Team17
Encyclopedia
Team17 Software Ltd. is a video game company best known for developing the Worms series of games (initially developed by Andy Davidson), but it has made many other games, notably Superfrog
and the Alien Breed
series. Most of its early releases were on the Amiga
home computer system and featured trademark smooth scrolling, and detailed cartoonish pixel art
. However, it now develops for Windows
PCs and video game console
s.
sector of the Amiga
Market.
In 1990, it stepped out on its own. Adopting the name "Team17" (a combination of the Team surrounding 17Bit, which had named itself "Team7n" when developing "Miami Chase" for Codemasters), it developed and published Full Contact for the Amiga. Their intention to produce a quality game that was not just ports of games released for the Atari ST
- the game was quality in both gameplay and appearance and was universally praised as one of the best Beat 'Em Ups for the system. The company went on to produce many further titles, almost all of which were regarded as classics by the majority of Videogame Journalists (despite a brief disagreement with Amiga Power
). Well known Amiga titles like Alien Breed
, Assassin
, Project-X
and Body Blows
were released in the early nineties. Team17 also published titles in the UK for other developers such as AUDIOS and Eclipse UK. Almost all early titles were products of liasing with freelance developers and there were few in-house developers.
In 1995, Team17 entered into an agreement with Ocean Software
whereby Ocean would co-publish Team17's titles worldwide. The first title to be released under this agreement was Alien Breed 3D
for the Amiga and Amiga CD32
systems. The second title was Worms
, Team17's biggest success to date, and Team17's first multiple format release; The game was released in late 1995 and early 1996 for the Amiga, PC MS-DOS
, Apple Macintosh, PlayStation
, Super Nintendo
, Game Boy
, Atari Jaguar
, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega Saturn
, with a version planned for release on the Virtual Boy
, although this was cancelled following the poor release of the console in Japan
. The title outsold Fifa and Tomb Raider and despite its simplistic 2D art, became an all-formats #1 hit, winning many awards. Team17 did not produce all of the ports themselves - in fact they themselves were only responsible for the development of the Amiga, PC and PlayStation, Mac, Jaguar and Saturn versions (coincidentally, the biggest selling editions). All of the other 8/16 bit console ports were produced by East Point Software
who, in the past, have produced PC ports of Amiga titles (although the ports are usually considered to be inferior, or broken, compared to the Amiga originals).
Since the release of Worms, the franchise has gone on to be very successful, selling over 12 million units worldwide. This success contributed towards the company's decision to move away from the Amiga software market which, by 1997, had long been in a state of decline. Team17 have since focused on the PC market, releasing titles such as Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy
, Phoenix, and Addiction Pinball
, although they have also released console exclusive titles such as X2
.
In 2003, Team17 released Worms 3D
for the PC
, PlayStation 2
, Xbox
and GameCube
, the first title in the franchise that brings the game into three dimensions. While critically acclaimed the game left some fans cold, with claims that it did not match the simplicity and playability of the 2D titles. Team17 listened to their fans, and on July 29, 2005, Worms 4: Mayhem was released for PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox, featuring improved graphics and gameplay.
2006 saw the release of Worms: Open Warfare
for the Nintendo DS
, and PSP
, and a brand new PSP port of classic puzzle title Lemmings
(a game originally developed by DMA Design). Rumours of a new game in the Army Men franchise, a series of videogames originally developed by The 3DO Company
, sparked when former Team17 musician Bjørn Lynne
listed the title on his website in September 2005 on the Credits page of his website. The rumours were eventually confirmed and Army Men: Major Malfunction
was published in 2006 by Global Star
.
In 2007, Team17 released a version of Worms for Xbox Live
, which was largely a port of Worms Open Warfare with downloadable content and online play (this later made its way to the PlayStation 3's PSN in February 2009). 2007 also saw the released of Worms Open Warfare 2 on the PSP and DS. They were also shortlisted for the British developer of the year by The Golden Joystick Awards.
