Stellar Stone
Encyclopedia
Stellar Stone was a video game developer
founded in 2000 and based in Santa Monica
, California
. The company published their first game, Taxi Racer, in 2000, but were best-known for developing Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
, a 2003 video game considered to be one of the worst games ever made.
Stellar Stone was founded in Santa Monica
, California
, in 2000. The company was headquartered in the city, with management offices in Los Angeles
and London
. The company's developers were stationed in Russia
and Ukraine
. This allowed Stellar Stone to produce games at the cheap price of at least $US
15,000, compared to costs three to five times higher in price with other European or United States-based developers.
Stellar Stone's first title, Taxi Racer, released exclusively in Europe in 2001, was published by European company Best Buys Interactive; the game's engine
was developed by Sergey Titov of TS Group Entertainment, who developed his engine for Stellar Stone in exchange for a substansial portion of the company.
The company ceased business in 2006. Their Internet domain, Stellarstone.com, appears to no longer be active, and is now commercially cybersquatted
.
Although the domain Stellarstone.com is closed, fans of the company and Stellar Stone's infamous Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
video game have made a site with the domain Stellarstone.org. The site is a blogspot site and has a web forum and IRC chat network. Even though this site is not official, some people are taking it seriously by leaving hostile comments in the sites blog posts.
. These games were all produced by the US-based company GameMill Publishing
, with the exception of Taxi Racer, which was produced by Best Buys Interactive. All of the games developed by the company used the proprietary game engine
Eternity, developed by company co-owner Sergey Titov of TS Group Entertainment. Their best-known release was the infamous Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
, which received overwhelmingly negative review scores for being "blatantly unfinished in nearly every way". The game was a pre-alpha release and, despite Stellar Stone's release of a patch, is still considered to be of very poor quality.
is dead, and games like this are starting to prove that."
The game has been consistently listed among the worst video games of all-time by GameSpot
, Metacritic
, and GameRankings. Despite poor reception, sales for the company have been moderate; Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing sold approximately 20,000 copies, while Gettysburg: Civil War Battles and Ultimate Civil War Battles: Robert E. Lee vs. Ulysses S. Grant, combined, sold over 100,000 copies in the United States.
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...
founded in 2000 and based in Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The company published their first game, Taxi Racer, in 2000, but were best-known for developing Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing is a 2003 third-person racing video game developed by Stellar Stone and published by Activision Value for Microsoft Windows PC systems; in 2004, GameMill Publishing was instead chosen to distribute copies of the title...
, a 2003 video game considered to be one of the worst games ever made.
History
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in 2000. The company was headquartered in the city, with management offices in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The company's developers were stationed in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. This allowed Stellar Stone to produce games at the cheap price of at least $US
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
15,000, compared to costs three to five times higher in price with other European or United States-based developers.
Stellar Stone's first title, Taxi Racer, released exclusively in Europe in 2001, was published by European company Best Buys Interactive; the game's engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
was developed by Sergey Titov of TS Group Entertainment, who developed his engine for Stellar Stone in exchange for a substansial portion of the company.
The company ceased business in 2006. Their Internet domain, Stellarstone.com, appears to no longer be active, and is now commercially cybersquatted
Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting , according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else...
.
Although the domain Stellarstone.com is closed, fans of the company and Stellar Stone's infamous Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing is a 2003 third-person racing video game developed by Stellar Stone and published by Activision Value for Microsoft Windows PC systems; in 2004, GameMill Publishing was instead chosen to distribute copies of the title...
video game have made a site with the domain Stellarstone.org. The site is a blogspot site and has a web forum and IRC chat network. Even though this site is not official, some people are taking it seriously by leaving hostile comments in the sites blog posts.
Games
Stellar Stone developed a total of eight known games, including three games based on the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. These games were all produced by the US-based company GameMill Publishing
GameMill Publishing
GameMill Publishing is a publisher of games aimed at children and "casual" audiences.GameMill Publishing publishes puzzle and casual games including the Hidden Mysteries and Lost Secrets Brands. In 2008 GameMill worked with Dairy Queen to launch a time management game "DQ Tycoon" for the PC and...
, with the exception of Taxi Racer, which was produced by Best Buys Interactive. All of the games developed by the company used the proprietary game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
Eternity, developed by company co-owner Sergey Titov of TS Group Entertainment. Their best-known release was the infamous Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing is a 2003 third-person racing video game developed by Stellar Stone and published by Activision Value for Microsoft Windows PC systems; in 2004, GameMill Publishing was instead chosen to distribute copies of the title...
, which received overwhelmingly negative review scores for being "blatantly unfinished in nearly every way". The game was a pre-alpha release and, despite Stellar Stone's release of a patch, is still considered to be of very poor quality.
Reception
Reception and critique for the company of Stellar Stone has generally been negative, mainly due to the company's release of Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing, which received almost unanimously negative reviews from critics, being named "the worst game ever made", "only good as a joke", and "completely broken and blatantly unfinished in nearly every way." Brad Hicks of SwankWorld stated, "What was Stellar Stone thinking when they gave the go ahead to release this game? Do they have any quality assurance at all? This game is an embarrassment to them, as well as the people who produced it. Their website claims to "provide our clients with best of gaming technologies and cut their development expenses, allowing them to concentrate on product rather than on technology hustles of development." Looks like nobody concentrated on the product on this go around. I don't know what kind of money there were going to lose if they gave the game more development time so they could crank out something of even middling quality. People say PC gamingPersonal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
is dead, and games like this are starting to prove that."
The game has been consistently listed among the worst video games of all-time by GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
, Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, and GameRankings. Despite poor reception, sales for the company have been moderate; Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing sold approximately 20,000 copies, while Gettysburg: Civil War Battles and Ultimate Civil War Battles: Robert E. Lee vs. Ulysses S. Grant, combined, sold over 100,000 copies in the United States.