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Artifact Entertainment Purchased By Tulga Games

Posted by Zonk on from the mmog-looking-for-a-good-home dept.

Late last month, Artifact Entertainment was purchased by Tulga Games, a move ending the downward spiral of the company. Artifact was the maker of the Massively Multiplayer Game Horizons, and was the victim of a cynical financial takeover at the hands of its COO James Jones. The seminal work on this sordid tale is A Story of Artifact Entertainment, on the GameMethod site. Anyuzer.com has some interesting commentary on the purchase, relating it to the recent purchase of Asheron's Call 1 & 2 by Turbine from Microsoft. "With MMOGs that have smaller subscription numbers than was projected by the publisher, they offer the perfect opportunity for a development company to become independent."

15 comments

  1. That sucks by the+morgawr · · Score: 1, Informative

    Wow, that link explains a lot about what happened to Horizons. I feel really sorry for DA....

    --
    The policy of the United States is worse than bad---it is insane. -- Ludwig von Mises, Economic Policy(1959)
    1. Re:That sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From what i've heard, the game that David Bowman inherited had no graphics engine, and the design specs read much closer to the conventional games than most true believers realized. The old AE was excellent at fanning the fires but didn't even have a demo or actual screenshots to show for it. I didn't see how this would change. The new AE has a product (though admittedly i didn't care for the game myself).

      If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The original HZ sounded too good to be true.

  2. Yes, but..... by DeadboltX · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I followed horizons from around 2000 up until after the blackout and even tried the final product (crap) so I remember a lot of the specific instances mentioned in the article
    HOWEVER you have to remember that this article is full of quotes and memmories from DA, so of course the tune of the article is going to be in his favor.
    This is only 1 side of the story, and while I'm not trying to say it isn't true, I'm mearly saying it may not be the WHOLE story.

    1. Re:Yes, but..... by Marc_Hawke · · Score: 1

      I have to agree. The history piece about AE matches everything I saw as I followed the game for years. It matches every happening and explains many things that were quite confusing.

      However, when I first read that article, I talked to some of my contacts who were actually still working with AE, and they didn't confirm the story.

      Their rebuttals were just retellings of things they were told by James Jones and Steve Snow, but they did cast doubt upon the articles accuracy.

      If I'm allowed a person opinion, I WANT the article to be true. I WANT something completely evil and "not-normal" to blame the fall of the Original Horizons on. I still refuse to admit the original project was so completely impossible that it failed of it's own accord.

      Whether it is or not, I don't think we'll know. The most compelling and potentially 'hard' evidence from the article would be the terms on which David Bowman left Turbine. However, unless Turbine decides to flame the fires, I don't think we'll know.

      --
      --Welcome to the Realm of the Hawke--
    2. Re:Yes, but..... by Flyboy+Connor · · Score: 1
      If I'm allowed a person opinion, I WANT the article to be true. I WANT something completely evil and "not-normal" to blame the fall of the Original Horizons on.

      But what the story describes is NOT "not-normal". It is all too common in the "business world". To a geek's mind, it is incredible that a manager would destroy a product, and take down a creative mind, just to step up in the ranks. However, you must remember that people that aspire management jobs instead of creative jobs are basically only in it for personal gain, "gain" consisting mainly of money and power. I have seen enough companies inside and out to realise that those at the top did not get there on their personal merits, but only on their ability to be sleazebags. The only exception are CEOs who formed their own company and made it grow.

      If you see that, you will realise that Allen's story is entirely believable, and provides many opportunities for learning. Methinks his biggest mistake was trying to run the business-side of a company, without having the education for doing that. With the right education, he would have known the problems he could run into, and the way he could be exploited. He didn't know, which made him all the more vulnerable for exploitation. Such a man attracts vultures, and he got his share.

  3. Happening more and more by Psychochild · · Score: 2, Informative

    My own game, Meridian 59, was purchased from 3DO, the original publisher, when we started our company Near Death Studios, Inc. The game was one of the first modern online RPGs to be released in retail. It's never been as big as other online RPGs, but it's had a dedicated fanbase. We recently did an upgrade to the rendering engine, bringing the game to the world of 3D hardware acceleration.

