Micro Forte
Encyclopedia
Micro Forté now known as Micro Forté Studios, is an Australia
n electronic entertainment company with development studios in Canberra, Australia and Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1985 by John De Margheriti
at a time when there was little game development presence in Australia, Micro Forté has been closely linked to the growth of the Australian game development industry, with CEO John De Margheriti initiating events such as the Australian Game Developers Conference
(AGDC) and founding the Academy of Interactive Entertainment
(AIE) which have helped to lift the profile and create a pool of talent for the industry in Australia.
Micro Forté Studios is now primarily a developer of MMO
games and virtual world
content.
and released in 1986 was the Americas Cup Sailing Simulation for the Commodore 64
platform. Their second title also developed for Electronic Arts, Demon Stalkers
was well received following its release in 1987. The sequel Fire King was published by SSG Strategic Studies Group
in 1989.
For a number of years the company pursued other activities outside the arena of game development, returning in 1994 to game development creating two children’s titles Nordice and Bombs Away.
Micro Forté then developed titles for other international publishers including Enemy Infestation (Panasonic/Ripcord), HotWheels Bash Arena (THQ), and Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (Interplay). Their most widely known title, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel was published by Interplay
and was a squad based tactical game based on the Fallout (video game) universe, and achieved scores between 80 and 90 from reviewers and fans alike. .
Micro Forté spent a number of years concentrating their efforts on developing a technology capable of supporting multiple platforms with more players able to participate in limitless worlds and in the same space. The culmination of years of research and development resulted in BigWorld Technology, which is now a separate commercial company, and provides game developers a cost effective, stable and complete middleware solution to develop MMOG and virtual worlds.
The BigWorld company was formed in 1999 and the BigWorld Technology Suite was commercialised and launched in 2002. BigWorld is now one of the leading middleware solutions available for developers of online games.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n electronic entertainment company with development studios in Canberra, Australia and Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1985 by John De Margheriti
John De Margheriti
John De Margheriti [born July 1962] is based in Australia and is the CEO of BigWorld Pty Limited and the parent company Micro Forté Pty Limited...
at a time when there was little game development presence in Australia, Micro Forté has been closely linked to the growth of the Australian game development industry, with CEO John De Margheriti initiating events such as the Australian Game Developers Conference
Australian Game Developers Conference
The Australian Game Developers Conference is owned by the Academy of Interactive Entertainment Limited and was run by Interactive Entertainment Events , a subsidiary of AIE Ltd....
(AGDC) and founding the Academy of Interactive Entertainment
Academy of Interactive Entertainment
The Academy of Interactive Entertainment is an Australian video games and 3D animation school. Founded in 1996, it was one of the world's first institutions to offer qualifications in these industries. The AIE provides courses covering CGI, animation, video game asset creation and games programming...
(AIE) which have helped to lift the profile and create a pool of talent for the industry in Australia.
Micro Forté Studios is now primarily a developer of MMO
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
games and virtual world
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
content.
History
Micro Forté’s first title developed for 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...
and released in 1986 was the Americas Cup Sailing Simulation for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
platform. Their second title also developed for Electronic Arts, Demon Stalkers
Demon Stalkers
Demon Stalkers is a top-down action game released in 1987 on the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS, based on exploring a series of dungeon mazes and killing monsters during the descent...
was well received following its release in 1987. The sequel Fire King was published by SSG Strategic Studies Group
Strategic Studies Group
Strategic Studies Group, commonly known as SSG, is an Australian software development company that makes primarily strategy wargames.The company was founded by strategy game enthusiasts Ian Trout and Roger Keating. Ian was proprietor of a military books store and Roger had had several of his games...
in 1989.
For a number of years the company pursued other activities outside the arena of game development, returning in 1994 to game development creating two children’s titles Nordice and Bombs Away.
Micro Forté then developed titles for other international publishers including Enemy Infestation (Panasonic/Ripcord), HotWheels Bash Arena (THQ), and Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (Interplay). Their most widely known title, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel was published by Interplay
Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corporation is an American video game developer and publisher, founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by Brian Fargo. The company had been a quality developer until they started publishing their own games in 1988, like Neuromancer and Battle Chess. The company was renamed...
and was a squad based tactical game based on the Fallout (video game) universe, and achieved scores between 80 and 90 from reviewers and fans alike. .
Development of BigWorld Technology
In 1994 when Micro Forté returned to game development, the company began work on Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) technology. The research and development work was supported with a grant from the Australian Government and venture capital received through Allen & Buckeridge.Micro Forté spent a number of years concentrating their efforts on developing a technology capable of supporting multiple platforms with more players able to participate in limitless worlds and in the same space. The culmination of years of research and development resulted in BigWorld Technology, which is now a separate commercial company, and provides game developers a cost effective, stable and complete middleware solution to develop MMOG and virtual worlds.
The BigWorld company was formed in 1999 and the BigWorld Technology Suite was commercialised and launched in 2002. BigWorld is now one of the leading middleware solutions available for developers of online games.
Awards
The company has been awarded with a number of game and business related awards:- Finalist 2007 Australian Technology Showcase Patrons Awards
- Finalist 2006 Secrets of Australian IT Innovation competition (Arts and Entertainment category)
- Winner 2005 ACT Chief Minister's Export Award (Art and Entertainment)
- National Winner 2003 Telstra and Australian Government Small Business Awards (Panasonic Australia Business Award Category)
- Territory Winner 2003 Telstra and ACT Government Small Business Awards (Panasonic Australia Business Award Category)
- National Finalist 2003 Austrade Australian Export Award (Arts and Entertainment) for the outstanding export achievement in the field of fine arts, performing arts, electronic and on-line entertainment
- Winner 2003 Secrets of Australian IT Innovation competition (Arts and Entertainment category)
- Winner 2003 ACT Chief Minister's Export Award (Arts and Entertainment Category)
- Australian Winner of The 2002 Asia Pacific ICT Award (APICTA) (Creative Digital Industries category) for its BigWorld Technology
- Winner 2002 ACT Chief Minister's Export Award (Arts and Entertainment Category)
- National Finalist 2002 Austrade Australian Export Award (Arts and Entertainment) for the outstanding export achievement in the field of fine arts, performing arts, electronic and on-line entertainment
- 2002 Australian Game Developers Conference Award for Best Level Design, HotWheels Bash Arena.
- 2002 Australian Game Developers Conference Award for Outstanding Innovation, Micro Forte BigWorld Technology.
- Territory Winner and National Finalist 2001 Telstra & Australian Capital Territory Government Small Business Awards (Cisco Systems Innovation Category)
Games and Development Projects
- America's Cup Challenge (C-64, Amstrad, Electronic Arts)
- Demon StalkersDemon StalkersDemon Stalkers is a top-down action game released in 1987 on the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS, based on exploring a series of dungeon mazes and killing monsters during the descent...
(C-64, PC, Electronic Arts) - FireKingFire King (video game)Fire King is a computer game developed by Strategic Studies Group and distributed by Electronic Arts in 1988 for the Commodore 64/128 and PC. It was sequel to another game of the same style titled "Demon Stalkers: The Raid on Doomfane"...
(C-64, PC, SSG) - Nordice (PC game, Emu Multimedia)
- Bombs Away (PC game, Emu Multimedia)
- Enemy Infestation (PC game, Panasonic/Ripcord)
- Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel (PC game, Interplay)
- Hotwheels: Bash Arena (PC game, THQ)
- Citizen Zero (Xbox MMO for Microsoft, Unpublished)
- Super Spy Online (PC MMO prototype)