Shiny Entertainment
Encyclopedia
Shiny Entertainment was an American
video game developer
based in Laguna Beach, Southern California
, and the creator of several popular titles such as Earthworm Jim
, MDK
, Sacrifice
and The Matrix: Path of Neo
. Shiny was founded by David Perry in October 1993
. In 2007, Shiny Entertainment merged with The Collective to create Double Helix Games
.
The name Shiny was conceived while listening to the R.E.M.
track Shiny Happy People
on loop during the development of Aladdin
for the Sega Genesis.
on the Terminator movie video game, the game was to be published by Virgin Games in Irvine, CA
. Perry agreed to complete the work in the United States and so moved over in 1991
. While in the states he developed McDonald's
Global Gladiators
(Sega
's Game of the Year), 7-Up's Cool Spot
, early development work on Disney's Jungle Book and programmed Disney's Aladdin
. Aladdin became a number 1 hit around the world.
At this time Perry got a US Green Card
and decided to form Shiny Entertainment Inc. To fund it, he signed a three game distribution deal with Playmates Interactive Entertainment, the three games became Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim 2
and MDK. All three games were well reviewed, won awards and were highly profitable.
The first Shiny release was Earthworm Jim, which won the Sega Game of the Year award and put Shiny front-row center as a developer to be watched. A TV show deal was signed with Universal Cartoon Studios, a TV output deal was signed with the Warner
Kids Network, Playmates Toys made a complete action figure toy line, a home video collection was made by MCA, Carl's Jr.
made a kids meal, Del Taco made a kids meal, Marvel Comics
made the official comic books, Fruit of the Loom
made clothing and bed coverings, there were even lunch-box, strategy guide, sticker deals etc.
In 1997, former Shiny employees Nick Bruty
(President) and Bob Stevenson (CEO) left to form the company Planet Moon Studios
.
After a sequel and a remake (Earthworm Jim 2 and Earthworm Jim Special Edition for Sega CD and Windows 95
), Shiny decided to move into the world of 3D with the game MDK. At this time Interplay Entertainment Inc. (who had published Earthworm Jim for Sega CD) bought Shiny so co-published MDK with Playmates Interactive Entertainment.
In 2002
, during the development of Enter the Matrix, Shiny was acquired by Infogrames
(which later changed its name to Atari
), for $47 million. Atari purchased only the team and the rights to the Matrix franchise.
Perry kicked off a yet-to-be-announced game, Earthworm Jim on Sony
's PlayStation Portable
, and a new fighting Game called Age of Elements
at E3 2006 on Sony PSP.
Atari announced their interest in selling off all their development studios, so Perry resigned in an attempt to help Atari find a quality buyer. On October 2, 2006, Foundation 9 Entertainment
acquired Shiny Entertainment. In October 2007, Foundation 9 merged Shiny Entertainment with The Collective
to form Double Helix Games
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
based in Laguna Beach, Southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and the creator of several popular titles such as Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim is a run and gun platform video game starring an earthworm named Jim in a robotic suit who battles evil. Created by Doug TenNapel and designed by David Perry, the game was developed by Shiny Entertainment and Playmates Interactive Entertainment, released by Sega for the Mega...
, MDK
MDK (video game)
MDK is a third-person shooter game developed by Shiny Entertainment and released in 1997 by Playmates Interactive Entertainment in North America and Interplay Entertainment in Europe for the PC, Macintosh, and subsequently PlayStation. It was one of the first PC games to require a Pentium or...
, Sacrifice
Sacrifice (computer game)
Sacrifice is a video game published by Interplay Entertainment in 2000 for the Windows 98 platform. Developed by Shiny Entertainment, it is a real-time strategy game, featuring elements of action and other genres. Players control wizards who fight each other with spells and summoned creatures...
and The Matrix: Path of Neo
The Matrix: Path of Neo
The Matrix: Path of Neo is the third video game based on the Matrix series and the second developed by Shiny Entertainment. Players control the character Neo, participating in scenes from the films. It was released on October 4, 2005 in North America....
. Shiny was founded by David Perry in October 1993
1993 in video gaming
-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
. In 2007, Shiny Entertainment merged with The Collective to create Double Helix Games
Double Helix Games
Double Helix Games is an American video game developer based in Irvine, California, founded in 2007 through two mergers of Foundation 9 studios, The Collective and Shiny Entertainment...
.
The name Shiny was conceived while listening to the R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
track Shiny Happy People
Shiny Happy People
"Shiny Happy People" is a song by the band R.E.M.. The song appeared on their 1991 album Out of Time and was released as a single in the same year. The song features guest backing vocals by Kate Pierson of the B-52's, who also has a prominent role in the song's music video.It peaked at #10 on the...
on loop during the development of Aladdin
Disney's Aladdin (video game)
Disney's Aladdin is a series of video games based on the 1992 motion picture of the same name. Unlike most cross-platform games, the five versions are each significantly different games rather than all being ports of a single source.-Mega Drive/Genesis version:The game from Virgin based on the 1992...
for the Sega Genesis.
