Pistol Shrimp Games

Last updated

Pistol Shrimp Games is a video game studio created by Fred Ford, Ken Ford, Paul Reiche and Dan Gerstein after leaving Toys for Bob in 2021. [1] The company was started on April 5, 2022. [2]

Contents

History

In 2017, Fred Ford, Paul Reiche, Ken ford and Dan Gerstein decided to start developing Ghosts of the Precursors , the sequel to Star Control 2: The Ur-Quan Masters . [3] [4] Due to disagreements between the trademark owner of Star Control and the ownership of the intellectual property within the games previously sold under the trademark, game development was halted. When a settlement was reached, development continued in the fall of 2020. [5]

The main goal of the company was the creation of Free Stars: Children of Infinity , the sequel to the original Star Control series. [6] The development started in 2021, with the creation of the company. They could not use the name Star Control because the rights to the name belong to Stardock. [7]

The studio was created on April 5, 2022. [2]

In order to create awareness of the franchise's new name, Pistol Shrimp released The Ur-Quan Masters as Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters for free on Steam on February 19, 2024. [8]

Pistol Shrimp created an engine called Simple for the development of their new game, taking as basis other game engine called Godot. [9] [10]

Paul Reiche and Ken Ford left Pistol Shrimp summer 2023. [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Star Control</i> 1990 video game

Star Control: Famous Battles of the Ur-Quan Conflict, Volume IV is an action-strategy video game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. It was originally released for MS-DOS and Amiga in 1990, followed by ports for the Sega Genesis and additional platforms in 1991. The story is set during an interstellar war between two space alien factions, with humanity joining the Alliance of Free Stars to defeat the invading Ur-Quan Hierarchy. Players can choose to play as either faction, each with seven different alien starships which are used during the game's combat and strategy sections.

<i>Star Control II</i> 1992 video game

Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters is a 1992 video game, the sequel to Star Control. It was developed by Toys for Bob and originally published by Accolade in 1992 for MS-DOS. The game includes exoplanet-abundant star systems, hyperspace travel, extraterrestrial life, and interstellar diplomacy. There are 25 alien races with which communication is possible.

<i>Galactic Civilizations</i> 2003 video game

Galactic Civilizations is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Stardock and released in March 2003. The game is a remake of an OS/2 series of the same name. An expansion pack entitled Altarian Prophecy was released in 2004. A sequel, Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords, was released February 21, 2006. On May 14, 2015, Stardock released Galactic Civilizations III. On April 26, 2022, Stardock released Galactic Civilizations IV.

The Ur-Quan Masters is a 2002 open-source fangame modification, based on the action-adventure science fiction game Star Control II. The original game was released for PCs in 1992 and ported to the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer in 1994. It has been frequently mentioned among the best games of all time, with additional praise for its writing, world design, character design, and music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accolade (company)</span> American video game company

Accolade, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher based in San Jose, California. The company was founded as Accolade in 1984 by Alan Miller and Bob Whitehead, who had previously co-founded Activision in 1979. The company became known for numerous sports game series, including HardBall!, Jack Nicklaus and Test Drive.

Robert Frederick Ford is an American video game programmer. He is the son of mathematician L. R. Ford Jr. A co-founder of the video game studio Toys for Bob, he led the company from its inception until late 2020 with his co-founder Paul Reiche III. Ford is the co-creator, with Reiche III, of the Star Control universe. Ford did the programming, while Reiche was responsible for the game design and fiction. Ford was also the lead programmer on The Horde and Pandemonium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Reiche III</span> American game designer (born 1961)

Paul Reiche III is an American game designer. His career started in the pen and paper RPG industry, where he collaborated with artist Erol Otus on games such as Dungeons & Dragons and Gamma World. He then transitioned into video games, working with Jon Freeman to establish Free Fall Associates and developed titles like Mail Order Monsters, World Tour Golf, and Archon. Later, he left Free Fall to establish Toys for Bob with Fred Ford. Their first collaboration resulted in Star Control. After a successful sequel, they declined to make a third installment, instead focusing on other projects including the successful Skylanders franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4X</span> Genre of strategy-based video and board games

4X is a subgenre of strategy-based computer and board games, and includes both turn-based and real-time strategy titles. The gameplay generally involves building an empire. Emphasis is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of military and non-military routes to supremacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stardock</span> Software and video game developer

Stardock Corporation is an American software development company founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1993 as Stardock Systems. Stardock initially developed for the OS/2 platform, but was forced to switch to Microsoft Windows due to the collapse of the OS/2 software market between 1997 and 1998. The company is best known for computer programs that allow a user to modify or extend a graphical user interface as well as personal computer games, particularly strategy games such as the Galactic Civilizations series, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, Elemental: Fallen Enchantress, and Ashes of the Singularity.

