Humongous (game developer)
Encyclopedia
Humongous Inc. is an American
video game developer
. The company is known for its line of educational games for children. Atari now owns Humongous Inc.
and Creative Director Ron Gilbert
. The name Humongous Entertainment was suggested by Gilbert's ex-LucasArts
colleague, Tim Schafer
. It became known for point-and-click
adventure games intended for young children, such as the Putt-Putt series, the Freddi Fish
series, and the Pajama Sam
and Spy Fox
franchises
. Ron Gilbert
- Humongous Entertainment's co-founder and main game designer - helped with many of the game planning and creation stages. These games were all available for Windows and Mac - earlier titles were available on DOS too. Three early titles were also available for the ill-fated 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
video game console.
In 1997, Humongous Entertainment created the first Backyard title: Backyard Baseball
. This was arguably their most popular game in the series, but also produced variants such as Backyard Football
, Backyard Soccer
and Backyard Hockey
. The series started with having the Backyard Kids as players, but the addition of professional
athletes as kids were added to the games. Unlike its other titles, the Backyard Sports series became available for consoles (Nintendo GameCube
, Wii
, PlayStation 2
, and Game Boy Advance
) as well as Windows and Macintosh.
In July 1996
, Humongous Entertainment was purchased by GT Interactive for $76 million.
Through its Cavedog sub-division, Humongous Entertainment also released Total Annihilation
, a real-time strategy (RTS) game in 1997. This was followed by two expansion packs, and in 1999 a variation called Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
and an expansion pack for it too.
In November 1999
, GT Interactive was indirectly purchased by Infogrames Entertainment SA
(France) and renamed to Infogrames, Inc. After Infogrames, Inc purchased Hasbro Interactive - which owned the rights to use the Atari name - Infogrames, Inc was renamed again to Atari, Inc.
The One-Stop Fun Shop
s were created for Windows in 2000, one title each for Putt-Putt, Pajama Sam
, and Freddi Fish
. Often characters or voice actors for a series would cross over to the other series in a short scene.
In mid-2000, the co-founders tried to buy Humongous Entertainment back from Infogrames using external funding, but the day of the planned purchase was the day of the 2000 tech stock crash and the funding was pulled. The founders left soon afterwards, as did many of the key employees that had created the company series and technology. They formed a new company Hulabee Entertainment in 2001.
Atari laid off most people from its subsidiary Humongous Entertainment in mid-2001
. and the company was eventually shut down completely a few years later.
Humongous Entertainment has also released several games featuring Big Thinkers and other characters. In 2002, Humongous Entertainment released the turn-based strategy game Moonbase Commander
with very little fanfare. The game was sold at a budget price, but was well received by game review sites. Moonbase Commander eventually won IGN's "Best of 2002: The One No One Played" and Gamespot's "Best Game Not Played on PC for 2002".
A new company, Humongous, Inc., was started up in the same building, but with only 3-5 of the ex-Humongous Entertainment employees, and run out of California. Game development was all done out-of-house. In 2005, Infogrames Entertainment bought Humongous from Atari for $10.3 million. Atari retained exclusive distribution rights for Humongous products in the US, Canada, and Mexico through at least March 31, 2006. Humongous, Inc now oversees development of new entries in the popular Backyard Sports series.
Many of the Windows/Mac/DOS Humongous games can be played on platforms such as Linux
by using ScummVM
, and ScummVM may also work better than Classic emulation mode for users of Mac OS X who have old copies of the game made for earlier versions of Mac OS.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
video game developer
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...
. The company is known for its line of educational games for children. Atari now owns Humongous Inc.
History
Humongous Entertainment, the predecessor of Humongous, Inc., was formed in 1992 by CEO Shelley DayShelley Day
Shelley Day is a former producer of children's video games. She founded Humongous Entertainment with colleague Ron Gilbert. She created the famous Putt-Putt character as a bedtime story for her son, which became a series of popular children's video games. In 1999 she was listed on Time Magazine as...
and Creative Director Ron Gilbert
Ron Gilbert
Ron Gilbert is an American computer game designer, programmer, and producer, best known for his work on several classic LucasArts adventure games, including Maniac Mansion and the first two Monkey Island games. Gilbert was also co-founder of Humongous Entertainment and its sister company Cavedog...
. The name Humongous Entertainment was suggested by Gilbert's ex-LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
colleague, Tim Schafer
Tim Schafer
Timothy Schafer is an American computer game designer. He founded Double Fine Productions in January 2000, after having spent over a decade at LucasArts...
