Raven Software
Encyclopedia
Raven Software is an American
video game developer
. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision
and was subsequently acquired by them. After the acquisition, much of the studio's original talent responsible for creating the Heretic and Hexen
games left to form Human Head Studios
.
Raven has a history of working with id Software
: After using id's engine
s for many of their games (from Heretic in 1994), they took over development of id's Quake franchise for Quake 4
and the new iteration of id's Wolfenstein series. A major layoff at the company occurred in August 2009 after the failure of X-Men Origins: Wolverine
and the poor performance of Wolfenstein, followed by another in October 2010 after delays with Singularity
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
and was subsequently acquired by them. After the acquisition, much of the studio's original talent responsible for creating the Heretic and Hexen
Hexen
Hexen is a first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software, published by id Software, and distributed by GT Interactive beginning on September 30, 1995. It is the sequel to 1994's Heretic, and the second game in the Serpent Riders series...
games left to form Human Head Studios
Human Head Studios
Human Head Studios is a computer game development company located in Madison, Wisconsin.It was founded in October 1997 by a group of six developers formerly from Raven Software: Chris Rhinehart, Paul MacArthur, Shane Gurno, Ben Gokey, James Sumwalt, and Ted Halsted—later joined by game producer Tim...
.
Raven has a history of working with id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
: After using id's 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...
s for many of their games (from Heretic in 1994), they took over development of id's Quake franchise for Quake 4
Quake 4
Quake 4 is the fourth title in the series of Quake first-person shooter computer games. The game was developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. Raven Software has collaborated with id Software, the creators and historical developers of preceding Quake games...
and the new iteration of id's Wolfenstein series. A major layoff at the company occurred in August 2009 after the failure of X-Men Origins: Wolverine
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (video game)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 action-adventure game loosely based on the film of the same name. The game release coincided with the release of the film on May 1, 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. The game was developed...
and the poor performance of Wolfenstein, followed by another in October 2010 after delays with Singularity
Singularity (video game)
Singularity received generally favorable reviews. On review aggregator website Metacritic, Singularity received a rating of 76 for the PC and Xbox 360 versions, and 77 for the PlayStation 3 version...
.
Games developed
- Black CryptBlack CryptBlack Crypt is a computer role-playing game. It was Raven Software's debut title, and was published by Electronic Arts in 1992. Its 3D realtime style is similar to FTL Games' popular Dungeon Master, where the player leads a party of four heroes through a large dungeon to ultimately confront and...
(1992) - ShadowcasterShadowcasterShadowCaster is a first-person/role-playing computer game from 1993 developed by Raven Software. It was released by Origin Systems after Electronic Arts acquired them...
(1993) - CyClonesCyclones (video game)CyClones is a 1994 first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. It has been called a "Doom clone"; however, unlike that game, it features a movable aiming reticle, and allows players to look up and down, and to jump....
(1994) - Heretic (1994)
- Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders (1996)
- HexenHexenHexen is a first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software, published by id Software, and distributed by GT Interactive beginning on September 30, 1995. It is the sequel to 1994's Heretic, and the second game in the Serpent Riders series...
(1995)- Deathkings of the Dark Citadel (1996)
- NecrodomeNecrodomeNecrodome is a 1996 first-person vehicular combat game developed by Raven Software and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. It supports Windows 95 Direct Play, which allows for online multiplayer matches. Reviewers decried the game's lack of originality, but offered some praise for its...
(1996) - MageslayerMageslayerMageSlayer is a computer game released in 1997. It was based on the Vampire engine, developed by Raven Software, along with Take No Prisoners. The engine provides a top-down view with 2d sprites for the character and monsters in a full 3d environment with dynamic and coloured lighting. The score...
(1997) - Take No PrisonersTake No Prisoners (video game)Take No Prisoners is a computer game released in 1997. It was based on the Vampire engine, developed by Raven Software, along with Mageslayer. The engine provides a top-down view with NPC and props being sprites. The score was composed by Kevin Schilder.- Plot :The whole game is set in San...
(1997) - Hexen IIHexen IIHexen II is a first-person shooter developed by Raven Software from 1996 to 1997, published by id Software and distributed by Activision. It was the third game in the Hexen/Heretic series, and the last in the Serpent Riders trilogy. It was made available on Steam on August 3, 2007...
(1997)- Hexen II Mission Pack: Portal of Praevus (1998)
- Heretic IIHeretic IIHeretic II is a fantasy action-adventure game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision in 1998 continuing the story of Corvus, the main character from its predecessor, Heretic....
(1998) - Soldier of Fortune (2000)
- Star Trek: Voyager – Elite ForceStar Trek: Voyager – Elite ForceStar Trek: Voyager – Elite Force is a first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was initially released on September 20, 2000 for Windows and Mac OS personal computers. Aspyr Media was responsible for porting the game to the Mac OS platform...
(2000) - Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force: Virtual Voyager (2001)
- Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi OutcastStar Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi OutcastStar Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, often abbreviated JK2 or JO, is a first- and third-person action game developed by Raven Software and published by LucasArts and Activision. The PC version was released in March and the Mac OS X, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube versions were released in November...
(2002) - Soldier of Fortune II: Double HelixSoldier of Fortune II: Double HelixSoldier of Fortune II: Double Helix is a video game created by Raven Software, a sequel to Soldier of Fortune. It was developed using the Quake III: Team Arena engine. Once again, Raven hired John Mullins to act as a consultant on the game...
(2002) - Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi AcademyStar Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi AcademyStar Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is a first and third-person shooter action game set in the Star Wars universe. It was developed by Raven Software and published, distributed and marketed by LucasArts in North America and by Activision in the rest of the world. Jedi Academy was released in...
(2003) - X-Men LegendsX-Men LegendsX-Men Legends is an action role-playing video game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. It was released on the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles in the fall of . Barking Lizards Technologies developed the N-Gage port of the game, which was released in early...
(2004) - X-Men Legends II: Rise of ApocalypseX-Men Legends II: Rise of ApocalypseX-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is an action role-playing game released in 2005 for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, N-Gage, PlayStation Portable, and GameCube video game consoles as well as the PC...
(2005) - Quake 4Quake 4Quake 4 is the fourth title in the series of Quake first-person shooter computer games. The game was developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. Raven Software has collaborated with id Software, the creators and historical developers of preceding Quake games...
(2005) - Marvel: Ultimate AllianceMarvel: Ultimate AllianceMarvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action role-playing game developed for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox and Xbox 360 by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was simultaneously ported to the PlayStation Portable and Wii by Vicarious Visions, and to Microsoft Windows by Beenox...
(2006) - X-Men Origins: WolverineX-Men Origins: Wolverine (video game)X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 action-adventure game loosely based on the film of the same name. The game release coincided with the release of the film on May 1, 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. The game was developed...
(2009) - Wolfenstein (2009)
- SingularitySingularity (video game)Singularity received generally favorable reviews. On review aggregator website Metacritic, Singularity received a rating of 76 for the PC and Xbox 360 versions, and 77 for the PlayStation 3 version...
(2010) - Call of Duty: Black OpsCall of Duty: Black OpsCall of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch, published by Activision and released worldwide on November 9, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii consoles, with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space. Announced on April 30, 2010,...
(DLC, user interface) (2010) - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games, with Raven Software having assisted in development...
(DLC, user interface) (2011) - Untitled James Bond Game (Unconfirmed)
External links
- Raven Software entry at MobyGamesMobyGames-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...