History
David Perry, a veteran game developer, was developing for Probe Software in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on the Terminator movie video game, the game was to be published by Virgin Games in Irvine, CA
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Perry agreed to complete the work in the United States and so moved over in 1991
1991 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*Microprose creates Civilization, Sid Meier's most successful game .*Electronic Arts releases James Pond 2 and Road Rash for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, starting a series of games that were popular in the 1990s....
. While in the states he developed McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
Global Gladiators
Global Gladiators
Global Gladiators is a 1992 platform game by Virgin Interactive, originally programmed by David Perry for the Mega Drive/Genesis and eventually ported by other Virgin Interactive teams in Europe...
(Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's Game of the Year), 7-Up's Cool Spot
Cool Spot
Cool Spot was a mascot for 7 Up beginning in the late 80s. During this time, the red spot in the 7 Up logo was anthropomorphized: given arms, legs, a mouth, and sunglasses....
, early development work on Disney's Jungle Book and programmed Disney's Aladdin
Disney's Aladdin (video game)
Disney's Aladdin is a series of video games based on the 1992 motion picture of the same name. Unlike most cross-platform games, the five versions are each significantly different games rather than all being ports of a single source.-Mega Drive/Genesis version:The game from Virgin based on the 1992...
. Aladdin became a number 1 hit around the world.
At this time Perry got a US Green Card
United States Permanent Resident Card
United States lawful permanent residency refers to a person's immigration status: the person is authorized to live and work in the United States of America on a permanent basis....
and decided to form Shiny Entertainment Inc. To fund it, he signed a three game distribution deal with Playmates Interactive Entertainment, the three games became Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim 2
Earthworm Jim 2
Earthworm Jim 2 is a platform video game originally developed by Shiny Entertainment and released in 1995 in Europe, and 1996 in the US, it is a sequel to the 1994 original Earthworm Jim. Again, the game was created by Doug TenNapel with design from David Perry and music from Tommy Tallarico...
and MDK. All three games were well reviewed, won awards and were highly profitable.
The first Shiny release was Earthworm Jim, which won the Sega Game of the Year award and put Shiny front-row center as a developer to be watched. A TV show deal was signed with Universal Cartoon Studios, a TV output deal was signed with the Warner
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Kids Network, Playmates Toys made a complete action figure toy line, a home video collection was made by MCA, Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr. is an American fast-food restaurant chain located mostly in the Western and Southwestern United States. The first store has opened in Canada in Kelowna, BC. They are in the process of expanding to Mexico, Malaysia, Denmark, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Russia, Vietnam,...
made a kids meal, Del Taco made a kids meal, Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
made the official comic books, Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom is an American company which manufactures clothing, particularly underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is currently a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.-Company profile:...
made clothing and bed coverings, there were even lunch-box, strategy guide, sticker deals etc.
In 1997, former Shiny employees Nick Bruty
Nick Bruty
Nicholas Anthony Bruty or Nick Bruty is a British video game designer and entrepreneur.He was raised and educated in Livingston, Scotland. He made his first step into video games when he was 15, working for company SoftStone with his friend David Quinn. Bruty had done some projects for SoftStone...
(President) and Bob Stevenson (CEO) left to form the company Planet Moon Studios
Planet Moon Studios
Planet Moon Studios is a game development studio based in San Francisco, California founded by ex-Shiny Entertainment developers Nick Bruty and Bob Stevenson in 1997...
.
After a sequel and a remake (Earthworm Jim 2 and Earthworm Jim Special Edition for Sega CD and Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
), Shiny decided to move into the world of 3D with the game MDK. At this time Interplay Entertainment Inc. (who had published Earthworm Jim for Sega CD) bought Shiny so co-published MDK with Playmates Interactive Entertainment.
In 2002
2002 in video gaming
The year 2002 in video gaming saw the release of many games to sixth-generation video game consoles, predominately, the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.-Events:...
, during the development of Enter the Matrix, Shiny was acquired by Infogrames
Infogrames
Infogrames Entertainment SA was an international French holding company headquartered in Paris, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory...
(which later changed its name to Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
), for $47 million. Atari purchased only the team and the rights to the Matrix franchise.
Perry kicked off a yet-to-be-announced game, Earthworm Jim on Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, and a new fighting Game called Age of Elements
Age of Elements
Age of Elements was a fighting game developed by the newly created studio Steamroll and intended to be published by Atari for Sony's PlayStation Portable. It was cancelled in 2007.-External links:* at IGN...
at E3 2006 on Sony PSP.
