Indie Built

Access Software / Indie Built
Subsidiary
Industry Computer and video game industry
Fate Closed
Founded 1982
Defunct 2006
Headquarters Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Key people
Bruce Carver, Chris Jones
Products Video games
Parent Microsoft Game Studios (1999-2004)
Take-Two Interactive (2004-2006)

Indie Built, Inc. was a Salt Lake City, Utah based video game developer founded in 1982 by Bruce Carver as Access Software.[1]

History

After buying a Commodore 64 in 1982, Bruce Carver wrote a sprite editor called "Spritemaster" which became commercially successful. He next wrote an arcade game, Neutral Zone, and formed Access Software. The company developed the RealSound audio technology,[2] the Links computer golf series, and the Tex Murphy detective games.

In 1987, Access announced The Robotic Workshop, a toy kit that allowed users to build and program robots using a home computer. The kit was a precursor to the much more popular Lego Mindstorms kits released in the late 1990s. The Robotic Workshop included over 50 Capsela parts, including two motors, gears, wheels, and sensors.

Access Software was acquired by Microsoft in 1999,[3] became part of Microsoft Game Studios and was renamed to "Salt Lake Games Studio". In 2003 it was renamed again to "Indie Games".

In October 2004, Microsoft sold the development studio to Take-Two Interactive and it took on the name Indie Built.[4] They became part of Take-Two's 2K Games/2K Sports brand. Indie shipped Amped 3 for the launch of Xbox 360 and worked on Top Spin 2 for Xbox 360 developed by Power and Magic. Take-Two suddenly closed Indie Built on April 28, 2006 without publicly stating any reasons for the closure.[5]

In 2007, Chris Jones and Aaron Conners founded Big Finish Games, which is staffed primarily by veterans of Access/Indie Built. In 2012, they commenced development on a new Tex Murphy game.

Games / Hardware

References

  1. Carless, Simon (January 5, 2006). "Obituary: Access Software Founder Bruce Carver". Gamasutra.
  2. Sipe, Russell (November 1992). "3900 Games Later...". Computer Gaming World. p. 8. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  3. "Microsoft Buys Access". IGN.com. April 19, 1999.
  4. Adams, David (December 17, 2004). "Take-Two Picks Up Amped Team". IGN.com.
  5. Hatfield, Daemon (May 1, 2006). "Take-Two Closes Indie Built". IGN.com.

External links

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