Looking Glass Studios

Infobox Company
company_name = Looking Glass Studios
company_
company_type =
foundation = 1990
location_city = Cambridge, Massachusetts
location_country = United States
key_people = Paul Neurath (co-founder)
Ned Lerner (co-founder)
Doug Church
industry = Interactive entertainment
products =
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =

Looking Glass Studios was a computer game development company during the 1990s.

The company originally formed as Looking Glass Technologies, when Blue Sky Productions and Lerner Research merged.

Their games were regarded for demonstrating innovative gameplay, pioneering physics simulation, and well-written, engaging stories. However, many of their games, despite wide critical acclaim, sold poorly in comparison to contemporary rivals.

Their best known games series were "Ultima Underworld", "System Shock", and "Thief". In 1997, the company merged with Intermetrics, Inc [cite web
url=http://web.archive.org/web/19991103003801/www.lglass.com/c_info/merger.html
title=Intermetrics and Looking Glass Studios Merge Computer Game Operations to Form Multimedia Powerhouse
publisher=Intermetrics, Inc.
author=Nicholas Valtz
accessdate=2008-09-25] to become Intermetrics Entertainment Software, LLC. Intermetrics became AverStar after it acquired Pacer Infotech in February of 1998. In March of 1999, Intermetrics divested Looking Glass Studios Inc. [cite web
url=http://www.secinfo.com/dSm4r.6P5.htm
title=Averstar Inc · S-1/A
publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
date=1999-07-16
accessdate=2008-09-25] The company went out of business on May 24, 2000 during a financial crisis related to their publisher at the time, Eidos Interactive.

Originally based in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1994 the company moved to Cambridge. A significant number of Looking Glass personnel were MIT graduates. Looking Glass also had satellite offices in Austin, TX and Redmond, Washington. [cite web
url=http://web.archive.org/web/20000308204811/www.lglass.com/c_info/c_facts.html
title=Company Fact Sheet
publisher=Looking Glass Studios, Inc
accessdate=2008-09-25]

People

After the company folded, people from Looking Glass went on to work at Ion Storm, Irrational Games, Harmonix, Mad Doc Software, Arkane Studios, Valve, and to found [http://www.floodg.com/ Floodgate Entertainment] and Digital Eel, amongst other later studios. Ion Storm Austin developed ', the third game in the "Thief" series. Arkane Studios went on to develop "Arx Fatalis", a dungeon crawling game that bore heavy resemblance to Looking Glass' cult series "Ultima Underworld", and "Dark Messiah of Might and Magic", which was co-designed by Floodgate. Ex-Looking Glass personnel have worked on such games as "Deus Ex", "Guitar Hero", "Half-Life 2", "Freedom Force", ', "Fallout 3", "Bioshock", "Empire Earth II" and "Star Trek: Armada II" among others.

The following people worked on projects with Looking Glass Studios (by no means an all-inclusive list):

List of titles

*"F-22 Interceptor" for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis (1991)
*"" (1992)
*"Car and Driver" (1992)
*"John Madden Football '93" for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis (1992)
*"" (1993)
*"System Shock" (1994)
*"Flight Unlimited" (1995)
*"" (1996)
*"British Open Championship Golf" (1997)
*"Flight Unlimited II" (1997)
*"" (1998)
*"" (1999)
*"Command & Conquer" for the Nintendo 64 (1999)
*"System Shock 2" (1999) (assisting Irrational Games)
*"Flight Unlimited III" (1999)
*"Destruction Derby 64" for the Nintendo 64 (1999)
*"" (2000)
*"Deep Cover" (cancelled) (assisting Irrational Games)
*"Mini Racers" for the Nintendo 64 (unreleased)
*"Thief II: Gold" (cancelled)
*"" (in development when company folded)
*"" (in development when company folded)

References

External links

* [http://www.mobygames.com/company/looking-glass-studios-inc Looking Glass Studios profile] from MobyGames
* [http://www.the-nextlevel.com/features/developers/looking-glass-studios/ An illustrated history of Looking Glass Studios] from the-nextlevel.com
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20000619044721/http://www.lglass.com/ To all the fans and supporters of LookingGlass:] Final message from Looking Glass Studios website, from Archive.org
* [http://pc.ign.com/articles/079/079981p1.html Article on the closure of Looking Glass] from IGN PC
* [http://www.ttlg.com/ Through The Looking Glass: Honoring the Legacy of Looking Glass Studios] from TTLG.com
* [http://ttlg.com/articles/lgsclosing.asp "Reasons for the Fall: A Post-Mortem On Looking Glass Studios"] from TTLG.com
* [http://www.digital-eel.com/mc/may252000.htm Final Days] a photographic tribute to LGS employees, particularly on the last day of the company's existence