In 2009, Team17 released a new game in the Leisure Suit Larry
series, entitled Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust
, which was published by Codemasters
in March 2009 for PlayStation 3
, Xbox 360
and PC
. It was panned by critics for poor controls, bad graphics and art. In December, they released Alien Breed Evolution
for the Xbox Live Arcade
. It was ported the next year for PlayStation Network and the PC.
On August 26, 2010, Team17 released Worms: Reloaded
, while on September 21, 2010, Worms: Battle Islands
for Wii
and PSP
was announced with THQ
.
in addition to its own ideas. These titles have begun to be released, commencing with Lemmings for PSP, PS2 and recently the PS3 digital platform. Studio Head Martyn Brown has also recently announced that the Alien Breed IP will be returning soon in digital format on a seventh generation console platform
.
In 2009, Alien Breed Evolution
was released for Xbox 360.
In 2010, Alien Breed Impact was released for PlayStation 3 and PC (via Steam). Impact is an expanded version of Evolution
.
Team17 is still an independent games studio with around 75 staff members. This makes it one of the longest surviving independent developers, now into its year (it turned on Dec 5).
, an Amiga gaming magazine. Amiga Power had a fairness policy of giving a 50% score to an average game, instead of 73% to keep the game producers happy; a practice the magazine saw as inherently wrong. Despite giving high reviews to early titles such as Alien Breed
, Team17 viewed the certain reviewers on the magazine with disregard—a cheat code was placed into the second Alien Breed title that, if entered, would display a secret message criticising Amiga Power's reviewing policy. Computer players at the easiest difficulty setting in Arcade Pool
, F17 Challenge and Kingpin: Arcade Sports Bowling were named after various Amiga Power staff members. Amiga Power also stated that a Team17 member (and former employee of Future Publishing, the publisher of the magazine) made allegations of bribery and corruption in the French Amiga magazine Amiga Concept. No justification has been given for these actions.
In 1995, Amiga Power printed negative reviews of Kingpin and ATR - Kingpin scored 47% and ATR scored 38%. According to Amiga Power, Team17's response to this was allegedly to file a lawsuit
demanding that the magazine stop "lying about their games". Team17 argued that the writer who had reviewed Kingpin had hardly played it, and that the review for ATR had been reviewed "in a style not affording the gravity demanded by a racing game".
Team17 added their name to the list of companies who no longer sent review copies of their titles to the magazine, resulting in Amiga Power's writers having to purchase the retail copies upon release. Most titles reviewed after Kingpin received generous scores. Worms scored a mere 60%. The average mark of a Team17 game reviewed in Amiga Power was 73%.
Following these events, Team17 required that other Amiga magazines within Future Publishing
(such as Amiga Format
) sign declarations stating that they would not, under any circumstances, share their review copies with any Amiga Power staff.
Former writers of Amiga Power have stated (on their website AP2
, a follow-up of sorts to the magazine) that subsequent editors of the magazine made attempts to re-open the lines of communication with Team17, which one Editor had proven to be almost successful with until Team17's Creative Director, Martyn Brown, put his foot down. The feud continued after AP had been retired, spilling over onto Amiga Power's Usenet
group.
In February 2004, a small group of fans launched a Team17 fansite called Dream17. The company gave Dream17 permission to make their entire Amiga back-catalog of games available as free downloads in both ADF
and IPF disk image formats.
Superfrog
Superfrog is a 2D Platform game developed for the Amiga by Team17 Software in 1993, then converted for the PC by Bubball Systems in 1994. The Amiga version was popular enough to spawn an Amiga CD32 version, which could also be played on some Amiga computers fitted with a CD drive.- Story :The...
and the Alien Breed
Alien Breed
Alien Breed is the first in a series of science fiction computer games played in the form of a top-down shooter for one or two players. It was released in 1991 by Team17 for the Commodore Amiga and later in 1993 by MicroLeague for MS-DOS.-Gameplay:...
series. Most of its early releases were on the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
home computer system and featured trademark smooth scrolling, and detailed cartoonish pixel art
Pixel art
Pixel art is a form of digital art, created through the use of raster graphics software, where images are edited on the pixel level. Graphics in most old computer and video games, graphing calculator games, and many mobile phone games are mostly pixel art.- History :The term pixel art was first...
