Black Isle Studios
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| Industry | Video games industry |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Orange County, California, USA |
| Key people | Feargus Urquhart |
| Products | Video games |
| Parent | Interplay Entertainment |
| Website | www.blackisle.com |
Black Isle Studios was a division of the computer and video game developer and publisher Interplay Entertainment. Black Isle Studios was a division that developed role-playing video games, and also published several games from other developers.
Black Isle was based in Orange County, California, USA.[1] The division was formed in 1996, adopting the name "Black Isle Studios" in 1998.[2] The idea for the division's name came from the Black Isle in Scotland - founder Feargus Urquhart's native country.[3] Black Isle Studios is most famous for working on the first two games in the popular and influential Fallout series as well as the critically acclaimed Planescape: Torment. They also achieved success with the Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate series of role-playing video games, though they only published the Baldur's Gate series. In 1999, IGN's RPG Vault gave it the award for a Developer Of The Year.[4]
On August 22, 2012, Interplay, after releasing MDK2 HD on Steam would revive the studio with the motto "Our goal has always been to make the world's best RPGs" and the slogan "Black Isle is Back".[5]
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History [edit]
Founding [edit]
Created in 1996 by Feargus Urquhart, the studio was named Black Isle after Urquhart's homeland. The studio, although credited for the creation of Fallout was, in fact, not responsible for the game, but rather a key portion of the original studio came from the team that made Fallout. When developing Fallout 2, the studio's first official game, several employees left Interplay to form Troika Games after they "were unable to come to an agreement with Interplay as to how [their] next team should be structured."[6] The remaining team would go on to release such critically acclaimed games as Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale and produce the critically acclaimed Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn in conjunction with BioWare.
Closure [edit]
In the years leading to the closure of Black Isle, Interplay's financial difficulties would worsen, leading for the team to cancel anticipated games as Black Isle's Torn and Stonekeep 2: Godmaker, releasing only Icewind Dale II, publishing Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader and developing Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II. On December 8, 2003, in the midst of serious financial difficulties, Interplay laid off the entire Black Isle Studios staff, which also resulted in the cancellation of Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance III and the original Fallout 3.[7]
Revival [edit]
On August 22, 2012, Interplay apparently restarted the studio, nearly nine years after its closure.[8] The new studio has been stated to be thoroughly focused on creating innovative RPGs like its predecessor.[9] Both ex-Black Isle employee Chris Avellone (Obsidian Entertainment) and former Interplay CEO Brian Fargo (inXile Entertainment) commented that they knew nothing about the reopening of the studio before the announcement.[10][11] Avellone denied any involvement of Obsidian in the revival.[12] Speculation went awry with the revival, with some speculating that Interplay had once again gotten a Dungeons & Dragons license,[13] others stating that the team would co-develop Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition with Overhaul Games and some that the team would merge with Overhaul's parent company, Beamdog. However, Overhaul was quick to deny involvement with the new Black Isle Studios.[14] Only two members from the original Black Isle team are working on the new team, Mark O'Green and Chris Taylor, who is the head of the studio (not to be confused with Chris Taylor of Gas Powered Games).[15]
The new Black Isle's first game announced is Project V13. To help get funding for the game through InvestedIn, they launched a crowd source fundraiser called the Black Isle Mayan Apocalypse Replacement program.
Games [edit]
In Development [edit]
- Project V13 (2015)
Developed [edit]
- Fallout 2 (1998)
- Planescape: Torment (1999)
- Icewind Dale (2000)
- Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (2001)
- Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter - Trials of the Luremaster (2001)
- Icewind Dale II (2002)
- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (2004)
Published [edit]
- Baldur's Gate (1998)
- Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast (1999)
- Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000)
- Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (2001)
- Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader (2003)
Compilations [edit]
Two compilations bearing their name were also released:
- Black Isle Compilation (2002)
- Black Isle Compilation Part Two (2004)
Canceled [edit]
Canceled projects include:
- Stonekeep 2: Godmaker (2001)
- Torn (2001)
- Fallout 3 (Van Buren) (2003)
- Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound (2003)
- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance III (2004)
References [edit]
- ^ "Black Isle Studios". IGN. Retrieved July 25, 2006.
- ^ Cheong, Ian. "Game Info". Lionheart Chronicles. GameSpy. Retrieved July 25, 2006.
- ^ Keefer, John (January 2001). "Black Isle Studios: We are not BioWare". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2004-12-11. Retrieved 2006-06-25.
- ^ 1999 Vault Network Awards
- ^ "Black Isle Studios". Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ^ Blancato, Joe. "The Rise and Fall of Troika". The Escapist. Retrieved March 27, 2007.
- ^ Thorsen, Tor (2003-12-08). "Interplay shuts down Black Isle Studios". GameSpot. Retrieved May 1, 2006.
- ^ "Black Isle Studios". Blackisle.com. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
- ^ Published on 23rd August 2012 by Gareth Halfacree (2012-08-23). "Interplay re-forms Black Isle Studios | bit-gamer.net". Bit-tech.net. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
- ^ Avellone, Chris (22 August 2012). "Twitter post". Twitter. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- ^ Fargo, Brian (22 August 2012). "Twitter post". Twitter. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- ^ Avellone, Chris (22 August 2012). "Twitter post". Twitter. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- ^ "Black Isle to publish new games based on clas - Video Game News, Videos and File Downloads for PC and Console Games at". Shacknews.com. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
- ^ "Baldur's Gate Devs Tease Black Isle Dream Team Collaboration". NowGamer. 2012-08-23. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
- ^ "Black Isle Studio is back". Fudzilla.com. 2012-08-24. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
External links [edit]
- Official website
- Black Isle Studios profile on MobyGames
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