. It became known for point-and-click
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
adventure games intended for young children, such as the Putt-Putt series, the Freddi Fish
Freddi Fish
Freddi Fish is an award-winning series of children's software from Humongous Entertainment.Freddi Fish is an anthropomorphic yellow fish who takes on detective investigations throughout the series of games. She has her own pal, the green-colored Luther, who is her best friend and goes with her on...
series, and the Pajama Sam
Pajama Sam
The Pajama Sam series is a collection of point-and-click children's adventure and puzzle games originally created by Humongous Entertainment.-Character:...
and Spy Fox
Spy Fox
Spy Fox is a series of software for five to ten year old children from Humongous Entertainment starring a fictional anthropomorphic fox of the same name. The characters live in a world of anthropomorphic animals who live like humans...
franchises
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
. Ron Gilbert
Ron Gilbert
Ron Gilbert is an American computer game designer, programmer, and producer, best known for his work on several classic LucasArts adventure games, including Maniac Mansion and the first two Monkey Island games. Gilbert was also co-founder of Humongous Entertainment and its sister company Cavedog...
- Humongous Entertainment's co-founder and main game designer - helped with many of the game planning and creation stages. These games were all available for Windows and Mac - earlier titles were available on DOS too. Three early titles were also available for the ill-fated 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
video game console.
In 1997, Humongous Entertainment created the first Backyard title: Backyard Baseball
Backyard Baseball
Backyard Baseball is a series of children's games for the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, iOS, and the PC. It is the original game in the Backyard Sports series. Currently all the games in the series have been developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari. It is one of...
. This was arguably their most popular game in the series, but also produced variants such as Backyard Football
Backyard Football
Backyard Football is a series of video games for various systems. Currently all the games in the series have been developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari...
, Backyard Soccer
Backyard Soccer
Backyard Soccer, known in Europe as Junior Sports Football, is a video game in the Backyard Sports franchise, developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Infogrames. It was first released in 1998 for the Mac and PC, was released for the PlayStation in 2001, and the iOS in...
and Backyard Hockey
Backyard Hockey
list of pros: Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney CrosbyBackyard Hockey is a sports game released on October 2, 2007. This is the fourth iteration of the Backyard Hockey game from the Backyard Sports series. The cover athlete for the game is Nicklas Lidström of the Detroit Red Wings....
. The series started with having the Backyard Kids as players, but the addition of professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
athletes as kids were added to the games. Unlike its other titles, the Backyard Sports series became available for consoles (Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The 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...
, and Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
) as well as Windows and Macintosh.
In July 1996
1996 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*January 29 — Duke Nukem 3D, successor to the simple side-scrolling originals, and a genre-redefining title for first person shooters....
, Humongous Entertainment was purchased by GT Interactive for $76 million.
Through its Cavedog sub-division, Humongous Entertainment also released Total Annihilation
Total Annihilation
Total Annihilation is a real-time strategy video game created by Cavedog Entertainment, a sub-division of Humongous Entertainment, and released on September 30, 1997 by GT Interactive for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. It was the first RTS game to feature 3D units and terrain...
, a real-time strategy (RTS) game in 1997. This was followed by two expansion packs, and in 1999 a variation called Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
Total Annihilation: Kingdoms or TA:K is a medieval fantasy real time strategy game created and released by Cavedog Entertainment on June 25, 1999...
and an expansion pack for it too.
In November 1999
1999 in video gaming
-Events:*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards*March – Game Over republished as “Game Over: Press Start to Continue”...
, GT Interactive was indirectly purchased by Infogrames Entertainment SA
Infogrames
Infogrames Entertainment SA was an international French holding company headquartered in Paris, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory...
(France) and renamed to Infogrames, Inc. After Infogrames, Inc purchased Hasbro Interactive - which owned the rights to use the Atari name - Infogrames, Inc was renamed again to Atari, Inc.
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
The One-Stop Fun Shop
One-Stop Fun Shop
The One-Stop Fun Shops are three Humongous Entertainment games published in 2000 for Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish and Pajama Sam.The main colors on the paint palette in the three games are red, yellow, blue, white, and black...
s were created for Windows in 2000, one title each for Putt-Putt, Pajama Sam
Pajama Sam
The Pajama Sam series is a collection of point-and-click children's adventure and puzzle games originally created by Humongous Entertainment.-Character:...
, and Freddi Fish
Freddi Fish
Freddi Fish is an award-winning series of children's software from Humongous Entertainment.Freddi Fish is an anthropomorphic yellow fish who takes on detective investigations throughout the series of games. She has her own pal, the green-colored Luther, who is her best friend and goes with her on...
. Often characters or voice actors for a series would cross over to the other series in a short scene.
In mid-2000, the co-founders tried to buy Humongous Entertainment back from Infogrames using external funding, but the day of the planned purchase was the day of the 2000 tech stock crash and the funding was pulled. The founders left soon afterwards, as did many of the key employees that had created the company series and technology. They formed a new company Hulabee Entertainment in 2001.
Atari laid off most people from its subsidiary Humongous Entertainment in mid-2001
2001 in video gaming
-Events:* Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts John Carmack of id Software to the AIAS Hall of Fame...
. and the company was eventually shut down completely a few years later.
Humongous Entertainment has also released several games featuring Big Thinkers and other characters. In 2002, Humongous Entertainment released the turn-based strategy game Moonbase Commander
Moonbase Commander
Moonbase Commander is a strategy computer game released in 2002 by Humongous Entertainment. In it, the player controls a main hub, which can send out other hubs, attack enemy structures, create defensive buildings, and collect energy for further expansion; this is accomplished through launching...
with very little fanfare. The game was sold at a budget price, but was well received by game review sites. Moonbase Commander eventually won IGN's "Best of 2002: The One No One Played" and Gamespot's "Best Game Not Played on PC for 2002".
