PF Magic
Encyclopedia
PF Magic was a video game developer
founded in 1991 and located in San Francisco, California
. Though it developed other types of video games, it was best known for its virtual pet games, such as Dogz and Catz
. The company was able to make extra revenue by selling plush toys under the Petz trademark. It was bought out in 1998 by Mindscape, Inc.
.
After changing hands a few more times Ubisoft
now owns the copyright
on its Petz
, Oddballz
and Babyz
titles.
One of PF Magic's earliest efforts was the 1994 video game Ballz
published
by Accolade. The innovative game featured main characters composed completely of sphere
s. This attribute would carry over into many of their following games, such as Petz
. This early game, however, failed in the marketplace.
The company also produced Max Magic, the world’s first electronic magic kit, which represented a breakthrough in interactive 3D character design. Max Magic received numerous prestigious awards for its uniquely intuitive way of entertaining and teaching children and adults about magic.
PF Magic's designer and programmer, Andrew Stern, went on and created an experimental project with Michael Mateas along with others for five years. The project became Façade
, a freeware game where you can interact with a couple whose 10-year marriage is in trouble.
Many people speculated on what the "PF" in the company's title stood for, until someone asked. This was the answer they gave:
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 1991 and located in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. Though it developed other types of video games, it was best known for its virtual pet games, such as Dogz and Catz
Petz
Petz is a series of games dating back to 1995, in which the player can adopt, raise, care for and breed their own virtual pets...
. The company was able to make extra revenue by selling plush toys under the Petz trademark. It was bought out in 1998 by Mindscape, Inc.
Mindscape Group
Mindscape is an international software publishing company, previously part of The Learning Company. They are now affiliated with EA . As of 2004, the group has offices in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. It has an annual turnover of €38 million and employs 150 people. Mindscape...
.
After changing hands a few more times Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
now owns the copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
on its Petz
Petz
Petz is a series of games dating back to 1995, in which the player can adopt, raise, care for and breed their own virtual pets...
, Oddballz
Oddballz
Oddballz is a virtual pet game created by PF Magic in 1996 as an alternative to their Dogz and Catz titles. It comes with a free Starter Kit demo for the players' friends, that includes a screensaver, the Oddballz Web Fun Pack of clipart, and seven of the thirteen available official breedz.The game...
and Babyz
Babyz
Babyz is a computer game in which one can play with and take care of a group of babies who live in a virtual house on the computer. The game was released in 1999 by The Learning Company, developed by members of PF Magic working there at the time....
titles.
One of PF Magic's earliest efforts was the 1994 video game Ballz
Ballz
3D Ballz is a two player 3D action fighting game for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, the Super NES and the 3DO. It was developed by PF Magic and published by Accolade in 1994. The 3DO version was released as a director's cut in 1995. Ballz offered three difficulty levels over a total of 21 matches...
published
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....
by Accolade. The innovative game featured main characters composed completely of sphere
Sphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...
s. This attribute would carry over into many of their following games, such as Petz
Petz
Petz is a series of games dating back to 1995, in which the player can adopt, raise, care for and breed their own virtual pets...
. This early game, however, failed in the marketplace.
The company also produced Max Magic, the world’s first electronic magic kit, which represented a breakthrough in interactive 3D character design. Max Magic received numerous prestigious awards for its uniquely intuitive way of entertaining and teaching children and adults about magic.
PF Magic's designer and programmer, Andrew Stern, went on and created an experimental project with Michael Mateas along with others for five years. The project became Façade
Façade (interactive story)
Façade is an artificial-intelligence-based interactive story created by Michael Mateas and Andrew Stern. It was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Slamdance Independent Games Festival and has been exhibited at several international art shows...
, a freeware game where you can interact with a couple whose 10-year marriage is in trouble.
PF
Quote from Oddballz NeoMany people speculated on what the "PF" in the company's title stood for, until someone asked. This was the answer they gave:
- Pure F--ing Magic
- Such was an old saying from my days at Atari. That ultimately our customers cared not for our slick technical skills. They really didn't give a hoot about how clever our engineers are. What they REALLY cared about was the overall EXPERIENCE they were having with our products.
- Like who CARES how the software that is running inside your PC works, all that matters is that it makes you believe that a living DOG is running around your desktop?
- From the perspective of a customer it's simply pure f---ing MAGIC. That’s all they need to know. So such reminded us that all we care about is that our customers are ENCHANTED and not to get overly in love with our own technology, which is a real problem in some companies.
- But we told people different things over the years depending on who was asking
- Positive Future (told to Venture capitalists)
- People Find (told to strategic partners, such as AT&T)
- Partially Funded (told to people we owed money to)
- Perpetually Fighting (told to employees, when they asked why everything seemed so difficult at times, and why did so many smart people have so many different opinions)
- Pizza Friends (told just for fun)
- Hope that helps
- Cheers
- Rob Fulop
- Co-Founder and Creative Director of PF.Magic
Selected titles
- BallzBallz3D Ballz is a two player 3D action fighting game for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, the Super NES and the 3DO. It was developed by PF Magic and published by Accolade in 1994. The 3DO version was released as a director's cut in 1995. Ballz offered three difficulty levels over a total of 21 matches...
- PetzPetzPetz is a series of games dating back to 1995, in which the player can adopt, raise, care for and breed their own virtual pets...
- OddballPetz (Odd-Petz)OddballPetz (Petz)OddballPetz or Odd-Petz is the name given to a free Petz expansion pack. It consists of the group of 13 official Oddballz characters, converted for the Petz series by third party developer Carolyn Horn....
- OddballPetz (Odd-Petz)
- OddballzOddballzOddballz is a virtual pet game created by PF Magic in 1996 as an alternative to their Dogz and Catz titles. It comes with a free Starter Kit demo for the players' friends, that includes a screensaver, the Oddballz Web Fun Pack of clipart, and seven of the thirteen available official breedz.The game...
- BabyzBabyzBabyz is a computer game in which one can play with and take care of a group of babies who live in a virtual house on the computer. The game was released in 1999 by The Learning Company, developed by members of PF Magic working there at the time....
External links
- Archived Versions of the Defunct PFMagic.com website
- PF Magic profile from 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...