Free Fall Associates was a video game developer of the 1980s and early 1990s founded in 1981 in Palo Alto, California by game designer Jon Freeman, game programmer Anne Westfall, and game designer Paul Reiche III. Westfall and Freeman are married. To start the new company, Freeman and Westfall left Epyx, the company Freeman co-founded in 1978. Free Fall Associates is best known for Archon: The Light and the Dark (1983), which was one of the first games from new publisher Electronic Arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ur-Quan</span> Antagonists in the Star Control series

The Ur-Quan are a fictional race of predatory alien caterpillars in the Star Control series of video games, created by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford. Introduced in 1990, the Ur-Quan are the primary antagonist of the first game, leading a galactic empire that seeks to enslave Earth. They reprise their role in Star Control II, which expands on their history as former slaves who since vowed to fiercely defend themselves. During the game, the Ur-Quan enter into a civil war over their ideology, giving Earth an opportunity to defeat them. In Star Control 3, which was developed by a different team, the Ur-Quan ally with Earth against a different antagonist and their role is scaled back. They appear once again in The Ur-Quan Masters, the 2002 open source remake of Star Control II.

<i>Strange Adventures in Infinite Space</i> 2002 video game

Strange Adventures In Infinite Space is a roguelike video game created by the indie developer Digital Eel and released for Windows and Mac on March 15, 2002, by boardgame developer-publisher, Cheapass Games. Releases for Pocket PC and Palm by British developer-publisher Astraware followed. In 2020, the game was updated to run on current computer operating systems of the day. It remains free to download and share.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Wardell</span> American novelist

Bradley R. Wardell is an American businessman, programmer, author and AI Engineer. He is the founder, president, and chief executive officer of Stardock, a software development and computer games company.

Toys for Bob, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Novato, California. It was founded in 1989 by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford and is best known for creating Star Control and the Skylanders franchise, as well as for working on the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro franchises.

<i>Star Control 3</i> 1996 video game

Star Control 3 is a 1996 action-adventure game developed by Legend Entertainment and published by Accolade. The third installment in the Star Control trilogy, the game was released for MS-DOS in 1996 and Mac OS in 1998. The story takes place after Star Control II, beginning with a disaster that disrupts superluminal travel through hyperspace. This leads the player to investigate a new quadrant of space, joined by allied aliens from the previous games.

<i>Sins of a Solar Empire</i> 2008 video game

Sins of a Solar Empire is a 2008 science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Ironclad Games and published by Stardock Entertainment for Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is a real-time strategy (RTS) game that incorporates some elements from 4X games; its makers describe it as "RT4X". Players are given control of a spacefaring empire in the distant future, and are tasked with conquering star systems using military, economic and diplomatic means.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godot (game engine)</span> Cross-platform, open-source game engine

Godot is a cross-platform, free and open-source game engine released under the permissive MIT license. It was initially developed by Argentine software developers Juan Linietsky and Ariel Manzur for several companies in Latin America prior to its public release in 2014. The development environment runs on many platforms, and can export to several more. It is designed to create both 2D and 3D games targeting PC, mobile, and web platforms and can also be used to develop non-game software, including editors.

<i>Star Control: Origins</i> 2018 video game

Star Control: Origins is an action-adventure game developed and published by Stardock Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, released September 20, 2018.

<i>Stardock Systems, Inc. v. Reiche</i> 2018 legal case

Stardock Systems, Inc. v. Paul Reiche III and Robert Frederick Ford, 2018 WL 7348858, is a case where the United States District Court for the Northern District of California applied American intellectual property law to the contents and sale of computer games. Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford are the makers of the critically acclaimed 1990 Star Control game series, and Stardock is the maker of the 2018 release Star Control: Origins. The lawsuit stems from a dispute over the ownership, licensing, and infringement of the Star Control intellectual property, including both trademarks and copyrights.

Free Stars: Children of Infinity is an open world space game, and the upcoming sequel to The Ur-Quan Masters. The game began development in 2021 under Pistol Shrimp, a new studio co-founded by Star Control creators Fred Ford, Paul Reiche, Ken Ford and Dan Gerstein. As the copyright holders in the original story, Reiche and Ford intend to continue the saga from the previous games' events. It is planned for release in 2025.

References

  1. Sinclair, Brendan (October 3, 2023). "Pistol Shrimp and the importance of owning what you make". Game Industry. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Gerstein, Dan (April 5, 2022). "Announcing Pistol Shrimp Games". Pistol Shrimp.
  3. Reiche, Paul. "Our Story". Pistol Shrimp Games.
  4. Wood, Austin (October 11, 2017). "25 years later, Star Control 2 is getting a direct sequel". PC Gamer.
  5. Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III (June 17, 2021). "I Seriously Considered Adding A Cow To This Image". Dogar And Kazon.
  6. Chalk, Andy (April 20, 2024). "The long-awaited sequel to The Ur-Quan Masters hits its crowdfunding target in less than four hours, and they're not kidding about that $4.4 million stretch goal". PC Gamer . Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  7. Hutchinson, Lee (June 12, 2019). "Stardock and Star Control creators settle lawsuits—with mead and honey". ArsTechnica . Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  8. McWhertor, Michael (February 12, 2024). "PC sci-fi classic Star Control returns as Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters". Polygon. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  9. Pistol Shrimp. "Simple - A downloadable game engine for Windows". itch.io . Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  10. Gerstein, Dan (September 20, 2024). "No Longer Waiting for Godot". Pistol Shrimp Games.
  11. Gerstein, Dan (Summer 2023). "Bidding Adieu to Paul and Ken". Pistol Shrimp. Retrieved April 29, 2024.