3D Realms Entertainment
Overview
In 1994, Apogee Software, Ltd. created a new division, 3D Realms Entertainment, with the goal of developing innovative, interactive, immersive and of course fun 3D action games.
3D Realms' first title, Terminal Velocity (1995), developed by Dallas-area developer Terminal Reality, was an arcade-style, fast-paced fully 3D futuristic flight combat game. This was the first shareware game to get on the cover of a major gaming magazine (Computer Game Player -- now defunct).
Next came Duke Nukem 3D in early Jan. 1996 (shareware only, with the full game releases in May). Duke's third adventure (the first two were 2D platform games) rocked the gaming world as if kicked in the rear-end by Duke's mighty foot. Duke's signature phrase, "Come get some," was exactly what game players did, propelling Duke to the number one seller status for several months in a row, and number four for 1996, even though the list that ranked Duke number four didn't include the 50,000+ copies of the game 3D Realms sold directly, and which would have put Duke even higher on that list--only behind a game (Warcraft) that had a full years' sells, compared to Duke's seven months!
Financially, 3D Realms is able to self-fund internal development of entire projects. 3D Realms' goal of producing only triple-A titles means we pay a lot more attention to actual development concerns than budgets and financial matters. In fact, 3D Realms has never had a game budget -- we do not use a spreadsheet for budget planning, only expense tracking.
From the 3D Realms FAQ:
[2.1.1] What is 3D Realms' relationship with Apogee?
3D Realms and Apogee are sister companies, both divisions of Action Entertainment, Inc. Originally, Action Entertainment's next-generation of 3D games were going to be published under the Apogee name. However, in late August of 1994, 3D Realms was born, and the four next-generation 3D games that Action had under production (namely, "Shadow Warrior," "Blood," "Duke Nukem 3D," and "Ruins: Return of the Gods" [this latter was later cancelled], all of which use the "build" engine) moved under the 3D Realms label.
On 6th May 2009 it was confirmed the company had been closed down, but this was later corrected when it was announced 3D Realms would continue to exist, but with a small team. Most of the developers had been let go.
Trivia
Jan, 1996
Jan, 1996
3D Realms releases Duke Nukem 3D, which finally, for most players, displaces the long-standing DOOM as the best 3D shooter. Duke revolutionizes 3D shooters with a strong action- hero character, and a realistic, highly interactive environment. Duke is the first 3D shooter released with the same editor and utilities that were used to create the game. This is 3D Realms' first in-house game and sets the tone for what people come to expect from 3D Realms in the future.
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