Atari announced their interest in selling off all their development studios, so Perry resigned in an attempt to help Atari find a quality buyer. On October 2, 2006, Foundation 9 Entertainment
Foundation 9 Entertainment
Foundation 9 Entertainment is an entertainment media conglomerate that has developed video games, comic books, film and television series. The company is one of the largest independent game developers in the world, and has more than 450 employees working in its various studios in California,...
acquired Shiny Entertainment. In October 2007, Foundation 9 merged Shiny Entertainment with The Collective
The Collective, Inc.
The Collective, Inc. was an American video game development company located in Newport Beach, California. The company has created several games based on movies and television shows since its founding in 1997.-History:...
to form Double Helix Games
Double Helix Games
Double Helix Games is an American video game developer based in Irvine, California, founded in 2007 through two mergers of Foundation 9 studios, The Collective and Shiny Entertainment...
.
Games
- Earthworm JimEarthworm JimEarthworm Jim is a run and gun platform video game starring an earthworm named Jim in a robotic suit who battles evil. Created by Doug TenNapel and designed by David Perry, the game was developed by Shiny Entertainment and Playmates Interactive Entertainment, released by Sega for the Mega...
(1994) - Earthworm Jim 2Earthworm Jim 2Earthworm Jim 2 is a platform video game originally developed by Shiny Entertainment and released in 1995 in Europe, and 1996 in the US, it is a sequel to the 1994 original Earthworm Jim. Again, the game was created by Doug TenNapel with design from David Perry and music from Tommy Tallarico...
(1995) - MDKMDK (video game)MDK is a third-person shooter game developed by Shiny Entertainment and released in 1997 by Playmates Interactive Entertainment in North America and Interplay Entertainment in Europe for the PC, Macintosh, and subsequently PlayStation. It was one of the first PC games to require a Pentium or...
(1997) - Wild 9Wild 9Wild 9 is a video game developed by Shiny Entertainment for the Sony PlayStation, with a Sega Saturn version also planned but never released. Its gameplay is that of a 2D platformer...
(1998), an action game for the Sony Playstation. This game featured a weapon called the Rig, which allowed the main character, Wex Major, to attack his enemies in many sadistic ways. Sony Japan licensed the game from Interplay so they could release it themselves in Japan. - R/C Stunt Copter (1999), a game that made the PlayStation controller act just like a dual stick remote control helicopter transmitter. This game was bought from InterplayInterplay EntertainmentInterplay Entertainment Corporation is an American video game developer and publisher, founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by Brian Fargo. The company had been a quality developer until they started publishing their own games in 1988, like Neuromancer and Battle Chess. The company was renamed...
by MidwayMidway GamesMidway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
, then it was bought from Midway by TitusTitus SoftwareTitus Software, later known as Titus Interactive S.A., was a long-running French software publisher that produced and published video games for various formats over its lifetime....
. Titus then bought Interplay as well. - MessiahMessiah (video game)Messiah is a third person shooter video game developed by Shiny and published by Interplay.-Plot:The player controls Bob, a cherub sent by God to clean up the corruption and sin on Earth...
(2000), a game featuring the hook of "possession" and a new real-time tessellation video game engine. - Sacrifice (2000), Shiny's first online multiplayer game.
- Enter the MatrixEnter the MatrixEnter the Matrix is the first video game based on The Matrix series of films. It was developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Atari and WB Interactive for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube game systems, and for the PC. It was published in Japan by Bandai...
(2003) returned Perry to licensing, based on the MatrixThe MatrixThe Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
movie franchise. The movies' directors made around 1 hour of original Matrix footage just for the game. The game was commercially successful, selling an estimated 5 million copies. Reviewers were not too pleased, however, with the game's lack of polish and bugsSoftware bugA software bug is the common term used to describe an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's...
. - The Matrix: Path of NeoThe Matrix: Path of NeoThe Matrix: Path of Neo is the third video game based on the Matrix series and the second developed by Shiny Entertainment. Players control the character Neo, participating in scenes from the films. It was released on October 4, 2005 in North America....
(2005) shipped by Atari, again based on the Matrix movie franchise, this time focusing on the lead character from the movies. It is generally considered to be better than Enter the Matrix and is viewed as something of an "apology" to fans who felt cheated by not being able to actually control Neo at all during Enter the Matrix. - The Golden CompassThe Golden Compass (video game)The Golden Compass is an action-adventure game developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Sega. The game is based on the novel-adapted movie of the same name. It was released in December, before the movie, for all major consoles...
(2007), based on the film of the same name.
External links
- Shiny Entertainment profile at 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...
- David Perry - Founder of Shiny's Personal Website
- Foundation 9 Entertainment - Current Owner of Shiny Entertainment
- Atari Inc - Previous Owner of Shiny Entertainment
- Interplay Entertainment Inc - Past Owner of Shiny Entertainment