. However, it now develops for Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft 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...
PCs and video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
s.
History
Originally, a publishing company called 17-Bit Software, which grew out of the Microbyte retail chain in 1987, it specialised in cataloging, producing and publishing games for the Public DomainPublic domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
sector of the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
Market.
In 1990, it stepped out on its own. Adopting the name "Team17" (a combination of the Team surrounding 17Bit, which had named itself "Team7n" when developing "Miami Chase" for Codemasters), it developed and published Full Contact for the Amiga. Their intention to produce a quality game that was not just ports of games released for the Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
- the game was quality in both gameplay and appearance and was universally praised as one of the best Beat 'Em Ups for the system. The company went on to produce many further titles, almost all of which were regarded as classics by the majority of Videogame Journalists (despite a brief disagreement with Amiga Power
Amiga Power
Amiga Power was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996....
). Well known Amiga titles like Alien Breed
Alien Breed
Alien Breed is the first in a series of science fiction computer games played in the form of a top-down shooter for one or two players. It was released in 1991 by Team17 for the Commodore Amiga and later in 1993 by MicroLeague for MS-DOS.-Gameplay:...
, Assassin
Assassin (video game)
Assassin is a video game for the Commodore Amiga system. It was developed by Psionic Systems and published in by Team 17. The game is an action game that has platform and shoot 'em up type gameplay. Assassin was updated and re-released in as Assassin: Special Edition.-Development:Assassin was...
, Project-X
Project-X
Project-X is a scrolling shooter game for the Amiga computer released in 1992. It was also ported to DOS.Developed and published by Team17, it was regarded as one of the best shooter games for that platform at the time, both for its technical excellence in graphics and sounds, and for its difficult...
and Body Blows
Body Blows
Body Blows is an Amiga Versus fighting game game. It was released in 1993 by Team 17. The game is compatible with all Amiga systems, including the CDTV system with joystick support. It was followed by Body Blows Galactic and Ultimate Body Blows. A version for DOS was also released...
were released in the early nineties. Team17 also published titles in the UK for other developers such as AUDIOS and Eclipse UK. Almost all early titles were products of liasing with freelance developers and there were few in-house developers.
In 1995, Team17 entered into an agreement with Ocean Software
Ocean Software
The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s...
whereby Ocean would co-publish Team17's titles worldwide. The first title to be released under this agreement was Alien Breed 3D
Alien Breed 3D
Alien Breed 3D is the fourth game in Team17's Alien Breed franchise, a series of science fiction-themed shooters largely inspired by the Alien films. It was published in 1995 by Ocean Software, and is the first 3D game in the series...
for the Amiga and Amiga CD32
Amiga CD32
The Amiga CD32, styled "CD32" , was the first 32-bit CD-ROM based video game console released in western Europe, Australia, Canada and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London, United Kingdom on 16 July 1993, and was released in September of the same year...
systems. The second title was Worms
Worms (1995 video game)
Worms is an artillery video game developed by Team17 and released in . It is the first game in the Worms series of video games and was initially only available for the Amiga. Later it was ported to other platforms....
, Team17's biggest success to date, and Team17's first multiple format release; The game was released in late 1995 and early 1996 for the Amiga, PC MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
, Apple Macintosh, PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
, Atari Jaguar
Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar is a video game console that was released by Atari Corporation in 1993. It was the last to be marketed under the Atari brand until the release of the Atari Flashback in 2004. It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Panasonic...
, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
, with a version planned for release on the Virtual Boy
Virtual Boy
The was a video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was the first video game console that was supposed to be capable of displaying "true 3D graphics" out of the box. Whereas most video games use monocular cues to achieve the illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional...
