The Dreamers Guild

{{Short description|Former computer and video game publisher and developer}}

{{Infobox company

| name = The Dreamers Guild

| logo = Dreamersguild.png

| founded = {{start date and age|1988}}

| defunct = {{end date|1997}}

| num_employees = Over 100

| num_employees_year = 1997

| key_people = {{ubl|Robert McNally (president & co-founder)|Walter Hochbrueckner (co-founder)|Bradley W. Schenck (art department)}}

}}

The Dreamers Guild was a North American publisher and developer of video games, that operated from 1988 until 1997 (since 1994 in Chatsworth, California).

History

Authors Bryan Kritzell and David C. Logan reported that The Dreamers Guild was founded on an "open, consensus-driven" business model, in which employees voted to decide the company's corporate moves. It was based on the model of a guild.{{Cite book |last=Logan, David C. |url=https://archive.org/details/reinventingyourc00loga/page/80 |title=Reinventing Your Career: Following the 5 New Paths to Career Fulfillment |last2=Kritzell, Bryan |date=1997 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=0-07-009434-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/reinventingyourc00loga/page/80 80]}} The company's art department was run by artist Bradley W. Schenck, who had previously created The Labyrinth of Time at Terra Nova Development.{{Cite web |last=Staff |date=November 24, 2006 |title=Interview with Bradley Schenck |url=http://www.graphicdesignbasics.com/2006/interview-with-bradley-schenck.html |url-status=live |website=Graphic Design Basics |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402192558/http://www.graphicdesignbasics.com/2006/interview-with-bradley-schenck.html |archivedate=April 2, 2019}} At final count, The Dreamers Guild employed over 100.

Employee Joe Pearce recalled that most of the Dreamers Guild's games were "a mixed bag success-wise." He cited Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb as a commercial flop, and called I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream "a modest seller." Halls of the Dead: Faery Tale Adventure II (1997) was The Dreamers Guild's final game before the company's closure. According to Retro Gamer, the developer "rushed out" the game before its bankruptcy.{{Cite journal |last=Al Bustani, Hareth |date=2018 |title=The Making of... I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream |journal=Retro Gamer |issue=183 |pages=72–75}} Pearce noted that "it barely got out the door."{{Cite web |last=Jong, Philip |date=November 24, 2009 |title=Joe Pearce – Wyrmkeep Entertainment – Interview |url=http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/interviews/463/ |url-status=live |website=Adventure Classic Gaming |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105140436/http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/interviews/463/ |archivedate=January 5, 2019}}

Games

Nick of Time – (unreleased)
Skulls, Bones and Buccaneers – (unreleased)
Halls of the Dead: Faery Tale Adventure II – 1997
The Legend of Kyrandia: Malcolm's Revenge (port to Mac OS) – 1996
Dinotopia Adventure Game for PC – 1996
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream – 1995
FiefQuest – 1995
The Labyrinth of Time (port to Mac OS) – 1995
Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb – 1994
Fast Action Paq – 1994
Solitaire and Other Card Games – 1994
Deluxe Music 2.0 – 1993
The Legend of Kyrandia (port to Mac OS) – 1993
More Vegas Games – 1993
A-Train & A-Train Construction Set (port to AmigaOS and Mac OS) – 1993
Robosport (port to AmigaOS) – 1992
PGA Tour Golf (port to Mac OS) - 1991
Faery Tale Adventure – 1990
Ebonstar – 1988

References

External links

[http://inherittheearth.net/dgi/indexnf.htm The Dreamers Guild] (Homepage)
[http://www.joepearce.org/guild/guild.html A Pictorial Retrospective of the Dreamers Guild]

Category:Defunct video game companies of the United States

Category:Video game companies established in 1988

Category:Video game companies disestablished in 1997

Category:Video game development companies

Category:Video game publishers