Rocket Science Games

Rocket Science Games
Type	Defunct
Founded	1993
Headquarters	Palo Alto, California
Key people	Steve Blank Peter Barret Ron Cobb Mike Backus Bill Davis

Rocket Science Games was a video game developer that created games for consoles and computers from 1993 to 1997. The company was responsible for games such as Obsidian, Rocket Jockey, and The Space Bar.

History

Staffed with some of the brightest rising stars of the computer, comics and movie industries, RSG created a huge buzz even before the release of their first titles and claimed to be an on the verge of revolutionizing the video game industry. Founded at the height of the FMV video game craze of the '90s, their first three games utilized the technology heavily; but as a backlash grew and their fortunes suffered due to poor sales, they shifted away from consoles and FMV to concentrate only on more traditional PC games.

After the disappointing sales of their early games they received much needed funds from SegaSoft, who then became the sole publisher for their titles, then in development. Unfortunately, while some of their SegaSoft games were critically acclaimed, (Computer Gaming World, May 1997), (GameSpot, "Obsidian," review included.), (PC Gamer, May 1997), (Four Fat Chicks, "Obsidian" review, June 2002), ( Just Adventure, "Obsidian review, undated) none of them did particularly well financially, and unable to secure additional funding, RSG was forced to close down in 1997.

The Space Bar was the last game released worked on by RSG. Darwin Pond was an unreleased title that was completed before the fall of RSG but was never commercially released, later it was released by Jeffrey Ventrella for free over the Internet.

List of games made by Rocket Science

Released (by date)

• Loadstar: The Legend Of Tully Bodine
• Cadillacs and Dinosaurs: The Second Cataclysm
• Wing Nuts: Battle in the Skies
• Rocket Jockey
• Obsidian
• The Space Bar

Unreleased (alphabetical)

• Darkride
• Darwin Pond
• Ganymede
• Loadstar II: Showdown on Phobos
• Rocket Boy

References

1. ^ Computer Gaming World, May 1997.
2. ^ Obsidian at GameSpot, review is included.
3. ^ PC Gamer, May 1997.
4. ^ Obsidian review at Four Fat Chicks, June 2002.
5. ^ Obsidian review at Just Adventure, undated.

External links

• Rocket Science Games profile from MobyGames
• Darwin Pond Official Homepage

Articles

• Wired: Rocket Science Article on RSG from 1994
• "Coming Soon" Article Article about SegaSoft and RSG from 1996
• Business Wire Article Article about upcoming RSG from 1996.