 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2009) |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | San Mateo, California |
Key people | Helmut Kobler Ron Little |
| Parent | The 3DO Company |
Cyclone Studios was an American video game developer and publisher based in San Mateo, California. It developed several titles for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer and later Microsoft Windows.
Cyclone Studios was founded in December 1993 by Helmut Kobler and Ron Little. [1] Kobler recounted, "Ron left college about a year after I did, and we started discussing what it would be like to design a game, then just talked ourselves into believing it was possible." [1] After securing a contract with 3DO to develop Captain Quazar , a cartoony isometric Shooter for 3DO's home console, they moved from Little's apartment to Redwood City, California in June 1994. At the time they started another 3DO title called BattleSport , a first-person 3D game. In spring of 1995 Cyclone moved to Menlo Park, California. Both BattleSport and Captain Quazar were released after Cyclone's acquisition by The 3DO Company; [2] BattleSport was released in late 1995 and Captain Quazar in early 1996.
The company was acquired by The 3DO Company in December 1995 [3] [4] [5] and moved to San Mateo, California. [1] Kobler was assigned as the leader of the division and Little was chosen to be the tech leader.[ citation needed ] Cyclone began developing games as a division of The 3DO Company for the PC and Panasonic M2. [3]
Uprising is a hybrid first person action strategy game. It was shipped in October 1997 and met solid critical response, but sold below expectations due primarily to the marketing challenge of clearly communicating the unique and compelling aspects the blending of the two genres. Many consumers were unsure of what the game was and pre-launch hype proved difficult to build. Two sequels were developed thanks to the game's critical success: Uprising 2: Lead and Destroy was released for PC and Uprising-X was released on the PlayStation. After the release of Uprising-X the members of Cyclone Studios were absorbed into The 3DO Company.
The editors of Computer Games Strategy Plus named Uprising: Join or Die the best action game of 1997. [6]
The sequel, Lead and Destroy, was published in December 1998 for Windows. [7]
Requiem: Avenging Angel is a story-driven first-person shooter. It was released in April 1999 and met modest critical acclaim and poor sales.
| Game title | Release date | Genre | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| BattleSport | 1995 | Sports | 3DO |
| Captain Quazar | 1996 | Isometric 3D Shooter | 3DO, Microsoft Windows |
| Uprising: Join or Die | September 30, 1997 | Action, strategy | Microsoft Windows |
| Uprising X | November 30, 1998 | Action, strategy | PlayStation |
| Uprising 2: Lead and Destroy | December 31, 1998 | Action, strategy | Microsoft Windows |
| Requiem: Avenging Angel | March 31, 1999 | First-person shooter | Microsoft Windows |
| BattleSport II [8] | Cancelled | Sports | Nintendo 64 |
| Wrath of the Fallen [9] | Cancelled | Action | Microsoft Windows |
The 3DO Company, also known as 3DO, was an American video game company. It was founded in 1991 by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, in a partnership with seven other companies. After 3DO's flagship video game console, the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, failed in the marketplace, the company exited the hardware business and became a third-party video game developer. It went bankrupt in 2003 due to poor sales of its games. Its headquarters were in Redwood City, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Uprising: Join or Die, also known as simply Uprising, is an action real-time strategy video game by American developer Cyclone Studios, released in North America on October 14, 1997 and in Japan on July 24, 1998 for Windows. The player controls a powerful combat vehicle known as the Wraith that transports rebel units onto the battlefield, fighting against the military. For the first few months of its development, it had no script written for it and as the release date neared, gameplay videos were created to demonstrate its support for the 3dfx graphics card. It received a port to the PlayStation as Uprising X, which was released in December 1998; and before that, a sequel, Uprising 2: Lead and Destroy, was released for the PC on December 9, 1998.