Cyclone Studios
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Computer and video games |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | San Mateo, California |
Key people |
Helmut Kobler |
| Parent | The 3DO Company |
Cyclone Studios was an American video game developer and publisher based in the San Mateo, California.It developed several titles for the 3DO Console and later PC.[1]
Early Works
Cyclone Studios was founded in December 1993 by Helmut Kobler and Ron Little. After securing a contract with 3DO to develop Captain Quazar, a cartoony isometric Shooter for 3DO's home console, they moved from Little's apartment to Redwood City, California in June 1994. At the time they started another 3DO title called BattleSport, a First-Person 3D Game. In spring of 1995 Cyclone moved to Menlo Park, California. BattleSport was released in late 1995 and Captain Quazar in early 1996. Both of the Cyclone's first games had poor sales.[1]
Cyclone as a division of the 3DO Company
Due to low sales of their first games, the company was acquired by The 3DO Company in December 1995 and moved to San Mateo, California. Kobler was assigned as the leader of the division and Little was chosen to be the tech leader. Cyclone begun developing games as a division of 3DO on the PC.[1]
Uprising
Uprising was a hybrid first person action/strategy game. It was shipped in October 1997 and met solid critical response, but sold below expectations due primarily to the marketing challenge of clearly communicating the unique and compelling aspects the blending of the two genres. Many consumers were unsure of what the game was and pre-launch hype proved difficult to build. Two sequels were developed thanks to the game's critical success: Uprising 2: Lead and Destroy was released for PC and Uprising-X was released on the PlayStation. After the release of Uprising-X the members of Cyclone Studios were absorbed into The 3DO Company.[1]
Requiem
Requiem: Avenging Angel was a story-driven First-person shooter. It was released in April 1999 and met modest critical acclaim and poor sales.
Company's Culture
The hiring requirements for Cyclone Studios was very low, just being a life-time gamer was enough, so many hired people had little experience at game development. In addition, all the games at Cyclone Studios, except for direct sequels like Uprising 2, would be built from the ground up. Each game had its own unique code and database and no game was based on another.[1]
Games
| Game Title | Release Date | Genre | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| BattleSport[1] | 1995 | First Person 3D Tank, Sports | 3DO[1] |
| Captain Quazar[1] | 1996 | Isometric 3D Shooter | 3DO, PC |
| Uprising: Join or Die | 09/30/97[2] | hybrid first person action/strategy[1] | PC |
| Uprising-X | 11/30/98[2] | hybrid first person action/strategy[1] | PlayStation |
| Uprising 2: Lead and Destroy | 12/31/98[2] | hybrid first person action/strategy[1] | PC |
| Requiem: Avenging Angel | 03/31/99[2] | FPS[1] | PC |
| BattleSport II[3] | cancelled | First Person 3D Tank, Sports | Nintendo 64 |
| Wrath of the Fallen[4] | cancelled | Action | PC |
See also
The 3DO Company
The 3DO Console