Silicon Knights
Encyclopedia
Silicon Knights is a Canadian
video game developer
. Founded in 1992 by Denis Dyack
, the company is headquartered in St. Catharines, Ontario
, Dyack's hometown.
Since that time, Silicon Knights has moved from creating PC
games to console titles, such as Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
for the original PlayStation
. In 1998, Silicon Knights was signed by Nintendo
to create games exclusively for its consoles, during which time it produced Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
. Together with Nintendo, Silicon Knights worked with Konami
to create Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
. In 2004, after only two games, the company ended its contract with Nintendo. However, it remains open to the idea of developing a game for the Wii. In 2005, it partnered with publisher
Microsoft Game Studios
for the Too Human
trilogy, though Nintendo still owns stock in the company. In 2008, following the release of Too Human
, it laid off 26 employees. and in 2011, following the release of the critical failure X-Men Destiny, Silicon Knights laid off a further 45 employees despite accepting tax payer money from the Canadian government to create jobs in the Niagara region.
of Silicon Knights. He directed the production of Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem as well as Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. He has gained some notoriety by expressing controversial opinions about the role of the gaming press and about the effects of forum
culture on the video game industry.
, Silicon Knights laid off 15 employees, and has not yet come through on their commitment to hire new staff as was ear-marked to be done with the free taxpayers dollars they have received. Silicon Knights has stated pubilcally (Sic) that they refuse to hire new staff until X-Men: Destiny
reaches one million store bought copies bought at full price.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
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 1992 by Denis Dyack
Denis Dyack
Denis Dyack is the founder and president of Silicon Knights, a video game developer. He founded Silicon Knights in 1992 after publishing Cyber Empires in 1991. He has a Bachelor of Physical Education Degree from Brock University...
, the company is headquartered in St. Catharines, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Dyack's hometown.
Since that time, Silicon Knights has moved from creating 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...
games to console titles, such as Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain is a cult top-down action-adventure game developed by Silicon Knights and published by Crystal Dynamics...
for the original PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. In 1998, Silicon Knights was signed by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
to create games exclusively for its consoles, during which time it produced Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem is a psychological horror action-adventure video game released for the Nintendo GameCube. Developed by Canadian developer Silicon Knights and originally planned for the Nintendo 64, it was first released and published by Nintendo on June 24, 2002 in North America...
. Together with Nintendo, Silicon Knights worked with Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
to create Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is a stealth action video game developed by Silicon Knights and Konami that was published in for the Nintendo GameCube video game console...
. In 2004, after only two games, the company ended its contract with Nintendo. However, it remains open to the idea of developing a game for the Wii. In 2005, it partnered with publisher
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
for the Too Human
Too Human
Too Human is an action-RPG video game developed by Canadian developer Silicon Knights and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 console...
trilogy, though Nintendo still owns stock in the company. In 2008, following the release of Too Human
Too Human
Too Human is an action-RPG video game developed by Canadian developer Silicon Knights and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 console...
, it laid off 26 employees. and in 2011, following the release of the critical failure X-Men Destiny, Silicon Knights laid off a further 45 employees despite accepting tax payer money from the Canadian government to create jobs in the Niagara region.
Games developed by Silicon Knights
- Cyber EmpiresCyber EmpiresCyber Empires is a strategy/top-view fighting game produced by Silicon Knights. The game was produced in DOS, Atari ST and Amiga versions, and was originally released in March 1992. The current copyright holder was Strategic Simulations, Inc., which later became part of Ubisoft.-Gameplay:The game...
(1992) (AmigaAmigaThe Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Atari STAtari STThe Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, DOSDOSDOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
) - Fantasy EmpiresFantasy Empires (Silicon Knights)Fantasy Empires is a fantasy wargame for DOS made by Silicon Knights and published by SSI in 1993. It uses the Dungeons & Dragons license, and is set in the world of Mystara.-Gameplay:...
(1993) (DOS) - Dark LegionsDark LegionsDark Legions is a 1994 action strategy game for DOS. It was developed by Silicon Knights and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. .-Key features:Some key features of this game include:...
(1994) (DOS) - GexGex (video game)Gex received mostly positive reviews. Aggregating review website GameRankings and gave the 3DO version 79.58%, the PC version 71.00%, the Sega Saturn version 69.35% and the PlayStation version 63.33%....
(1994) (3DO3DO Interactive MultiplayerThe 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
) (enemy design and animation) - Blood Omen: Legacy of KainBlood Omen: Legacy of KainBlood Omen: Legacy of Kain is a cult top-down action-adventure game developed by Silicon Knights and published by Crystal Dynamics...
(1996) (PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
) - Eternal Darkness: Sanity's RequiemEternal Darkness: Sanity's RequiemEternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem is a psychological horror action-adventure video game released for the Nintendo GameCube. Developed by Canadian developer Silicon Knights and originally planned for the Nintendo 64, it was first released and published by Nintendo on June 24, 2002 in North America...
(2002) (GameCube) - Metal Gear Solid: The Twin SnakesMetal Gear Solid: The Twin SnakesMetal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is a stealth action video game developed by Silicon Knights and Konami that was published in for the Nintendo GameCube video game console...
(2004) (GameCube) - Too HumanToo HumanToo Human is an action-RPG video game developed by Canadian developer Silicon Knights and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 console...
(2008) (Xbox 360Xbox 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...
) - X-Men: DestinyX-Men: DestinyX-Men: Destiny is a video game based on the X-Men comic book series. It was developed by Silicon Knights and published by Activision. The game was released in North America on September 27, 2011 for the PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS consoles...
(2011) (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3PlayStation 3The 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. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. 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 the two others...
, Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe 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...
)
Denis Dyack
Denis Dyack is the presidentPresident
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of Silicon Knights. He directed the production of Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem as well as Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. He has gained some notoriety by expressing controversial opinions about the role of the gaming press and about the effects of forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
culture on the video game industry.
Provincial
In February 2008, Silicon Knights was granted $1 million by the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) through its Video Game Prototype Initiative. Using this funding, they were to create a prototype for a "third-person action/psychological thriller", to be released in 2010 for all next-gen platforms.Federal
In April 2010, it was announced that the company would receive nearly $4 million through the Canadian government's Community Adjustment Fund. The purpose of the grant was to allow the hiring of 65 new staff members, who would be working on a new game targeting multiple platforms. The game was estimated to take two to five years to complete.Provincial
In July 2011, Silicon Knights received nearly 3 million in provincial funding to improve its technology, create new products and become a self-publishing company. Denis Dyack, president of Silicon Knights, said the investment will allow the company to improve its technology, hire 80 new people while keeping 97 current jobs and allow the company to become "self sustaining." In September of 2011, after completing X-Men: DestinyX-Men: Destiny
X-Men: Destiny is a video game based on the X-Men comic book series. It was developed by Silicon Knights and published by Activision. The game was released in North America on September 27, 2011 for the PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS consoles...
, Silicon Knights laid off 15 employees, and has not yet come through on their commitment to hire new staff as was ear-marked to be done with the free taxpayers dollars they have received. Silicon Knights has stated pubilcally (Sic) that they refuse to hire new staff until X-Men: Destiny
X-Men: Destiny
X-Men: Destiny is a video game based on the X-Men comic book series. It was developed by Silicon Knights and published by Activision. The game was released in North America on September 27, 2011 for the PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS consoles...
reaches one million store bought copies bought at full price.
External links
- Silicon Knights official site
- Silicon Knights official blog
- Denis Dyack – IGN Profile
- Silicon Knights profile on 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...