Panther Games

Last updated

Panther Games Pty Ltd
Company type Proprietary company
Industry Video games
Founded1985
FounderDavid O'Connor
Headquarters Canberra, Australia
Key people
David O'Connor, President
Paul Scobell, UI Developer
Products Trial of Strength
Fire Brigade
Airborne Assault: Conquest of the Aegean
Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge
Website www.panthergames.com

Panther Games Pty Ltd (Panther Games) is an Australian games developer, best known for the WWII Airborne Assault and Command Ops PC video game series. Panther Games specialises in developing operational level wargames for the PC Wargame market.

Contents

History

Panther Games was founded in 1985 [1] by David O’Connor in Canberra, Australia.

In the early years Panther Games initially focused on developing and producing board games and released three titles in the mid 80’s, Trial of Strength , Shanghai Trader and Warlords . [2] [3] [4]

However, the company shifted their focus to developing computer games in the late 1980s with the release of their first computer wargame, Fire Brigade , in 1988 on Mac, DOS, Atari and Amiga. [5] Fire Brigade currently forms part of the historical collection of software; hardwere; trade and promotional materials that document the history of Apple Inc. and its contributions to the computer industry and society. This collection is currently housed at Museum Victoria, Melbourne. [6]

Following the success of Fire Brigade, Panther Games took a step into the mainstream games market with the releases of sci-fi adventure Alien Drug Lords and puzzle challenge game Cubit in 1991. [7] [8]

In 1996 Panther Games decided to return to its wargame roots and instigated development of a new real-time computer game engine for a novel operational wargame series to be called Airborne Assault (AA).The use of a real-time engine without a hexagon grid for a wargame was novel as traditional computer wargames run on a turn-based system where there are dedicated phases for planning, movement and engagement. The AA engine (later rebranded Command Ops) allowed for planning, movement and engagement to be played in continues time and the hexagon grid was no longer needed to determine movement capabilities of units. [9] Panther Games' AA game engine and the associated AI capabilities has notably been referenced in publications by Peter Perla at Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), Michael Peck at Defence News and the Digital Humanities at King's College London. [10] [11] [12] [13]

The first title to be produced in the series was Airborne Assault: Red Devils over Arnhem (RDOA) and was released in 2002 through wargame publisher battlefront.com. [14] However, in Europe, Panther Games used a different publisher, CDV Software Entertainment AG, and the title for the game was simply Airborne Assault. [15]

The second and third instalments of the AA series were released through a new publisher, Matrix Games, with Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich (HTTR) coming out in 2003 and Airborne Assault: Conquest of the Aegean (COTA) in 2006. [16] [17]

In 2010, Panther Games rebranded their long running games series to Command Ops and released their latest title, Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge (BFTB). [18]

In 2012, the first official expansion pack Panther Games has ever released came out titled, Command Ops: Highway to the Reich. This is an expansion pack for BFTB and covers content from the original two AA games. [19]

18 October 2014, Panther Games in conjunction with Lock 'n Load publishing jointly announce Panther Games' move to Lock 'n Load publishing following the split between Panther games and Matrix Games. Following the announcement it was revealed Panther Games through Lock n' Load would be re-releasing Panther Games' successful 1985 board game Trial of Strength with a new edition. it would be the first time the board game has been re-released since its initial release in 1985. In addition, it was revealed Panther Games' new game engine, Command Ops 2, would be released through the publisher along with all subsequent data packs for the engine. This represented a new method of content delivery for the company. [20] [21]

June 2015, Command Ops 2 goes public beta and the "Commander Pack" consisting of all five modular data packs for Command Ops 2 goes on sale 16 June 2015.

Professional services to the military

Parallel to its commercial wargame development, Panther Games also provides professional services to the military. Simulation Australia (part of the Australian Department of innovation, Industry, Science and Research) describe Panther Games' professional services capabilities to include wargame design and development; artificial intelligence; user interface; programming; scenario development (including for JSAF); Puckstering (for JSAF) and a wide range of Analysis. [22]

In 2007, Panther Games was a team partner along with Booz Allen Hamilton, Ball Solutions, CAE and Calytrix Technology in the successful Joint Decision Support and Simulations Centre (JDSSC) project for the Australian Department of Defence. [23]

In 2009, Panther Games became an associate member of the joint Defence-Industry initiative, Rapid Prototyping, Development and Evaluation Program (RPDE). [24]

In October 2010, Panther Games began a four-month scoping study for the Australian Defence Simulation Office (ADSO) to determine the Defence requirements for a course of action analyser simulation tool.

Games

Board Games

Computer Games

Related Research Articles

Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) was a video game developer and publisher with over 100 titles to its credit from its founding in 1979 to its dissolution in 1994. The company was especially noted for its numerous wargames, its official computer game adaptations of Dungeons & Dragons, and for the groundbreaking Panzer General series.

<i>Steel Panthers</i> Video game series

Steel Panthers is a series of computer wargames, developed and published by several different companies, with various games simulating war battles from 1930 to 2025. The first Steel Panthers game was released in 1995, and the most recent update was released in 2018 and is still updated regularly (yearly).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Grigsby</span>

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."

Matrix Games is a publisher of PC games, specifically strategy games and wargames. It is based in Ohio, US, and Surrey, UK.

Turn-based tactics (TBT) is a video game genre of strategy video games. They are turn-based simulations of operational warfare and military tactics in generally small-scale confrontations as opposed to more strategic considerations of turn-based strategy (TBS) games. Turn-based tactical gameplay is characterized by the expectation of players to complete their tasks using only the combat forces provided to them in a generally realistic manner.

