This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(April 2017) |
Industry | Video game industry |
---|---|
Founder | Ian Trout and Roger Keating |
Headquarters | Australia |
Products | Strategy wargames |
Website | ssg.com.au |
Strategic Studies Group (SSG) is an Australian software development company that makes primarily strategy wargames.
The company was founded by strategy game enthusiasts Ian Trout and Roger Keating. [1] Trout was proprietor of a military books store and Keating had had several of his games published by Strategic Simulations. The game that launched the company was Reach for the Stars (1983). It is credited for having "effectively launched the genre of 4-X space games - explore, expand, exploit, exterminate". Its success was followed by a string of other, mostly historical military games published throughout the 1980s for Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, and IBM PC compatibles.
SSG games include Reach for the Stars , Battlefront , Battles in Normandy, Halls of Montezuma: A Battle History of the U.S. Marine Corps , Europe Ablaze, MacArthur's War: Battles for Korea , Carriers at War , (in three volumes), Rommel, Gold of the Americas , and Decisive Battles of the American Civil War (in three volumes, with the first being Bull Run to Chancellorsville ). Several of these titles were also released for 16-bit platforms including the Amiga, Atari ST, Apple IIGS and Macintosh during the late 1980s.[ citation needed ]
For a time SSG published a tie-in magazine, Run 5, that included articles on historical background to the games, game design, game play and data for setting up new or variant scenarios. Subscribers received a disk with the scenario files already created. Published mostly quarterly it ran for 25 issues.[ citation needed ]
In 1989, SSG published Fire King an action role-playing game developed by Micro Forté, another Australian games developer.[ citation needed ]
SSG also produced the Warlords series of fantasy turn-based games. In a mutually friendly decision in 2003, Warlords designer Steve Fawkner broke away from Strategic Studies Group and started Infinite Interactive to publish further Warlords games.[ citation needed ]
Co-founder Ian Trout died of cancer on 3 August 2011, which left Roger Keating as CEO of the company.[ citation needed ]
On 19 and 20 June 2014 Roger Keating and Gregor Whiley of SSG attended the Born Digital and Cultural Heritage Conference in Melbourne. Two academic papers were presented at the conference, outlining the contribution of SSG to video gaming history in Australia. Helen Stuckey examined the contribution of the Run 5 magazine to the gaming community, while Dr Fiona Chatteur outlined the development of computer graphics through the lens of Strategic Studies Group.[ citation needed ]
Warlords is an out-of-print multi-player fantasy collectible card game published in September 1997 by Iron Crown Enterprises. It is based on material from the video game Warlords III, for which Iron Crown licensed the intellectual property from Strategic Studies Group (SSG). It was designed by a team with Ian Trout of SSG. The 351-card set was sold in starter decks of 60 cards and booster packs of 12 cards. Each of the eight different starter decks consisted of a fixed number of cards related to one of the factions, with the remainder of the cards randomly included from the set of non-faciton cards.
Defender of the Crown is a strategy video game designed by Kellyn Beeck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games.
Warlords is a video game series created by Steve Fawkner, in which role-playing elements are combined with turn-based strategy in a fantasy setting. The series began with Warlords in 1990 and includes three other games, two expansion packs, and several spinoffs.
Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress, released on August 24, 1982, for the Apple II, is the second role-playing video game in the Ultima series, and the second installment in Ultima's "Age of Darkness" trilogy.
Roadwar 2000 is a 1986 video game published by Strategic Simulations It is a turn-based strategy game set in a post-apocalyptic future that resembles the world portrayed in the Mad Max films.
Reach for the Stars is a science fiction strategy video game. It is the earliest known commercially published example of the 4X genre. It was written by Roger Keating and Ian Trout of SSG of Australia and published in 1983 for the Commodore 64 and then the Apple II in 1985. Versions for Mac OS, Amiga, Apple IIGS, and DOS were released in 1988.
Empire is a 1977 turn-based wargame with simple rules. The game was conceived by Walter Bright starting in 1971, based on various war films and board games, notably Battle of Britain and Risk. The game was ported to many platforms in the 1970s and 1980s. Several commercial versions were also released such as Empire: Wargame of the Century, often adding basic graphics to the originally text-based user interface.
Legionnaire is a computer wargame for Atari 8-bit computers created by Chris Crawford released through Avalon Hill in 1982. Recreating Julius Caesar's campaigns in a semi-historical setting, the player takes command of the Roman legions in real-time battles against the barbarians.
Steve Fawkner is an Australian video game designer, programmer, and composer. He created the Warlords game series, first released in 1989, and the Puzzle Quest series which began in 2007. He has been regarded as one of the most prolific and talented game designers in the industry.
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.
Warlords II is computer wargame released in 1993, and the second release in the Warlords video game series.
Decisive Battles of the American Civil War Volume 1: Bull Run to Chancellorsville is a computer wargame developed by Roger Keating and Ian Trout. It was published by Strategic Studies Group in 1988 for the Commodore 64 and Apple II, then in 1990 for MS-DOS. Two further games in the series were released: Volume 2: Gaines Mill to Chattanooga and Volume 3: Wilderness to Nashville.
Roger Keating is an Australian computer game designer. Along with Ian Trout, Keating co-founded of the video game company Strategic Studies Group, which is known for its strategic war and fantasy games with artificial intelligence. Keating and Trout worked together on the majority of SSG titles.
Roadwar Europa is a video game designed by Jeffrey Johnson, developed by George MacDonald, and published in 1987 by Strategic Simulations. The game was released for Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. It is a sequel to the 1986 video game Roadwar 2000 also published by Strategic Simulations.
Champion of the Raj is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Level 9 Computing and published by Personal Software Services. It was released exclusively in the United Kingdom for the Amiga, Atari ST, and IBM PC compatibles in 1991. It is the thirteenth and final instalment in the Strategic Wargames series. The game revolves around European imperialism and colonialism in India. Six factions–British, French, Mogul, Sikhs, Gurkhas, and Marathas–fight to gain overall control of India.
Battlefront is a computer wargame developed and published by Strategic Studies Group for the Apple II and Commodore 64 in 1986. The game is a turn-based strategy set in World War II.
Chronicles of Osgorth: The Shattered Alliance is a computer wargame published in 1981 by Strategic Simulations for the Apple II and Atari 8-bit computers. Programmed by John Lyon, it relies on a new game engine, called RapidFire, intended to make faster and easier access to wargames published by the studio. During a turn, the program selects the units each in turn and the player only has to order them to move, attack or cast a spell. The order is then executed immediately before the program selects another unit. The game offers two categories of scenarios. The first is composed of medieval-fantasy confrontation, including a free adaptation of the Battle of Gondor against the Mordor forces in the Lord of the Rings. The second is composed of historical battles of antiquity.
The Battle of Shiloh is a 1981 computer wargame published by Strategic Simulations. It is one of the first Civil War strategy computer games, and was the first Strategic Simulations game available on the TRS-80. Intended as an introductory war game, it was available on the Commodore 64, Apple II, and Atari 8-bit computers, TRS-80, and IBM PC, and was originally developed by David Landry and Chuck Kroegel through their studio "Tactical Design Group".
Decisive Battles of WWII: The Ardennes Offensive is a 1997 computer wargame developed by Strategic Studies Group (SSG) and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Threshold is a space-themed fixed shooter written by Warren Schwader and Ken Williams for the Apple II and published by On-Line Systems in 1981. Inspired by Sega's Astro Blaster arcade video game, Threshold introduces many enemy ship types and wave formations as the game progresses. Reviewers found the variety distinguished the game from the many similar shoot 'em ups.