| Type | Limited liability company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer software Interactive entertainment |
| Founded | Eugene, Oregon, U.S. (2000) |
| Founder(s) | Jeff Tunnell Tim Gift Rick Overman Mark Frohnmayer |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Eric Preisz (CEO) |
| Products | Torque 3D Torque 2D iTorque 2D Torque X |
| Website | www.garagegames.com |
GarageGames is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, where it was moved after being acquired by IAC in 2007. As the makers of Torque game development technology, they have provided cross-platform technology and tools since 2000. The Torque Game Engine was the original technology behind the Tribes series of games, and has been used since to develop countless games on Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, including GarageGames' own Marble Blast Ultra which is a best-selling hit on Xbox Live Arcade.[1] GarageGames was re-named InstantAction after its acquisition. However, GarageGames recently returned to their roots in the independent games arena with new management and a refocused and streamlined product base. The original company name, GarageGames, has returned, replacing the names InstantAction and Torque Powered.[2]
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GarageGames released the Torque Game Engine in 2001. The engine was used to create the hit Tribes game series, and was released at an initial price point of $100 per seat. This marked the first time a professional game engine used in AAA retail 3D games could be licensed at price points affordable to small, independent game developers. Later, the company expanded it's product lines with additional tools, and more advanced engines, while introducing tiered licensing at price points ranging from $100 to $1500 per seat. In 2006, the company announced it's developer community had surpassed 100,000 users. In 2005, the company also introduced Enterprise licenses for large companies and educational institutions available for annual fees ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, gaining more than 200 educational institution licensees. The company further expanded into launching several of its own games, including Marble Blast Ultra, a hit on Xbox Live Arcade.
In 2007, the company was acquired by Barry Diller and Interactive Corporation (NASD: IAC) and re-named InstantAction.[3]
GarageGames was founded in Eugene, OR by four industry veterans: Jeff Tunnell, Tim Gift, Rick Overman, and Mark Frohnmayer. The founders literally worked in their garage on severance checks and released Torque Game Engine in August 2001. The name GarageGames is intentionally similar to the term "garage band", and is meant to evoke a similar concept in game development. The stated goal of GarageGames is to offer licensing of game engines and publishing to virtually anyone, in contrast to leaving would-be game makers at the mercy of large publishers driven by sales in the retail channel. To that end, in 2007, GarageGames also announced the development of a new game platform called InstantAction at InstantAction.com.[4]
On July 15, 2009, it was announced that Louis Castle, notable for his Command & Conquer series, would become the new CEO of GarageGames after its former CEO stepped down.[5] The company headquarters were subsequently moved to Las Vegas with some employees relocating to Portland, OR. Shortly after the move, the "GarageGames" brand was retired entirely.
On November 11, 2010 it was announced that IAC was shutting down InstantAction, and the intellectual property for the Torque game engine would be sold off.[6] On January 20, 2011, it was announced that the Torque engine and GarageGames brand had been bought, and the company was re-launched, as GarageGames once again, with new CEO Eric Preisz. They have moved to a new office in Las Vegas, Nevada.[7]
GarageGames originally offered the Torque Game Engine for sale in 2000. Eschewing industry standards for game engine licensing, they offered the technology under a per-seat "Indie" license for a much cheaper price than available alternatives.[8] The Indie licensing model (available to individuals and companies with less than $250,000 in annual revenues) and the price endure today. GarageGames also offers "Commercial" licensing options to companies with more than $250,000 in annual revenues. Estimates based on the size of the GarageGames community (200,000+) put the number of Torque licensees in the 100,000 range.
Torque 3D
Torque 2D
iTorque 2D
Torque X
Torque Game Builder (TGB)
Torque Game Engine (TGE)
Torque Game Engine Advanced (TGEA)
Torque for Wii
Torque 360
Torque Networking Library (open source)
Torque is primarily a game development technology. Various versions of the engine have been used to develop more than 200 published games.[9] It has been licensed by Electronic Arts, NC Soft, Sony, Disney, Vivendi Universal, Hasbro, and many other game teams and publishers and its officially supported middleware for Microsoft and Nintendo. Minions of Mirth and Dreamlords are successful Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) implementations. Games like Think Tanks, Marble Blast Ultra, Screwjumper and others are more core, or action-oriented.
