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Industry | Video games (formerly) Electronics (as StarDot Technologies) |
---|---|
Founded | 1988 |
Defunct | 1997 |
Fate | reformed as StarDot Technologies |
Successor | Wisdom Tree StarDot Technologies |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Dan Lawton (founder/co-owner) [2] |
Products | Various video games for Nintendo Entertainment System IP cameras (as StarDot Technologies) |
Color Dreams (d/b/a StarDot Technologies) is an American company formerly known for developing and publishing unlicensed video games for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The company left the video game industry in the mid-1990s, shifting its focus to IP cameras and related surveillance equipment. [3] [4]
While most companies that developed NES games obtained an official license from Nintendo to produce game cartridges, Color Dreams was unusual in that it developed NES games without an official license. [5] To produce these unlicensed games, Color Dreams had to bypass the NES's "lock out" chip (the 10NES). [6] The company successfully bypassed the system, developed a game ( Baby Boomer ), and released it in 1989. Several other titles followed in 1989 and 1990, including Captain Comic , Crystal Mines , and Robodemons .
As a result of its reputation for releasing poor games, Color Dreams formed the label Bunch Games in 1990. Bunch Games was meant to be a label that Color Dreams could use to release lower quality games so that its reputation would not be damaged further. Using this label, Color Dreams published several English versions of games by Sachen. [7]
In 1991, Color Dreams formed Wisdom Tree for the purpose of releasing Christianity-themed games. The Wisdom Tree label resulted in Color Dreams' best selling titles, including Spiritual Warfare and Bible Adventures . Wisdom Tree is also noted for creating the only unlicensed SNES game to ever be released in North America, Super 3D Noah's Ark . [8] While Wisdom Tree remains active today and is still selling religious video games, Color Dreams left the video game business in 1996 to focus on digital camera development, now trading as StarDot Technologies. [2] [4] [9]
One Color Dreams project that was never released was a game based on the movie Hellraiser . [2] The game cartridge, or "Super Cartridge" as it was called at the time, contained an extra processor that modified the tiles in the cartridge RAM without alerting the NES processor. This allowed for enhanced graphic effects rarely seen on the NES, such as a fully animated background running without the lag usually found with such tricks. The extra processor also performed palette swapping between scans of the TV to give the illusion of extra color. Because of delays in production, development problems, lack of a market for unlicensed games based on horror movies, and the exorbitant amount of money it took to make each Super Cartridge, the project was eventually abandoned. [10] [11]
In August 2011, Ken Beckett, the programmer of Crystal Mines , released the source code under a custom permissive license to the public. [12] [13] Artwork is still proprietary, but can be shared for non-commercial, personal use. [14]
All games were developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System unless otherwise noted.
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania and 1993 in South America. In Japan, it is called the Super Famicom (SFC). In South Korea, it is called the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993, by Playtronic. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent cartridges for one version from being used in other versions.
The Super Game Boy is a peripheral that allows Game Boy cartridges to be played on a Super Nintendo Entertainment System console. Released in June 1994, it retailed for US$59.99 in the United States and £49.99 in the United Kingdom. In South Korea, it is called the Super Mini Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. A revised model, the Super Game Boy 2, was released in Japan in January 1998.
Super 3D Noah's Ark is a non-violent Christian first-person shooter developed and published by Wisdom Tree for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1994 and MS-DOS in 1995. Its gameplay is similar to that of Wolfenstein 3D due to Wisdom Tree's licensing of the game's engine from id Software. Wisdom Tree opted not to secure a license from Nintendo for the game's SNES release. While not illegal, it prevented the game from being sold at most video game retailers, which were under a contractual agreement with Nintendo not to sell unlicensed games for the company's consoles. As a result, the SNES release of Super 3D Noah's Ark was sold primarily via Christian bookstores.
In video game parlance, a multicart is a cartridge that contains more than one game. Typically, the separate games are available individually for purchase or were previously available individually. For this reason, collections, anthologies, and compilations are considered multicarts. The desirability of the multicart to consumers is that it provides better value, greater convenience, and more portability than the separate games would provide. The advantage to developers is that it allows two or more smaller games to be sold together for the price of one larger game, and provides an opportunity to repackage and sell older games one more time, often with little or no changes.