A new company, Humongous, Inc., was started up in the same building, but with only 3-5 of the ex-Humongous Entertainment employees, and run out of California. Game development was all done out-of-house. In 2005, Infogrames Entertainment bought Humongous from Atari for $10.3 million. Atari retained exclusive distribution rights for Humongous products in the US, Canada, and Mexico through at least March 31, 2006. Humongous, Inc now oversees development of new entries in the popular Backyard Sports series.
Many of the Windows/Mac/DOS Humongous games can be played on platforms such as Linux
Linux
Linux 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...
by using ScummVM
ScummVM
ScummVM is a collection of game engine recreations. Originally designed to play LucasArts adventure games that use the SCUMM system , it now also supports a variety of non-SCUMM games by companies like Revolution Software and Adventure Soft. It was originally written by Ludvig Strigeus...
, and ScummVM may also work better than Classic emulation mode for users of Mac OS X who have old copies of the game made for earlier versions of Mac OS.
Putt-Putt
- Putt-Putt Joins the Parade (1992)
- Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon (1993)
- Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo (1995)
- Putt-Putt and Pep's Balloon-o-Rama (1996)
- Putt-Putt and Pep's Dog on a Stick (1996)
- Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (1997)
- Putt-Putt Enters the Race (1998)
- Putt-Putt Joins the Circus (2000)
- Putt-Putt: Pep's Birthday Surprise (2003)
Freddi Fish
- Freddi Fish 1: The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds (1994)
- Freddi Fish 2: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse (1996)
- Freddi Fish and Luther's Maze Madness (1996)
- Freddi Fish and Luther's Water Worries (1996)
- Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell (1998)
- Freddi Fish 4: The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch (1999)
- Freddi Fish 5: The Case of the Creature of Coral Cove (2001)
Pajama Sam
- Pajama Sam In: No Need To Hide When It's Dark OutsidePajama Sam In: No Need To Hide When It's Dark OutsidePajama Sam: No Need To Hide When It's Dark Outside is a 1996 children's point-and-click adventure game originally released for PC and Mac.The first game of the Pajama Sam franchise, it features the titular character entering the "Land of Darkness" through his closet to capture Darkness himself and...
(1996) - Pajama Sam's Sock Works (1997)
- Pajama Sam 2: Thunder and Lightning Aren't so FrighteningPajama Sam 2: Thunder and Lightning Aren't so FrighteningPajama Sam 2 Thunder and Lightning Aren't So Frightening Cover is a 1998 children's point-and-click adventure game originally released for PC and Mac...
(1998) - Pajama Sam's Lost & Found (1998)
- Pajama Sam 3: You Are What You Eat From Your Head To Your FeetPajama Sam 3: You Are What You Eat From Your Head To Your FeetPajama Sam 3: You Are What You Eat From Your Head To Your Feet is an adventure game developed by Humongous Entertainment, published by Runecraft and distributed by Infogrames for the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems...
(2000) - Pajama Sam: Games to Play On Any Day (2001)
- Pajama Sam 4 : Life is Rough When You Lose Your Stuff (2003)
Spy Fox
- Spy Fox in "Dry Cereal" (1997)
- Spy Fox in Cheese Chase (1998)
- Spy Fox 2: "Some Assembly Required" (1999)
- Spy Fox in Hold the Mustard (1999)
- Spy Fox 3: "Operation Ozone" (2001)
Junior Field Trips
- Let's Explore the Farm (1995)
- Let's Explore the Jungle (1995)
- Let's Explore the Airport (1995)
Backyard Sports
- Backyard BaseballBackyard BaseballBackyard Baseball is a series of children's games for the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, iOS, and the PC. It is the original game in the Backyard Sports series. Currently all the games in the series have been developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari. It is one of...
(1997) - Backyard SoccerBackyard SoccerBackyard Soccer, known in Europe as Junior Sports Football, is a video game in the Backyard Sports franchise, developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Infogrames. It was first released in 1998 for the Mac and PC, was released for the PlayStation in 2001, and the iOS in...
(1998) - Backyard FootballBackyard FootballBackyard Football is a series of video games for various systems. Currently all the games in the series have been developed by Humongous Entertainment and published by Atari...
(1999) - Backyard Basketball (2001)
- Backyard HockeyBackyard Hockeylist of pros: Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney CrosbyBackyard Hockey is a sports game released on October 2, 2007. This is the fourth iteration of the Backyard Hockey game from the Backyard Sports series. The cover athlete for the game is Nicklas Lidström of the Detroit Red Wings....
(2002) - Backyard Skateboarding (2004)
External links
- Official Backyard Sports website
- Complete list of Humongous Entertainment titles on ScummVM Wiki.
- Animation World Magazine article on Humongous
- http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/08/26/news_6132043.html