, although this was cancelled following the poor release of the console in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The title outsold Fifa and Tomb Raider and despite its simplistic 2D art, became an all-formats #1 hit, winning many awards. Team17 did not produce all of the ports themselves - in fact they themselves were only responsible for the development of the Amiga, PC and PlayStation, Mac, Jaguar and Saturn versions (coincidentally, the biggest selling editions). All of the other 8/16 bit console ports were produced by East Point Software
East Point Software
East Point Software Ltd., also known as Promethean Designs Ltd., is the software development company for Aqua GT on the SEGA Dreamcast.-Games:*Adventures of Tintin, The: Prisoners of the Sun*Alien Breed: Tower Assault*Alien Breed 3D II: The Killing Grounds...
who, in the past, have produced PC ports of Amiga titles (although the ports are usually considered to be inferior, or broken, compared to the Amiga originals).
Since the release of Worms, the franchise has gone on to be very successful, selling over 12 million units worldwide. This success contributed towards the company's decision to move away from the Amiga software market which, by 1997, had long been in a state of decline. Team17 have since focused on the PC market, releasing titles such as Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy
Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy
Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy is a medium-sized cyberpunk themed adventure game from Team17 Software.-Gameplay:Nightlong is predominantly an inventory management type of game, with a few puzzles thrown in. The game has backgrounds that appear to be a mixture of texture-mapped and hand-drawn...
, Phoenix, and Addiction Pinball
Addiction Pinball
Addiction Pinball is a pinball simulation game released in 1998 for PC, featuring tables based on two popular Team 17 games - Worms and World Rally Fever. It was later ported to the PlayStation and released as Worms Pinball to capitalise on the success of the Worms franchise...
, although they have also released console exclusive titles such as X2
X2 (game)
For the film see X2 X2, sometimes known as Project X-2 is a simple arcade-style side scrolling shoot 'em up released during the Team17-Ocean collaboration era of video games that created the Worms series. It is the sequel to the Amiga 16-bit shooter Project-X. Unlike its predecessor, the game was a...
.
In 2003, Team17 released Worms 3D
Worms 3D
The game has received generally good reviews. A negative point by most reviewers was the 3D camera system, that often places behind the objects in landscape with the worm being hidden in front of those.-External links:* * ]]...
for the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, 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...
, Xbox
Xbox
The 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...
and 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...
, the first title in the franchise that brings the game into three dimensions. While critically acclaimed the game left some fans cold, with claims that it did not match the simplicity and playability of the 2D titles. Team17 listened to their fans, and on July 29, 2005, Worms 4: Mayhem was released for PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox, featuring improved graphics and gameplay.
Worms: Open Warfare
Worms: Open Warfare is a artillery game, that is a type of strategy game. It was developed by Team17 and published by THQ for the Nintendo DS and Sony's PlayStation Portable. There are several other Worms video games in the Worms series. This game marked Team 17's return to its 2D roots...
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, and PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, and a brand new PSP port of classic puzzle title Lemmings
Lemmings (video game)
Lemmings is a puzzle computer game developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis in . Originally developed for PC and Commodore Amiga, Lemmings was one of the most popular computer games of its time, and several gaming magazines gave it some of their highest review scores at the time...
(a game originally developed by DMA Design). Rumours of a new game in the Army Men franchise, a series of videogames originally developed by The 3DO Company
The 3DO Company
The 3DO Company , also known as 3DO , was a video game company...
, sparked when former Team17 musician Bjørn Lynne
Bjørn Lynne
Bjørn Arild Lynne is a Norwegian sound engineer and music composer, now living and working in Stavern, Norway. He has been widely known as a tracker music composer under the name "Dr. Awesome/Crusaders" in the late 1980s–early 90s when he released numerous tunes in MOD format and created music...
listed the title on his website in September 2005 on the Credits page of his website. The rumours were eventually confirmed and Army Men: Major Malfunction
Army Men: Major Malfunction
Army Men: Major Malfunction is a game in the Army Men franchise released by Global Star Software in 2006 for Xbox and PlayStation 2 consoles. The name Major Malfunction is derived from R. Lee Ermey's quote in Full Metal Jacket, "What is your major malfunction, numbnuts?".-Story:The main character...
was published in 2006 by Global Star
Global Star
Global Star can refer to:* Globalstar, a satellite system* Global Star Software, a video game company...
