Rockstar Vancouver is a video game studio located in downtown
VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
,
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
. Rockstar Vancouver released
BullyBully, also known as Canis Canem Edit outside of North America for the PAL PlayStation 2 version, is a third person action-adventure video game released by Rockstar Vancouver for the PlayStation 2 on 17 October 2006 in North America, and 25 October 2006 in the United Kingdom. An Xbox version was...
, a controversial title exclusively for the
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The PS2 console is the sequel to the original PlayStation console. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game...
on October 17, 2006.
Rockstar Vancouver employs 75 people and develops action titles exclusively for
Rockstar GamesRockstar Games is a video game developer and publisher owned by Take-Two Interactive. The brand is mostly known for the Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne and Midnight Club series. It comprises studios that have been acquired and renamed as well as others that have been created internally...
.
It is currently working on
Max Payne 3Max Payne 3 is an upcoming third-person shooter video game developed by Rockstar Vancouver and published by Rockstar Games for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This is the first game in the series not to be developed by Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment and not being written...
, the sequel to
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max PayneMax Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a third-person shooter video game developed by the Finnish Remedy Entertainment and produced by 3D Realms. The game is a direct sequel to Max Payne and is followed by Max Payne 3. It was released by Rockstar Games for Windows on October 15, 2003, for Xbox on...
.
Barking Dog Studios founded in May 1998 by Brian Thalken and several former employees of
Radical EntertainmentRadical Entertainment is a video game developer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1991 and previously developed games for game publishers such as THQ, Microsoft and Fox Interactive...
.
Rockstar Vancouver is a video game studio located in downtown
VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
,
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the 15th largest metropolitan region in Canada...
. Rockstar Vancouver released
BullyBully, also known as Canis Canem Edit outside of North America for the PAL PlayStation 2 version, is a third person action-adventure video game released by Rockstar Vancouver for the PlayStation 2 on 17 October 2006 in North America, and 25 October 2006 in the United Kingdom. An Xbox version was...
, a controversial title exclusively for the
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The PS2 console is the sequel to the original PlayStation console. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game...
on October 17, 2006.
Rockstar Vancouver employs 75 people and develops action titles exclusively for
Rockstar GamesRockstar Games is a video game developer and publisher owned by Take-Two Interactive. The brand is mostly known for the Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne and Midnight Club series. It comprises studios that have been acquired and renamed as well as others that have been created internally...
.
It is currently working on
Max Payne 3Max Payne 3 is an upcoming third-person shooter video game developed by Rockstar Vancouver and published by Rockstar Games for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This is the first game in the series not to be developed by Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment and not being written...
, the sequel to
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max PayneMax Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a third-person shooter video game developed by the Finnish Remedy Entertainment and produced by 3D Realms. The game is a direct sequel to Max Payne and is followed by Max Payne 3. It was released by Rockstar Games for Windows on October 15, 2003, for Xbox on...
.
History
Barking Dog Studios founded in May 1998 by Brian Thalken and several former employees of
Radical EntertainmentRadical Entertainment is a video game developer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1991 and previously developed games for game publishers such as THQ, Microsoft and Fox Interactive...
. Barking Dog, with publishing assistance by Sierra Studios, moved on to produce a sequel to the 1999
PC MagazinePC Magazine is an online computer magazine that was published monthly in the United States both in print and online until January 2009. In November 2008 it was announced that the of the magazine would be discontinued, but there would still be an online version. The magazine is published by Ziff...
Game of the Year
HomeworldHomeworld is a real-time strategy computer game released on September 28, 1999, developed by Relic Entertainment and published by Sierra Entertainment. It is best known for its full three-dimensional movement, engrossing storyline and unique soundtrack...
entitled
Homeworld: CataclysmHomeworld: Cataclysm was originally developed in 2000 as an expansion of Homeworld, but was released as a stand-alone game. It was produced by Sierra Entertainment, as was the original, but it was developed by Barking Dog Studios.-Gameplay:...
.
