Empire: Legions
Legions: Overdrive, formerly Fallen Empire: Legions, was a browser-based sci-fi first-person shooter computer game by GarageGames on InstantAction. Announced officially in January 2007, Legions was being developed as a "spiritual successor" to Tribes, borrowing many gameplay elements from the series...
, Rokkitball, Marble Blast Online, and ThinkTanks).
In March 2010, it was announced that InstantAction would also become a digital distributor and had developed a way to bring any game to the browser, and embed them on any website. On April 29, 2010, InstantAction released The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, while the rest of the site, specifically the games they hosted, remained offline.
On November 11, 2010, InstantAction announced that they would be shutting down, along with all of their games. However Torquepowered.com (garagegames.com) would continue to operate while InstantAction explored opportunities with potential buyers for Torque. They were eventually bought by Graham Software Development in January 2011, and renamed back to GarageGames.
External links
- GarageGames on MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- GarageGames Community (Official GarageGames Community)