ClockStone Software
Encyclopedia
ClockStone Software is an Austrian
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 video game developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...

 founded in 2006. They specialize in the independent development
Independent video game development
Independent video game development is the process of creating video games without the financial support of a video game publisher. While large firms can create independent games, they are usually designed by an individual or a small team of as many as ten people, depending on the complexity of the...

 of video games and 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...

 multimedia applications.

ClockStone Software is currently licensed to produce games for PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

 (Microsoft Windows XP/Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...

/7), Microsoft XBox 360, and Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

/DSi
Nintendo DSi
The is a handheld game system created by Nintendo and launched in 2008 and 2009 in Japan, North America, PAL territories, and other regions. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony's PlayStation Portable...

. They also offer services in 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...

 animation production, as well as interactive 3D applications for purposes such as virtual inspections of buildings, 3D presentations of products or services, and the demonstration of complex processes for training lessons.

Games

ClockStone started its game production with the action RPG title Avencast: Rise of the Mage
Avencast: Rise of the Mage
Avencast: Rise of the Mage is an action role-playing game for Microsoft Windows developed by ClockStone Software and published by Lighthouse Interactive . The game heavily borrows elements of beat 'em ups. This is apparent from the ability to cast spells by rapidly combining movement inputs with...

(PC), which was released by the Dutch publishing company Lighthouse Interactive
Lighthouse Interactive
SilverBirch, Inc. was a video game publisher located in the Netherlands and was Acquired by Lighthouse Interactive in 2008. The company "Lighthouse interactive" had offices in Toronto and Montreal, Canada, Haarlem, The Netherlands and London, England....

 in 2007. The title received on average a decent feedback from the gaming press: 68 out of 100 on metacritic and 69,25% on Gamerankings. The next major PC title was GREED: Black Border, a sci-fi themed hack’n’slay developed for the German publisher Headup Games in 2009.

Beside their boxed retail versions, both Avencast and GREED became available on the digital distribution platform Steam
Steam
Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...

 in 2010, with the publisher being Canada-based Meridian4.

Since 2009, Clockstone has also developed a number of hunting games for laser shooting systems on the PC, among them Small Game Hunting, Boar Hunting, Dove Hunting, Duck Hunting, and Dangerous Safari.

In 2008, ClockStone developed Super Fun Chess, a chess game offering a single player, multiplayer, and tournament mode, for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

 together with Russian developer Elephant Games, published by Manchester-based White Park Bay Software. The game uses the chess program Crafty
Crafty
Crafty is a chess program written by UAB professor Dr. Robert Hyatt. It is directly derived from Cray Blitz, winner of the 1983 and 1986 World Computer Chess Championships....

 written by professor Dr. Robert Hyatt
Robert Hyatt
Dr. Robert Hyatt is an Associate Professor of Computer science at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences . He is the author of the computer chess program Crafty and the co-author of Cray Blitz, a two-time winner of the World Computer Chess...

. The title was first released in France under its French title Télé7 Jeux Echecs in 2008. The international multi-language version was released in 2009.

PC

  • Avencast: Rise of the Mage
    Avencast: Rise of the Mage
    Avencast: Rise of the Mage is an action role-playing game for Microsoft Windows developed by ClockStone Software and published by Lighthouse Interactive . The game heavily borrows elements of beat 'em ups. This is apparent from the ability to cast spells by rapidly combining movement inputs with...

    (2007/2008)
  • Cross Board Soccer (2008)
  • GREED - Black Border (2009)
  • Small Game Hunting (2009)
  • Boar Hunting (2009)
  • Dangerous Safari (2010)
  • Bubble Ball for AppUp (2010)

Game engine

ClockStone Software has developed a high performance real time 3D game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...

, AI toolkit, high performance particle engine, and a VSD level editor.

External links

  • ClockStone company profile from MobyGames
    MobyGames
    -Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...

  • ClockStone website - Official website
  • Avencast website - Official Avencast: Rise of the Mage website
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