Homeworld had been developed by
Relic EntertainmentRelic Entertainment is a Canadian game development company that specializes in 3D real-time strategy games and has released a number of innovative PC games.-History:...
but Sierra chose instead to use Barking Dog to develop the game.
Barking Dog was also retained by Valve Software to develop the Beta-5 version beta of the popular
first-person shooterFirst-person shooter is a video game genre which centers the gameplay around gun- and projectile weapon-based combat through the first person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits...
Counter-StrikeCounter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
. Their legacy can be seen on the
Counter-StrikeCounter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
map
de_train where their cartoon dog logo can be seen on the side of a railcar.
Barking Dog also produced other games such as
Global OperationsGlobal Operations is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Barking Dog Studios and published by both Crave Entertainment and Electronic Arts....
, and
Treasure Planet: Battle at ProcyonTreasure Planet: Battle at Procyon is a PC game that involves strategy and naval battle. It follows five years after the film, Treasure Planet...
. They were acquired by
Rockstar GamesRockstar Games is a video game developer and publisher owned by Take-Two Interactive. The brand is mostly known for the Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne and Midnight Club series. It comprises studios that have been acquired and renamed as well as others that have been created internally...
in August 2002, and became known as
Rockstar Vancouver.
Many Barking Dog employees later split off to form their own companies, such as
Slant Six GamesSlant Six Games is a video game developer founded in 2005. The company's name is derived from the 1959 Plymouth engine of the same name. Slant Six Games' studio is based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and is the developer to take over for Zipper Interactive in the SOCOM: U.S...
, Hellbent Games,
Kerberos ProductionsKerberos Productions Inc. is a third-party video game developer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company was formed in 2003 by former employees of Barking Dog Studios/Rockstar Games....
and
Ironclad GamesIronclad Games is a Canadian PC game developer. The company was founded in 2003 by former employees of Barking Dog Studios/Rockstar Games. Ironclad is located in Burnaby, British Columbia.-Titles:...
.
Games
as Barking Dog Studios
Homeworld: CataclysmHomeworld: Cataclysm was originally developed in 2000 as an expansion of Homeworld, but was released as a stand-alone game. It was produced by Sierra Entertainment, as was the original, but it was developed by Barking Dog Studios.-Gameplay:...
(1998) (PC)
Counter-StrikeCounter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
(2000) (PC) (Various Maps) (with Valve Software)
Global OperationsGlobal Operations is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Barking Dog Studios and published by both Crave Entertainment and Electronic Arts....
(2002) (PC)
Treasure Planet: Battle at ProcyonTreasure Planet: Battle at Procyon is a PC game that involves strategy and naval battle. It follows five years after the film, Treasure Planet...
(2002) (PC)
as Rockstar Vancouver
- Bully (video game)
Bully, also known as Canis Canem Edit outside of North America for the PAL PlayStation 2 version, is a third person action-adventure video game released by Rockstar Vancouver for the PlayStation 2 on 17 October 2006 in North America, and 25 October 2006 in the United Kingdom. An Xbox version was...
(2006) (PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony. The PS2 console is the sequel to the original PlayStation console. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation series of video game...
)
- Bully: Scholarship Edition
Bully, also known as Canis Canem Edit outside of North America for the PAL PlayStation 2 version, is a third person action-adventure video game released by Rockstar Vancouver for the PlayStation 2 on 17 October 2006 in North America, and 25 October 2006 in the United Kingdom. An Xbox version was...
(2008) (Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles....
, PC, WiiThe is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of both...
) (with Rockstar New England and Rockstar TorontoRockstar Toronto is an in-house game development team for Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive, located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, a town located approximately twenty minutes west of Toronto...
)
- Max Payne 3
Max Payne 3 is an upcoming third-person shooter video game developed by Rockstar Vancouver and published by Rockstar Games for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This is the first game in the series not to be developed by Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment and not being written...
(2010) (Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles....
, PlayStation 3The PlayStation 3 is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series...
, PC)
External links