Joel Billings | |
|---|---|
 Billings at the 1982 West Coast Computer Faire | |
| Occupation(s) | Video game designer, producer |
| Organization | Strategic Simulations |
| Known for | Computer Bismarck |
Joel Billings is an American video game designer and producer. He is the founder of the computer game company Strategic Simulations (SSI). [1] He was also the company's president. [2]
Joel Billings wanted to work with Avalon Hill to publish his computer wargame Computer Bismarck but they turned him down, so instead he decided to found a new company and publish the game himself. [3] Billings started SSI in 1979 just after finishing college, with a $1000 initial investment. The first product was Computer Bismarck, which he co-wrote. Designed for the TRS-80 and Apple II home computers, it is viewed as the first computer war game ever published. It sold 7000 copies, considered reasonably successful for its time. [2] [4] The company was an industry leader for years in war games and role-playing video games.
In 1987 Billings acquired the rights to the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games from TSR,[ citation needed ] which led to the creation of the Gold Box D&D game series, one of the best selling video game franchises of the 1980s and 1990s.
After a year of losses tied to delays in the new Dark Sun game engine, Billings sold the company to Mindscape in 1994.[ citation needed ]
In 2001 Billings started a game development company called 2 By 3 Games with former SSI game programmers Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors.[ citation needed ]
In December 2013, Billings donated several SSI video games, such as Computer Bismarck, including the source code, for preservation to the ICHEG. [5] [6]
Pool of Radiance is a role-playing video game developed and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc (SSI) in 1988. It was the first adaptation of TSR's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) fantasy role-playing game for home computers, becoming the first episode in a four-part series of D&D computer adventure games. The other games in the "Gold Box" series used the game engine pioneered in Pool of Radiance, as did later D&D titles such as the Neverwinter Nights online game. Pool of Radiance takes place in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting, with the action centered in and around the port city of Phlan.
Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) was a video game developer and publisher of over 100 games from its founding in 1979 to its dissolution in 1994. The company focused on computer wargames then later added role-playing video games. SSI published the Panzer General series and the official video game adaptations of Dungeons & Dragons.
Gold Box is a series of role-playing video games produced by Strategic Simulations from 1988 to 1992. The company acquired a license to produce games based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game from TSR, Inc. These games shared a common game engine that came to be known as the "Gold Box Engine" after the gold-colored boxes in which most games of the series were sold.
Gary Grigsby is a designer and programmer of computer wargames. In 1997, he was described as "one of the founding fathers of strategy war games for the PC." Computer Games Magazine later dubbed him "as much of an institution in his niche of computer gaming as Sid Meier, Will Wright, or John Carmack are in theirs."
Chuck Kroegel is an American video game designer. He was an executive for many years with Strategic Simulations (SSI), and played a role in developing their position as an industry leader in war games and role-playing video games. His career in the video game industry now spans over 30 years.
War of the Lance is a strategy game developed by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1989, based on the Advanced Dungeons & DragonsDragonlance campaign setting. The gameplay is based on the War of the Lance in the Dragonlance series.
Computer Bismarck is a computer wargame developed and published by Strategic Simulations (SSI) in 1980. The game is based on the last battle of the battleship Bismarck, in which British Armed Forces pursue the German Bismarck in 1941. It is SSI's first game, and features turn-based gameplay and two-dimensional graphics.
A computer wargame is a wargame played on a digital device. Descended from board wargaming, it simulates military conflict at the tactical, operational or strategic level. Computer wargames are both sold commercially for recreational use and, in some cases, used for military purposes.
Bismarck is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1962 that simulates the hunt for the Bismarck.
Dark Sun Online: Crimson Sands was an early massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that was developed and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1996 for Windows 95. Dark Sun Online was based on the licensed Dark Sun campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game. It was one of the first fully graphical MMORPGs.
Menzoberranzan is a 1994 role-playing video game created by Strategic Simulations (SSI) and DreamForge Intertainment. Menzoberranzan uses the game engine that was used previously in SSI's Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession (1994), and is set in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
The International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) collects, studies, and interprets video games, other electronic games, and related materials and the ways in which electronic games are changing how people play, learn, and connect with each other, including across boundaries of culture and geography. Located at The Strong in Rochester, New York, United States, it houses one of the world's largest, most comprehensive collections of electronic game platforms, games, and related materials, with more than 37,000 items.
Steel Panthers is a 1995 computer wargame developed and published by Strategic Simulations. Designed by Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors, it simulates ground warfare during World War II, across the Western Front, Eastern Front and Pacific Theatre.
Torpedo Fire is a turn-based submarine warfare game written by John Lyon for the Apple II and published by Strategic Simulations in 1981.
Guadalcanal Campaign is a 1982 computer wargame developed by Gary Grigsby and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI). It was Grigsby's first released game and has been cited as the first monster wargame made for computers.
Panzer-Jagd is computer wargame published in 1983 by The Avalon Hill Game Company for the Atari 8-bit computers and Commodore 64.
Battle Group is a 1986 computer wargame designed by Gary Grigsby and published by Strategic Simulations. It is a follow-up to Grigsby's earlier Kampfgruppe.
War in the Pacific: The Struggle Against Japan 1941–1945 is a 2004 computer wargame developed by 2 by 3 Games and published by Matrix Games. Designed by Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors, it is the successor to Gary Grigsby's Pacific War (1992) and Uncommon Valor: Campaign for the South Pacific (2002).
Uncommon Valor: Campaign for the South Pacific is a 2002 computer wargame developed by 2 by 3 Games and published by Matrix Games. Designed by Gary Grigsby, it is a successor to Gary Grigsby's Pacific War and a precursor to War in the Pacific.
Carrier Strike: South Pacific 1942-44 is a 1992 computer wargame designed by Gary Grigsby and published by Strategic Simulations Inc. It is a successor to Grigsby's earlier title Carrier Force.
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