Wisdom Tree, Inc. is an American developer of Christian video games. It was an offshoot of Color Dreams, one of the first companies to work around Nintendo's 10NES lockout chip technology for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Color Dreams formed the Wisdom Tree subsidiary in 1990 in an effort to circumvent Nintendo's restrictions against publishers of unlicensed video games for the NES by selling their games at Christian book stores which was not subject to pressure by Nintendo.
Punch-Out!!, originally titled Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, is a 1987 boxing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Part of the Punch-Out!! series, it is an adaptation of the arcade video games Punch-Out!! (1984) and Super Punch-Out!! (1984). Differences from the arcades include the addition of undisputed world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson as the final boss. It received critical acclaim, and is retrospectively considered one of the greatest video games of all time.
In video gaming, famiclone is a term used to refer to a hardware clone of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), known in Japan as the Family Computer or Famicom. They are designed to replicate the workings of, and play games designed for, the NES and Famicom. Hundreds of unauthorized clones and unlicensed game copies have been made available since the height of the NES popularity in the late 1980s. The technology employed in such clones has evolved over the years: while the earliest clones feature a printed circuit board containing custom or third party integrated circuits (ICs), more recent (post-1996) clones utilize single-chip designs, with a custom ASIC which simulates the functionality of the original hardware, and often includes one or more on-board games. Most devices originate in China and Taiwan, and less commonly South Korea. Outside China and Taiwan, they are mostly widespread across emerging markets of developing countries.
Camerica was a Canadian video game company founded in 1988. It released various unlicensed video games and accessories for the Nintendo Entertainment System, such as the Game Genie, and was the North American publisher for British developer Codemasters.
Tengen Inc. was an American video game publisher and developer that was created by the arcade game manufacturer Atari Games for publishing computer and console games. It had a Japanese subsidiary named Tengen Ltd..
Thin Chen Enterprise, also known as Sachen, was a Taiwanese company that developed several original games for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Mega Drive, Game Boy and other early cartridge-based handheld systems such as the Watara Supervision and Mega Duck. With the exception of the latter two handhelds, all of Thin Chen's games were produced without license from the console manufacturers. The company produced at least 70 unique games for the NES and Famicom and at least 32 for the Game Boy, making it the most prolific unlicensed developer and publisher for both consoles. The company also produced its own Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clones, such as the Q-Boy. Many of its games were released in an unfinished state, and received largely negative critical response.
Home Entertainment Suppliers Pty. Ltd. is an Australian company that distributes computer games and gaming equipment. HES' offices are based in Riverwood, Sydney. HES's founder and managing director is Sebastian Giompaolo.
Christian video games are a video game genre and a form of Christian media that focus on the narrative and themes of Christian morals and Christianity. The term can also refer to Christian symbolism, mythology, media franchises, and Christian media organizations within video game culture and industry.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is an action game released in 1988 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game is based on the arcade game and film of the same name. The resulting product differed from the arcade version in several aspects, but kept the same underlying premise and style.
Silent Assault, also known as Raid, is an unlicensed game created for the NES by Joy Van and published by Color Dreams. Players control the only human who was unaffected by an alien power, as the Earth's military forces are under control from the deadly alien force.
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the Family Computer (Famicom). It was then released in American test markets on 18 October 1985 as the redesigned NES, and fully launched in the United States the following year. The NES was distributed in Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia throughout the 1980s under various names. As a third generation console, it mainly competed with Sega's Master System and the Atari 2600.
The Checking Integrated Circuit (CIC) is a lockout chip designed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) video game console in 1985; the chip is part of a system known as 10NES, in which a key is used by the lock to both check if the game is authentic, and if the game is the same region as the console.
Joshua & the Battle of Jericho is a 1992 Christian video game developed and published by Wisdom Tree. The game is themed on the Battle of Jericho described in the Book of Joshua, in which the Israelites topple the defensive wall of the city of Jericho by encircling it and blowing their trumpets.
American Game Cartridges (AGC) was an American video game developer and publisher established as a subsidiary of ShareData in 1990. Like ShareData, American Game Cartridges was headquartered in Chandler, Arizona. AGC published three video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1990.
The Nintendo Entertainment System Game Pak is the software storage medium for the Nintendo Entertainment System, part of the Nintendo's Game Pak series of ROM cartridges.
Color Dreams' games circumvent the Nintendo lockout chips and can therefore operate on the Nintendo system.