Human Head Studios
Encyclopedia
Human Head Studios is a computer game development company
located in Madison, Wisconsin
.
It was founded in October 1997 by a group of six developers formerly from Raven Software
: Chris Rhinehart, Paul MacArthur, Shane Gurno, Ben Gokey, James Sumwalt, and Ted Halsted—later joined by game producer Tim Gerritsen. Their first game was Rune
, a third-person Viking action game. The company's most recent release was the long-anticipated first-person shooter Prey
, a game that was executive produced by 3D Realms
.
In 2002, they established a branch internal to the company dedicated to the development of non-electronic games, including role-playing games, board games and card games. The first release from this branch, The Redhurst Academy of Magic Student Handbook, won an Origins Award
in 2003. They released several other board games and card games, but the Adventure Games Division was eventually closed in 2006.
On April 20, 2007, a news report indicated that the company's headquarters were at least partially destroyed in a fire.http://www.channel3000.com/news/12618256/detail.html No injuries were reported. On October 1, 2007, the company moved back into their newly renovated offices.
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
located in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
.
It was founded in October 1997 by a group of six developers formerly from Raven Software
Raven Software
Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them...
: Chris Rhinehart, Paul MacArthur, Shane Gurno, Ben Gokey, James Sumwalt, and Ted Halsted—later joined by game producer Tim Gerritsen. Their first game was Rune
Rune (computer game)
Rune is a third-person action computer game developed by Human Head Studios which was released in late 2000. The game is based on Norse mythology, showing the conflict between the gods Odin and Loki and the build up to Ragnarok, the end of the world...
, a third-person Viking action game. The company's most recent release was the long-anticipated first-person shooter Prey
Prey (video game)
Prey is a first-person shooter video game developed by Human Head Studios , and published by 2K Games. The Xbox 360 version was ported by Venom Games. The game was initially released in North America and Europe on 11 July 2006...
, a game that was executive produced by 3D Realms
3D Realms
3D Realms is a current video game publisher and former video game developer based in Garland, Texas, United States, established in 1987...
.
In 2002, they established a branch internal to the company dedicated to the development of non-electronic games, including role-playing games, board games and card games. The first release from this branch, The Redhurst Academy of Magic Student Handbook, won an Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
in 2003. They released several other board games and card games, but the Adventure Games Division was eventually closed in 2006.
On April 20, 2007, a news report indicated that the company's headquarters were at least partially destroyed in a fire.http://www.channel3000.com/news/12618256/detail.html No injuries were reported. On October 1, 2007, the company moved back into their newly renovated offices.
Electronic games
- RuneRune (computer game)Rune is a third-person action computer game developed by Human Head Studios which was released in late 2000. The game is based on Norse mythology, showing the conflict between the gods Odin and Loki and the build up to Ragnarok, the end of the world...
(2000) (Mac, LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
)- Rune: Halls of ValhallaRune: Halls of ValhallaRune: Halls of Valhalla is a multiplayer-only expansion to the computer game Rune.It features many new characters to choose from, thirty three new maps, and most prominently: two completely new game modes....
(2001) (Mac, LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
) - Rune: Viking Warlord (2001) (PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
)
- Rune: Halls of Valhalla
- Blair Witch, Volume II: The Legend of Coffin RockThe Blair Witch Project (video games)The Blair Witch video games are a trilogy of Survival Horror action-adventure games , based on the backstory of the movie The Blair Witch Project...
(2000) (WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
) - Dead Man's HandDead Man's Hand (video game)Dead Man's Hand is a first-person shooter set in the American Old West. It is somewhat unusual in that between levels, the player plays poker for extra health and ammunition. Your character is armed with 4 default weapons; a knife, a pistol, a rifle and a shotgun. Other weapons you can find are TNT...
(2004) (WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
) - PreyPrey (video game)Prey is a first-person shooter video game developed by Human Head Studios , and published by 2K Games. The Xbox 360 version was ported by Venom Games. The game was initially released in North America and Europe on 11 July 2006...
(2006) (Mac, LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
) - Prey 2Prey 2Prey 2 is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by Human Head Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, due for release on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in 2012. It is the sequel to the 2006 video game Prey. The game is presented in open world format.-Plot:The...
(2012) (WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PlayStation 3PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
)
Non-electronic games
- Redhurst Academy of Magic (2002)
- Gothica: Dracula's Revenge (2003)
- Gothica: The Halloween Scenarios (2004) (online-only release)
- Gothica: Frankenstein's Children (2005)
- Villainy – The Supervillainous Card Game (2006)
- Normal, Texas Roleplaying Game (2006)