ICOM Simulations
American software company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ICOM Simulations, Inc.[3] (later known as Rabid Entertainment) was a software company based in Wheeling, Illinois. It is best known for creating the MacVenture series of adventure games including Shadowgate.
| |
| Company type | Private (defunct) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | March 4, 1981[1] |
| Founder | Tod Zipnick |
| Defunct | February 14, 1998[2] |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Headquarters | Wheeling, Illinois |
Key people |
|
| Products | MacVenture Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Beavis and Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity |
Number of employees |
|
| Website | N/A |
Following the foundation in 1981 a number of game titles for the Panasonic JR-200 were produced. Later products for the Apple Macintosh included the debugger TMON and an application launching utility called OnCue.
History
ICOM Simulations was formed as TMQ Software[7] on March 4, 1981, by Tod Zipnick. With the MacVenture series, ICOM pioneered the point-and-click adventure interface and later multiplatform CD-ROM development with Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective. Zipnick died of Hodgkin's disease in 1991[8][9] just as the company was beginning to take off.
In the early-to-mid 1990s, ICOM Simulations was a major third-party developer for the TurboGrafx-16 (TG-16) platform in the US. They produced many games for the console, including the TG-16 exclusive Shadowgate sequel, Beyond Shadowgate.
The company was acquired in 1993 by Viacom New Media which closed its operations in 1997.[10] Renamed to Rabid Entertainment, VNM/ICOM was dismantled in 1998.
The rights to ICOM's game portfolio were held by the company Infinite Ventures, but they are now owned by David Marsh who obtained most of the rights in January 2012.[11] On March 5, 2012, Dave Marsh and Karl Roelofs, both former developers at ICOM Simulations, formed a new game development company called Zojoi, LLC, and have begun releasing upgraded versions of previous ICOM Simulations titles, starting with Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective for iOS Tablets.[12][13]
Games
| Title | Release date | Credited As | Published By | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Déjà Vu: A Nightmare Comes True | July 10, 1985 (NA)[14] | ICOM Simulations | Mindscape | Macintosh, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64, NES, Game Boy |
| Uninvited | March 1, 1986 (NA)[15] | ICOM Simulations | Mindscape | Macintosh, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64, NES |
| Shadowgate | July 30, 1987 (NA)[16] | ICOM Simulations | Mindscape | Macintosh, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64, NES |
| Déjà Vu II: Lost in Las Vegas | 1988 | ICOM Simulations | Mindscape | Macintosh, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Game Boy Color |
| Addams Family, The | 1991 | ICOM Simulations | NEC Technologies | TurboGrafx-CD |
| Yo' Bro | 1991 | ICOM Simulations | NEC Technologies | TurboGrafx-16 |
| Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective | 1991 | ICOM Simulations | ICOM Simulations | PC |
| Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. II | 1992 | ICOM Simulations | ICOM Simulations | PC |
| Road Runner's Death Valley Rally | 1992 | ICOM Simulations | Sunsoft | Super NES |
| Ghost Manor | 1992 | ICOM Simulations | Turbo Technologies Inc. | TurboGrafx-16 |
| Shape Shifter | October 1, 1992 (NA)[17] | ICOM Simulations | Turbo Technologies Inc. | TurboGrafx-CD |
| Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. III | 1993 | ICOM Simulations | ICOM Simulations | PC |
| Beyond Shadowgate | 1993 | ICOM Simulations | Turbo Technologies Inc. | TurboGrafx-CD |
| Camp California | 1993 | ICOM Simulations | Turbo Technologies Inc. | TurboGrafx-CD |
| Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions | 1993 | ICOM Simulations | Sunsoft | Super NES |
| Dracula Unleashed | October 24, 1993 (NA)[18] | ICOM Simulations | Viacom New Media | PC |
| Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage | 1994 | Viacom New Media | Sunsoft | Super NES |
| Nickelodeon GUTS | 1994 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | Super NES |
| MTV: Club Dead | 1994 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | Macintosh, PC |
| Are You Afraid of the Dark? The Tale of Orpheo's Curse | 1994 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | Macintosh, MS-DOS |
| Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day | April 1994 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | Super NES |
| Beavis and Butt-Head | November 1994 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | Sega Genesis, Super NES, Game Gear |
| Congo: Descent Into Zinj | 1995 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | PC, Classic Mac OS |
| Phantom 2040 | June 1995 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | Sega Genesis, Super NES, Game Gear |
| Zoop | June 1995 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | Sega Genesis, Super NES, Game Boy, Game Gear, PlayStation |
| Aaahh!!! Real Monsters | August 15, 1995 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | Sega Genesis, Super NES |
| Beavis and Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity | August 31, 1995 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | PlayStation, PC |
| Beavis and Butt-head in Little Thingies | 1996 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | PC |
| Beavis and Butt-head in Wiener Takes All | 1996 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | PC |
| Beavis and Butt-head in Calling All Dorks | 1996 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | PC |
| MTV: Slamscape | 1996 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | PlayStation |
| DeathDrome | October 31, 1996 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | PC |
| Beavis and Butt-head in Screen Wreckers | 1997 | Viacom New Media | Viacom New Media | Macintosh, PC |