Panzer Command is the name of a board wargame released by Victory Games in 1984. The game is a tactical level game depicting armoured operations south of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–43.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer wargame</span> Wargame played on a computer or other digital device

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.

<i>Gary Grigsbys Pacific War</i> 1992 video game

Gary Grigsby's Pacific War is a 1992 strategy wargame released by Strategic Simulations, Inc. It covers World War II in the Pacific between the Japanese Empire and the Allies, which include the United States, the British Empire, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Philippines, and China. The main map of the game stretches from north of the Aleutians to southern New Zealand and Australia, and from the eastern coast of India to the West Coast of North America. It includes aircraft carrier operations, amphibious assaults, surface bombardments/engagements, strategic bombing, kamikazes, and the submarine war against naval and merchant shipping.

<i>Strategic Command</i> (video game series) Video game series

Strategic Command is a series of computer video games developed by Fury Software and Battlefront.com, and published by Excalibur Publishing. Since the premiere of the first game in the series, Strategic Command: European Theater in 2002, eight further new titles and six expansion packs have been released, with the ninth game released in 2022, Strategic Command: American Civil War, being the most recent one. Including re-releases, expansions, and the 2019 bundle Strategic Command: Complete, 22 different titles are included in the series.

<i>Highway to the Reich</i> Board wargame

Highway to the Reich is a grand tactical monster board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the World War II Allied operation known as Operation Market Garden.

<i>Fire-Brigade: The Battle for Kiev - 1943</i> 1988 video game

Fire-Brigade: The Battle for Kiev - 1943 is a computer wargame developed and published by Panther Games in Australia in 1988. The game is set around the historical WWII Eastern Front Battle of Kiev in 1943.

<i>Command Ops: Battles from the Bulge</i> 2010 video game

Command Ops: Battle from the Bulge is a strategic command level computer wargame developed and by Panther Games in Australia and published by Matrix Games in 2010. The game is set around the historical WWII Western Front German offensive and Allied counter-offensive of 1944-45 launched through the Ardennes mountain region of Belgium, France and Luxembourg.

<i>Steel Panthers</i> (video game) 1995 video game

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.

<i>Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich</i> 2003 video game

Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich is a video game released in 2003.

<i>Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles</i> 1996 video game

Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles is a 1996 computer wargame developed and published by Strategic Simulations. It is the sequel to Steel Panthers and the second entry in the Steel Panthers series. The game was designed by Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors.

<i>Steel Panthers III: Brigade Command 1939–1999</i> 1997 video game

Steel Panthers III: Brigade Command 1939–1999 is a 1997 computer wargame developed and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. It is the third game in the Steel Panthers series, following Steel Panthers (1995) and Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles (1996). Like its predecessors, it was designed by Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors.

<i>Battle of Britain</i> (1999 video game) 1999 video game

Battle of Britain is a 1999 computer wargame developed and published by TalonSoft. It was designed by Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors.

<i>Descent on Crete</i> Board wargame published in 1978

Descent on Crete is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1978 that simulates the German airborne invasion of Crete during World War II. A game with two large maps, hundreds of counters, and complex rules, Descent on Crete initially sold well, but sales rapidly declined.

References

  1. ↑ "Moby Games: Panther Games Pty Ltd profile". MobyGames . Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "Board Game Geek: Trial of Strength". BoardGameGeek . Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Board Game Geek: Shanghai Trader". BoardGameGeek . Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "Board Game Geek: Warlords China in Disarray 1916-1950". BoardGameGeek . Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  5. ↑ "Moby Games: Fire Brigade the battle for Kiev 1943". MobyGames . Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  6. ↑ Reg. No: HT 13672 "Apple Macintosh Software Game - 'Fire Brigade The Battle for Kiev 1943', 3½" Floppy Disk, 1989". Museum Victoria. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "Hall of Light - The database of Amiga Games: Alien Drug Lords: The Chyropian Connection" . Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "Hall of Light - The database of Amiga Games: Cubit" . Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  9. ↑ Thompson, John (5 March 2012). "THE GAME & THE THREE T's: TRAVEL, TIME AND TRICKLE-DOWN". The Wargamer . Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  10. ↑ Perla, Peter P. & Markowitz, Michael C. (January, 2009) "Wargaming Strategic Linkage" (PDF). Center for Naval Analyses. pp. 93–94. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  11. ↑ Peck, Michael (10 August 2010) "Battle smarts: Top-notch AI puts command sim ahead of the pack". Defencenews.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  12. ↑ Peck, Michael (21 June 2012) "Game Review: 'Highway to the Reich'". Defencenews.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  13. ↑ Sabin, Philip (2010) "Wargames in a Digital Age". Digital Humanities at King's College London . Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "Gamespot AU: Airborne Assault Red Devils over Arnhem". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  15. ↑ "Moby Games: CDV cover art for Airborne Assault". MobyGames . Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  16. ↑ "Allgame: Airborne Assault Highway to the Reich". Allgame . Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "Matrix Games: Airborne Assault Conquest of the Aegean". Matrix Games . Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  18. ↑ Peckham, Matt (1 June 2010). "Why PC Wargame Battles From The Bulge Costs So Much". PC World . Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  19. ↑ "Matrix Games: Command Ops Highway to the Reich". Matrix Games . Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  20. ↑ "Welcome Panther Games". Lock 'n Load. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  21. ↑ "Breaking News: Panther Games signs with LNLP". Grogheads. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  22. ↑ "Panther Games". simulationaustralia.org.au. 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  23. ↑ "Calytrix Teams on JDSSC". Calytrix Technologies. 22 March 2007. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  24. ↑ "RPDE Participants". RPDE. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.