ICOM Simulations
{{Short description|American software company}}
{{Infobox company
|name = ICOM Simulations, Inc.
|logo = ICOM Simulations logo.svg
|logo_size = 200px
|type = Private (defunct)
|company_slogan =
|industry = Software
|fate = Dissolved
|foundation = {{Start date|1981|03|04}}{{Citation
| date = 1 August 1991
| title = Corporation File Detail Report: TMQ Software, Inc.
| id= File No. 52314178
| publisher = Illinois Secretary of State
| location = Springfield, Illinois
| at = Incorporation Date (Domestic)
| url = http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/CorporateLlcController
| access-date = 2012-10-09
|mode=cs1
}}
|founder = Tod Zipnick
|defunct = {{End date|1998|02|14}}{{Citation
|date=29 March 1998
| title = Trademark Principal Register Rabid Entertainment
| publisher = United States Patent and Trademark Office
| location = Alexandria, Virginia
| at = Date Abandoned
| id = {{US trademark|75172722}}
| url = http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=75172722&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch
| access-date = 2012-10-10
| mode=cs1
}}
|location = Wheeling, Illinois
|key_people = {{Unbulleted list|Tod Zipnick (President)|Rick Maningas (Vice President)
{{cite book
| author = Writer's Digest Books
| author-link = Writer's Digest
| editor = Brad M. McGehee
|date=30 January 2006
| orig-year = 1983
| title = 1984 Programmer's Market
| page = 184
| publisher = Writer's Digest Books
| isbn = 9780898791242
| access-date = October 5, 2012
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tZIdBWwGo_0C&q=%22TMQ%20Software%22%201980}}
|Dennis Defensor (President){{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_23/page/n91/mode/1up|title=Behind The Screens at ICOM Simulations|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=23|publisher=Sendai Publishing|date=June 1991|page=92-94}}|Darin Adler (Primary Developer)
{{cite web
|last=Adler
|first=Darin
|title=Darin Adler (resume)
|url=http://www.bentspoon.com/darin/resume.html
|work=bentspoon.com
|date= February 2, 2002
|access-date=October 3, 2012}}
}}
|num_employees = {{ubl|25 (1989)|45 (1991) }}
|products = MacVenture
Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective
Beavis and Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity
|revenue =
|homepage = N/A
}}
ICOM Simulations, Inc.{{cite news | title = Office Computer Games Can Be Waste of Time or Good Training | url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/07/16/office-computer-games-can-be-waste-of-time-or-good-training/ | agency = Scripps Howard News Service | newspaper= Chicago Tribune | date= July 16, 1989 | access-date=October 3, 2012 | url-status = live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065536/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-07-16/business/8902170643_1_arcade-style-icom-simulations-leisure-suit-larry | archive-date=March 4, 2016}} (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.
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{{cite web
| last = Adler
| first = Darin
| author-link = Darin Adler
| url = http://www.bentspoon.com/darin/monologue.html
| title = Monologue
| pages = 1986–1987: Macintosh community
| access-date = December 28, 2007
}} 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{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/07/09/tod-zipnick-innovator-in-video-game-industry/ |title=Tod Zipnick, Innovator In Video-game Industry |date=July 9, 1991 |access-date=December 30, 2016}}{{cite web |author1=AG Staff |title=An overview of genre history, by The Art of Point-and-Click Adventure Games: Part I |url=https://adventuregamers.com/articles/view/an-overview-of-genre-history-by-the-art-of-point-and-click-adventure-games |website=Adventure Gamers |publisher=Nito Games network |access-date=18 June 2021 |date=June 12, 2020}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/05/06/Viacom-buys-interactive-video-game-company/3018736660800/|title=Viacom buys interactive video-game company|website=UPI|language=en|access-date=2020-01-28}} 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.{{cite web
| url = http://diehardgamefan.com/2012/03/29/interview-with-david-marsh-of-zojoi-about-the-sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective-kickstarter-project/
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120402065050/http://diehardgamefan.com/2012/03/29/interview-with-david-marsh-of-zojoi-about-the-sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective-kickstarter-project/
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = April 2, 2012
| title = Interview with David Marsh About His Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective Kickstarter Project
| last = Lucard
| first = Alex
| date = March 29, 2012
| work = Diehard GameFan
| access-date = October 3, 2012
}} 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/zojoigame |title=Zojoi FaceBook Page |website=Facebook |date=June 4, 2012 |access-date=October 3, 2012}}{{cite web |last1=Goninon |first1=Mark |title=Where are they now? - ICOM Simulations |url=https://www.choicestgames.com/2015/08/where-are-they-now-icom-simulations.html |website=Choicest Games |publisher=Blogger |access-date=18 June 2021 |date=August 5, 2015 }}
Games
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.mobygames.com/company/rabid-entertainment-inc ICOM Simulations] at MobyGames
{{Authority control}}
Category:Companies based in Cook County, Illinois
Category:Software companies established in 1980
Category:Software companies disestablished in 1998
Category:Defunct companies based in Illinois
Category:Defunct software companies of the United States