Torque is also a solution for non-game applications like Serious Games and virtual worlds. It's been licensed by NASA, L3, Lockheed Martin and it has been used successfully for dozens of virtual worlds applications like Onverse[10] and by IBM for internal and external training simulations.[11] Torque is currently used for education in more than 200 schools and universities worldwide.[12]
Originally released in 2002, the cross-platform game Marble Blast was created with Torque Game Engine and has been published on Shockwave.com, Yahoo Games and Real Arcade. Marble Blast Gold is available on GarageGames' website and Marble Blast Ultra is currently an Arcade Hit title on Xbox LIVE Arcade.[1]
GarageGames acquired Bravetree Studios, the original developers of the Think Tanks series of games in 2005.[13] Think Tanks was featured on Xbox LIVE Arcade and currently sells on GarageGames' website.
Released in March 2008, Z.A.P., also known as Zero All Productivity, was developed in collaboration between GarageGames and Bad Habit Software, a newly formed game studio composed of games industry veterans who have worked on console and PC titles including Syphon Filter, Warhawk, Ratchet & Clank, and Tribes. In Z.A.P. each player pilots a spaceship through a top-down maze while trying to achieve certain objectives, usually some combination of shooting down other players and securing flags. Modes include Capture the Flag, Hunters, Zone Control, Retrieve, and Z.A.P. Match.
Based on its free source predecessor: Zap! (also released by Garage Games).
Another freesource spin off, Bitfighter, was also released by independent developer Chris Eykamp in 2007.[14] This game uses several of the same elements of the original Zap! game.
Legions is GarageGames' spiritual successor to the popular Tribes series of games originally developed by Dynamix. The game was put into open beta in 2008 on InstantAction. The game is now out of beta, and was handed over to the community after IAC shutdown InstantAction. The Legions: Overdrive open beta has been released for testing.
Rokkitball is a futuristic team-based game that's best described as basketball with rocket launchers and magno-beams. Launched in April 2008 with support for up to eight players, Rokkitball puts players on an ultramodern playfield with multiple goals. The tactics reward a combination of precision fire and team positioning to disrupt the enemy and control the field. The game is no longer available since InstantAction was shutdown.
Rack'em Up Roadtrip is a 2D pool game commissioned by Oberon Media and developed by GarageGames.
Chain Reaction is a game developed by Monster Studios and GarageGames that features gameplay similar to The Incredible Machine.
Early in the company's history, GarageGames offered publishing terms to independent developers for distribution through its website game store that appealed to many small and independent game studios. To date GarageGames has published more than 50 titles in their game store. GarageGames has also self-published a number of titles on console platforms.
With the 2007 majority investment from IAC, GarageGames announced the development of a new online gaming platform called InstantAction. The platform offered console quality games in a streaming play experience inside a web browser. InstantAction.com launched with a closed beta in January 2008. On February 2008, the beta became invitation based. On March 6, 2008, InstantAction.com went into full open beta. The site featured a total of 8 games, 4 of which are from independent developers (Galcon, Lore: Aftermath, Ace of Aces, and ZAP!) and the remaining 4 are first party games (Fallen Empire: Legions, Rokkitball, Marble Blast Online, and ThinkTanks).
In March 2010, it was announced that InstantAction would also become a digital distributor and had developed a way to bring any game to the browser, and embed them on any website.[15] On April 29, 2010, InstantAction released The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, while the rest of the site, specifically the games they hosted, remained offline.[16]
On November 11, 2010, InstantAction announced that they would be shutting down, along with all of their games. However Torquepowered.com (garagegames.com) would continue to operate while InstantAction explored opportunities with potential buyers for Torque. They were eventually bought by Graham Software Development in January 2011, and renamed back to GarageGames.
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