.
In 2007, Team17 released a version of Worms for Xbox Live
Worms (2007 video game)
Worms is a turn-based, artillery game developed by Team17. It is available on, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and iPhone OS platforms and is one of the many installments of the Worms series created by Team17...
, which was largely a port of Worms Open Warfare with downloadable content and online play (this later made its way to the PlayStation 3's PSN in February 2009). 2007 also saw the released of Worms Open Warfare 2 on the PSP and DS. They were also shortlisted for the British developer of the year by The Golden Joystick Awards.
In 2009, Team17 released a new game in the Leisure Suit Larry
Leisure Suit Larry
Leisure Suit Larry is a series of adventure games written by Al Lowe and published by Sierra from 1987 to 2009. The main character, whose full name is Larry Laffer, is a balding, dorky, double entendre-speaking, leisure suit-wearing "loser" in his 40s...
series, entitled Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust
Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust
Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust is a video game published by Codemasters for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows and Mobile phone which was released on 27 March, 2009. It is the first Leisure Suit Larry game to be released for seventh generation consoles. It was announced on January 17,...
, which was published by Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
in March 2009 for PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The 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...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The 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...
and PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
. It was panned by critics for poor controls, bad graphics and art. In December, they released Alien Breed Evolution
Alien Breed Evolution
Alien Breed Evolution is a video game in Team 17's Alien Breed series and the first new title in the series since 1996. It was released digitally on Xbox Live Arcade on December 16, 2009. An updated version, called Alien Breed Impact, was released on PlayStation Network and through Steam on PC on...
for the Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
. It was ported the next year for PlayStation Network and the PC.
On August 26, 2010, Team17 released Worms: Reloaded
Worms: Reloaded
Worms: Reloaded is an artillery game/turn based strategy game developed by Team17 and is part of the Worms series. It was first released on Microsoft Windows via Steam, on August 26, 2010. It was released on Mac OS X via Steam, on May 17, 2011. Gameplay is turn-based and returns to its original 2D...
, while on September 21, 2010, Worms: Battle Islands
Worms: Battle Islands
Worms: Battle Islands is an artillery turn-based strategy game developed by Team17 and part of the Worms series. It was released for the PlayStation Portable and Wii on November 23, 2010.-Gameplay:...
for 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...
and PSP
PSP
PSP most commonly refers to the PlayStation Portable, a handheld game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment.PSP may also refer to:-Computing and programming:*Corel Paint Shop Pro, a graphics editor...
was announced with THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
.
Future developments
Team17 has begun developing titles for other publishers based on non-Team17 IPIntellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
in addition to its own ideas. These titles have begun to be released, commencing with Lemmings for PSP, PS2 and recently the PS3 digital platform. Studio Head Martyn Brown has also recently announced that the Alien Breed IP will be returning soon in digital format on a seventh generation console platform
History of video game consoles (seventh generation)
In the history of video games, the seventh generation of consoles is the current generation , and includes consoles released since late by Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony...
.
In 2009, Alien Breed Evolution
Alien Breed Evolution
Alien Breed Evolution is a video game in Team 17's Alien Breed series and the first new title in the series since 1996. It was released digitally on Xbox Live Arcade on December 16, 2009. An updated version, called Alien Breed Impact, was released on PlayStation Network and through Steam on PC on...
was released for Xbox 360.
In 2010, Alien Breed Impact was released for PlayStation 3 and PC (via Steam). Impact is an expanded version of Evolution
Alien Breed Evolution
Alien Breed Evolution is a video game in Team 17's Alien Breed series and the first new title in the series since 1996. It was released digitally on Xbox Live Arcade on December 16, 2009. An updated version, called Alien Breed Impact, was released on PlayStation Network and through Steam on PC on...
.
Team17 is still an independent games studio with around 75 staff members. This makes it one of the longest surviving independent developers, now into its year (it turned on Dec 5).
