The Learning Company (TLC) was an educational software company founded in 1980 in Palo Alto, California and headquartered in Fremont, California. The company produced a grade-based line of learning software, edutainment games, and productivity tools. Its titles included the flagship series Reader Rabbit, for preschoolers through second graders, and The ClueFinders, for more advanced students. The company was also known for publishing licensed educational titles featuring characters such as Arthur, The Powerpuff Girls, SpongeBob SquarePants or Sesame Street.
Broderbund Software, Inc. was an American maker of video games, educational software, and productivity tools. Broderbund is best known for the 8-bit video game hits Choplifter, Lode Runner, Karateka, and Prince of Persia, as well as The Print Shop—originally for printing signs and banners on dot matrix printers—and the Myst and Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, and moved to San Rafael, California, then later to Novato, California. Broderbund was purchased by SoftKey in 1998.
Riven: The Sequel to Myst is a puzzle adventure video game, the second in the Myst series of games. Developed by Cyan Worlds, it was initially published by Red Orb Entertainment, a division of Broderbund. Riven was distributed on five compact discs and released for Mac and Windows personal computers on October 31, 1997, in North America; it was later released on a single DVD-ROM in 1998. Riven was also ported to several other platforms. The story of Riven is set after the events of Myst. Having been rescued from the efforts of his sons, Atrus enlists the help of the player character to free his wife from his power-hungry father, Gehn. Riven takes place almost entirely on the Age of Riven, a world slowly falling apart due to Gehn's destructive rule.
Myst III: Exile is the third title in the Myst series of graphic adventure puzzle video games. While the preceding games in the series, Myst and Riven, were produced by Cyan Worlds and published by Broderbund, Exile was developed by Presto Studios and published by Ubi Soft. The game was released on four compact discs for both Mac OS and Microsoft Windows on May 8, 2001; versions for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 were released in late 2002. A single-disc DVD version was later released for Windows and Mac OS.
Trilobyte Games, LLC is an American video game developer based in Medford, Oregon. The company was founded in February 1991 by Graeme Devine and Rob Landeros, who had been fired from Virgin Games after pitching their idea for The 7th Guest. They developed the game as Trilobyte and followed it up with The 11th Hour. Following a string of less successful titles and cancellations, the company shut down in February 1999. In 2010, Landeros resurrected the name under Trilobyte Games.
Mindscape was a video game developer and publisher. The company was founded by Roger Buoy in October 1983 in Northbrook, Illinois, originally as part of SFN Companies until a management buyout was completed in 1987. Mindscape went public in 1988 and was acquired in 1990 by The Software Toolworks, eyeing Mindscape's Nintendo license. When Toolworks was acquired by Pearson plc in 1994, Mindscape became the primary identity for the development group. Mindscape was then sold to The Learning Company in 1998 and bought out by Jean-Pierre Nordman in 2001, becoming headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. Following the poor performance of its products, Mindscape exited the video game industry in August 2011. Notable titles released by Mindscape include the MacVenture series, Balance of Power, Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight, Legend, Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat, Warhammer: Dark Omen and Lego Island.
Pyst is an adventure computer game released in October 1996. It was created as a parody of the highly successful adventure game Myst. Pyst was written by Peter Bergman, a co-founder of the Firesign Theatre, and was published by Parroty Interactive, with Bergman, Stallone, Inc. as co-publisher. Mindscape began distributing the game on August 20, 1997. The parody features full motion video of actor John Goodman as "King Mattruss", the ruler of "Pyst Island". Versions of the game were produced for both the Windows PC and Apple Macintosh operating systems.
Myst is a franchise centered on a series of adventure video games. The first game in the series, Myst, was released in 1993 by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller and their video game company Cyan, Inc. The first sequel to Myst, Riven, was released in 1997 and was followed by three more direct sequels: Myst III: Exile in 2001, Myst IV: Revelation in 2004, and Myst V: End of Ages in 2005. A spinoff featuring a multiplayer component, Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, was released in 2003 and followed by two expansion packs.
The Journeyman Project is a series of award-winning first-person science fiction adventure games, created by Presto Studios and released by various publishers, including Bandai, Sanctuary Woods, and Red Orb Entertainment.
Prince of Persia 3D is a 1999 action-adventure game developed by Mindscape and published by Red Orb Entertainment for Microsoft Windows. A port for the Dreamcast was developed by Avalanche Software and published by Mattel Interactive in North America the following year under the title Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights. It is the first 3D installment in the Prince of Persia series, and the final game in the trilogy that started with the original 1989 game. Taking the role of the titular unnamed character rescuing his bride from a monstrous suitor's schemes, gameplay follows the Prince as he explores environments, platforming and solving puzzles while engaging in combat scenarios.
Douglas Gene Carlston is the founder and CEO of Tawala Systems based in San Rafael, California. He was previously CEO, chairman, and co-founder of Broderbund Software, a software publishing firm that produced Lode Runner, The Print Shop, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, Prince of Persia, and Myst. Broderbund was acquired in 1998 by The Learning Company for $420 million, and the combined company was sold to Mattel for $3.6 billion.
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.
The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time is a computer game developed by Presto Studios and is the second game in the Journeyman Project series of computer adventure games.
The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time is a computer game developed by Presto Studios and is a sequel to The Journeyman Project and The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time.
SoftKey International was a software company founded by Kevin O'Leary in 1986 in Toronto, Ontario. It was known as The Learning Company from 1995 to 1999 after acquiring The Learning Company and taking its name.
Prince of Persia is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. It is centered around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia.
Margaret Wallace is an American entrepreneur, gaming and media professional. In 2009, she co-founded Playmatics with Nicholas Fortugno in New York, New York. The company focuses on bringing new kinds of immersive experiences to casual gamers. In 2006, she was named one of the hundred most influential women in the game industry.
Close Combat: Battle of the Bulge, sometimes known as Close Combat IV: Battle of the Bulge, is a 1999 computer wargame developed by Atomic Games and published by Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI). A simulation of the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, it is the fourth game in the Close Combat series. A remake, Close Combat: Wacht am Rhein, was released in 2008.
Mattel Interactive was a video game publisher and software distributor.
Close Combat: Invasion: Normandy is a 2000 computer wargame developed by Atomic Games and published by Mattel Interactive for Windows. It is the fifth game in the Close Combat series. A remake, Close Combat: The Longest Day was released in 2009.
