In Pursuit of Greed

In Pursuit of Greed
Developer(s) Mind Shear Software, Channel 7
Publisher(s) Softdisk
Designer(s) Jeremy Stanton
Programmer(s) Robert W. Morgan III[1]
Composer(s) Andrew Sega
Engine Raven Engine (Doom pre-alpha)
Platform(s) MS-DOS
Release 1995
Genre(s) Shooter game
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

In Pursuit of Greed is a science fiction-themed first-person shooter (FPS) released in 1995 DOS video game, developed by Channel 7 and published by Softdisk.[2]

Development

The story and art were created by Jeremy Stanton from concept art by Chris Tallent, the code was written by Robert W. Morgan III. The music was composed by the computer musician Andrew Sega who gained reputation in the 1990s demoscene as Necros. The game was released and distributed by Softdisk in 1995.[3][4]

History

After the release of Ironseed Softdisk Publishing reached out to Channel 7 suggesting that they take advantage of the pre-alpha Doom code (Id's Raven engine, created for Raven Software's ShadowCaster) they had access to in order to create a shooter in the hopes of capitalizing on the popularity of Doom. Channel 7 agreed enthusiastically having the expectation they would be working on a nearly complete engine. Only after contracts were signed and development was underway was it discovered just how buggy and incomplete the codebase was. Problems with lag, jerky animation, and slow rendering plagued the project right up until an delayed release.

The game was re-released under the name Assassinators by Memorex Software in 1998.[5]

After years of non-availability the game and its source code were released as non-commercial freeware by the programmer around 2014.[6]

Reception

Reception of the game by press and gamers was mostly unimpressed to negative.[7][8][9] Some game aspects like curved surfaces, the "rear mirror" mechanic and the colorful protagonists were positively mentioned.[3] Also the soundtrack, done by Andrew Sega, was positively noted. The game was not the hoped for commercial success due to the technical problems with the unfinished engine and the competing high profile title Duke Nukem 3D, released shortly before Greed, which lead all to a cool reception from the press and the public alike.

The game was reviewed with 59/100 in the PC Gamer August 1996 issue, stating "The Doom frenzy breeds another strange offspring, where mercenary cows, lizards, and cyborgs kill for sport. It's all pretty forgettable.".[7]

References

  1. ↑ Ironseed on redshadowsoftware.com
  2. ↑ Greed: Gut Feelings, Growth, and History Wiley & Sons by A. F. Robertson "In Pursuit of Greed is a kickin' new multiplayer 3D-game from Softdisk."
  3. 1 2 The Technology Behind ID's Games on slashdot.com by Sean Clifford "Softdisk tried to produce a couple of games, one called Greed (later In Pursuit of Greed) which was basically a 3D Doom-clone shooter. There was some neat technology (e.g. curved surfaces), but the art was...uh, well weak. The gameplay was decent, but there were some bugs to stomp and the ship date slipped...and slipped...and slipped. It was released, but didn't live up to the hype. The game was torn to shreds in the reviews." (August 13, 2002)
  4. ↑ Press release by softdisk (1995)
  5. ↑ Assasinator box
  6. ↑ Greed on redshadowsoftware.com "These sources are provided for educational and historical purposes. No assets or code may be used in any way commercially. Personal and educational use only." (2014)
  7. 1 2 PC Gamer 1996-08 by T. Liam Mcdonald "The Ultimate Preview of the Year's Hottest Games: the 50 most anticipated games in the coming year" (August 1996)
  8. 1 2 In Pursuit of Greed on Home of the Underdogs
  9. 1 2 in pursuit of greed review on Old PC Gaming (October 26, 2016)
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