Amiga Power dispute
The company had a feud with Amiga PowerAmiga Power
Amiga Power was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996....
, an Amiga gaming magazine. Amiga Power had a fairness policy of giving a 50% score to an average game, instead of 73% to keep the game producers happy; a practice the magazine saw as inherently wrong. Despite giving high reviews to early titles such as Alien Breed
Alien Breed
Alien Breed is the first in a series of science fiction computer games played in the form of a top-down shooter for one or two players. It was released in 1991 by Team17 for the Commodore Amiga and later in 1993 by MicroLeague for MS-DOS.-Gameplay:...
, Team17 viewed the certain reviewers on the magazine with disregard—a cheat code was placed into the second Alien Breed title that, if entered, would display a secret message criticising Amiga Power's reviewing policy. Computer players at the easiest difficulty setting in Arcade Pool
Arcade Pool
Arcade Pool is a pool simulation game developed and published in 1994 by Team17, initially for the Amiga home computer system. The game was later ported to the PC, and a special CD32 release soon followed....
, F17 Challenge and Kingpin: Arcade Sports Bowling were named after various Amiga Power staff members. Amiga Power also stated that a Team17 member (and former employee of Future Publishing, the publisher of the magazine) made allegations of bribery and corruption in the French Amiga magazine Amiga Concept. No justification has been given for these actions.
In 1995, Amiga Power printed negative reviews of Kingpin and ATR - Kingpin scored 47% and ATR scored 38%. According to Amiga Power, Team17's response to this was allegedly to file a lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
demanding that the magazine stop "lying about their games". Team17 argued that the writer who had reviewed Kingpin had hardly played it, and that the review for ATR had been reviewed "in a style not affording the gravity demanded by a racing game".
Team17 added their name to the list of companies who no longer sent review copies of their titles to the magazine, resulting in Amiga Power's writers having to purchase the retail copies upon release. Most titles reviewed after Kingpin received generous scores. Worms scored a mere 60%. The average mark of a Team17 game reviewed in Amiga Power was 73%.
Following these events, Team17 required that other Amiga magazines within Future Publishing
Future Publishing
Future plc is a media company; in 2006, it was the sixth-largest in the United Kingdom. It publishes more than 150 magazines in fields such as video games, technology, automotive, cycling, films and photography. Future is the official magazine company of all three major games console manufacturers...
(such as Amiga Format
Amiga Format
Amiga Format was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future Publishing. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ACE to EMAP, Future split the dual-format title ST/Amiga Format into two separate publications...
) sign declarations stating that they would not, under any circumstances, share their review copies with any Amiga Power staff.
Former writers of Amiga Power have stated (on their website AP2
AP2
aP2 is a carrier protein for fatty acids that is primarily expressed in adipocytes and macrophages. aP2 is also called fatty acid binding protein 4 . Blocking this protein either through genetic engineering or drugs has the possibility of treating heart disease, diabetes, asthma, obesity, and...
, a follow-up of sorts to the magazine) that subsequent editors of the magazine made attempts to re-open the lines of communication with Team17, which one Editor had proven to be almost successful with until Team17's Creative Director, Martyn Brown, put his foot down. The feud continued after AP had been retired, spilling over onto Amiga Power's Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
group.
Fandom
As a result of the Worms franchise as well as their Amiga titles, Team17 has a modest fanbase. Many of these fans congregate on the company's official forum.In February 2004, a small group of fans launched a Team17 fansite called Dream17. The company gave Dream17 permission to make their entire Amiga back-catalog of games available as free downloads in both ADF
Amiga Disk File
Amiga Disk File aka ADF is a file format used by Amiga computers and emulators to store images of disks. It has been around almost as long as the Amiga itself, although it was not initially called by any particular name. Before it was known as ADF, it was used in commercial game production, backup...
and IPF disk image formats.
External links
- Official Team17 website
- Team17 profile 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...
- Interview with Team17 co-founder Martyn Brown regarding the early Amiga years.
- Dream17 - A Team17 fan site with information and Amiga games free to download.