ICOM Simulations, Inc.[3] (later known as Rabid Entertainment) was a software company based in Wheeling, Illinois. It is best known for creating the MacVenture series of adventure games including Shadowgate.
 | |
| Company type | Private (defunct) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | March 4, 1981[1] |
| Founder | Tod Zipnick |
| Defunct | February 14, 1998[2] |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Headquarters | Wheeling, Illinois |
Key people |
|
| Products | MacVenture Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Beavis and Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity |
Number of employees |
|
| Website | N/A |
Following the foundation in 1981 a number of game titles for the Panasonic JR-200 were produced. Later products for the Apple Macintosh included the debugger TMON and an application launching utility called OnCue.
History
editICOM Simulations was formed as TMQ Software[7] on March 4, 1981, by Tod Zipnick. With the MacVenture series, ICOM pioneered the point-and-click adventure interface and later multiplatform CD-ROM development with Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective. Zipnick died of Hodgkin's disease in 1991[8][9] just as the company was beginning to take off.
In the early-to-mid 1990s, ICOM Simulations was a major third-party developer for the TurboGrafx-16 (TG-16) platform in the US. They produced many games for the console, including the TG-16 exclusive Shadowgate sequel, Beyond Shadowgate.
The company was acquired in 1993 by Viacom New Media which closed its operations in 1997.[10] Renamed to Rabid Entertainment, VNM/ICOM was dismantled in 1998.
The rights to ICOM's game portfolio were held by the company Infinite Ventures, but they are now owned by David Marsh who obtained most of the rights in January 2012.[11] On March 5, 2012, Dave Marsh and Karl Roelofs, both former developers at ICOM Simulations, formed a new game development company called Zojoi, LLC, and have begun releasing upgraded versions of previous ICOM Simulations titles, starting with Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective for iOS Tablets.[12][13]
Games
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ Corporation File Detail Report: TMQ Software, Inc. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois Secretary of State. 1 August 1991. Incorporation Date (Domestic). File No. 52314178. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ Trademark Principal Register Rabid Entertainment. Alexandria, Virginia: United States Patent and Trademark Office. 29 March 1998. Date Abandoned. U.S. Trademark 75,172,722. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
- ^ a b c "Office Computer Games Can Be Waste of Time or Good Training". Chicago Tribune. Scripps Howard News Service. July 16, 1989. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
- ^ Writer's Digest Books (30 January 2006) [1983]. Brad M. McGehee (ed.). 1984 Programmer's Market. Writer's Digest Books. p. 184. ISBN 9780898791242. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
- ^ "Behind The Screens at ICOM Simulations". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 23. Sendai Publishing. June 1991. p. 92-94.
- ^ Adler, Darin (February 2, 2002). "Darin Adler (resume)". bentspoon.com. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
- ^ Adler, Darin. "Monologue". pp. 1986–1987: Macintosh community. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- ^ "Tod Zipnick, Innovator In Video-game Industry". July 9, 1991. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ AG Staff (June 12, 2020). "An overview of genre history, by The Art of Point-and-Click Adventure Games: Part I". Adventure Gamers. Nito Games network. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ "Viacom buys interactive video-game company". UPI. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- ^ Lucard, Alex (March 29, 2012). "Interview with David Marsh About His Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective Kickstarter Project". Diehard GameFan. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
- ^ "Zojoi FaceBook Page". Facebook. June 4, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
- ^ Goninon, Mark (August 5, 2015). "Where are they now? - ICOM Simulations". Choicest Games. Blogger. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ Trademark Principal Register Déjà Vu. Alexandria, Virginia: United States Patent and Trademark Office. 26 July 1994. First Use. U.S. Trademark 74,456,226; Registration No. 1,858,715. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ Trademark Principal Register Uninvited. Alexandria, Virginia: United States Patent and Trademark Office. 20 September 1994. First Use. U.S. Trademark 74,456,244; Registration No. 1,867,092. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ Trademark Principal Register Shadowgate. Alexandria, Virginia: United States Patent and Trademark Office. 9 February 1993. First Use. U.S. Trademark 74,317,464; Registration No. 1,768,768. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ Trademark Principal Register Shapeshifter. Alexandria, Virginia: United States Patent and Trademark Office. 2 February 1993. First Use. U.S. Trademark 74,317,474; Registration No. 1,860,448. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ Trademark Principal Register Dracula Unleashed. Alexandria, Virginia: United States Patent and Trademark Office. 27 December 1994. First Use. U.S. Trademark 74,497,207; Registration No. 1,913,485. Retrieved 2012-10-09.