    Another smaller game that was saved from death is The Realm. It was purchased by a number of players and is still running today.

    As I've posted before, most online games will never die. There are too many people committed to keeping them alive. It's good to see that Horizons will get a new lease on life and that the fans will continue to be able to enjoy the game.

    Have fun,

    --
    Brian "Psychochild" Green
    MMO developer's blog
    1. Re:Happening more and more by UberGeeb · · Score: 1

      Rubies of Eventide has done a similar thing. Currently they're running under a free server/donation for priviliged access model, and seem to be doing very well for themselves.

    2. Re:Happening more and more by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      rubies of eventide is simply amazing. Not only did it get resurected but theres also a huge update comeing up. Other intresting things that are firsts for mmorpgs is a developer supported game to irc relay. Cant log in to hang out with your friends thats fine have them head to birch wood inn and you log in to the irc chanel. on us.ausirc.net chan #rubies and talk to them from irc.
      One thing to remember though rubies does not allow any foul language not even wt* variants as this can lead to questions by kids who may very well be sitting on their parents laps or playing the game them self. Rubies truely is a family game.

    3. Re:Happening more and more by Trikenstein · · Score: 1

      You know, it'd be nice to play a game with no profanity or 1337 5p34k.

    4. Re:Happening more and more by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      well then id say rubies is prob the game for you. Obviously some try to get away with cussing in rubies but they dont last to long. Some try useing the leat speak bs but most tend to ignore them and they take the hint and stop.

  4. Amusing Reaction by inkdesign · · Score: 1

    "Tulga Games has made a very exciting offer to purchase the assets of Artifact Entertainment."

    When you're in bankruptcy, you'd better believe an offer is exciting!

  5. Sad story.... by ronfar · · Score: 1
    But it fits a pattern....

    Nolan Bushnell after Atari got aquired by Time/Warner, he was forced out and it was run into the ground. E. T. in landfills anyone? Atari Pacman?

    Gary Gygax was forced out of TSR, TSR goes under and gets bought by Wizards of the Coast.

    Infocom's a little different, as it was actually some of the people who founded the company who starved the games division so they could move into the high profit world of business software. Another great games company bites the dust and disappears....

    The game industry is a nasty vicious industry, full of land sharks who look at you and say, "Hi there... chum!"

    --
    All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
  6. Tulga is a shell company, this is all a sham... by Shivetya · · Score: 4, Informative

    Look into the history of this company. It was created by Chris Tulamello who formally worked for AE. Chris is also the sole member of Tulga games. They did not even have a web presences until days after the announcement.

    Chris Tulamello and Steve Favorito are members of a corporation, 67TH AVENUE HOLDINGS, incorporated on 6/09/2004

    David Bowman, Steve Favorito, and Rick Simmons are members of a corporation, ARIZONA ONLINE GAMES, incorporated on 6/10/2004.

    All of this points to a shell game. AE will be liqudated as well all of its unsecured outstanding debt. The "so called" secured investors will agree to this transfer, which by the way keeps David Bowman and crew intact and in charge of Horizons", because it keeps them from losing their investment. The intellectual property is protected!

    Another way to look at it. They used other companies to finance their way to a low population but stable income model. The people getting the short end are the companies which provide services. Technically legal but totally unethical. I really don't know what is worse, the actions of these guys or the fanbois of the game cheering them on, justifying anything for their selfish enjoyment.

    A copy of their current bankruptcy documents is available here for the time being (zipped PDF assembled by someone else)

    http://www.archonon.com/artifact.zip

    5mb, mirror if you would.

    --
    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
    1. Re:Tulga is a shell company, this is all a sham... by Marc_Hawke · · Score: 1

      This certainly falls into place with all the underhanded dealings described in the history article.

      It all sounds technically legal, but ethically questionable.

      Except for there is not a chance they will, (and people will say it's not technically possible) they should release the 'server tech' under some open license that will allow people to run private shards. That would be the 'nice' thing to do. :)

      --
      --Welcome to the Realm of the Hawke--
  7. Another Point by Kyrthira · · Score: 1

    Doesn't help that Atari shoved the release date forward by about a year, either.

    --
    ~Kyrthira Phelan~