Multi-Title Agreement to Focus on Marrying Wizards' Game Design Expertise and
Brands With Next Generation Technology
SAN FRANCISCO, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- PostLinear Entertainment, developers
of innovative PC games such as Flying Saucer, Vigilance and 10Six, today
announced a collaborative partnership with Wizards of the Coast, maker of the
Magic: The Gathering(R) trading card game and owner of the well-known
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons(R) franchise. The three-product agreement is a
mutual development deal in which both companies will actively participate in
the design and production of the games. Currently, the partnership is in
active discussions with a number of major computer game publishers and seeks
to place the entire branded product line in the very near future.
"We're tremendously excited to be working with PostLinear on these games,"
commented Richard Garfield, creator of the Magic: The Gathering game. "Their
commitment to great game design and innovative technologies in the digital
world makes them the perfect complement to Wizards' design talents and
properties in the paper world."
Said Ron Martinez, Founder and Chairman of PostLinear Entertainment, "You
can't ask for a better collaborative partner than Wizards of the Coast.
Magic: The Gathering and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons are two of the most
successful mass market game franchises ever. There's just so much we can do,
and so much experience for us to build on."
The first two products will be original game designs by the Magic: The
Gathering designers and may take place in worlds based on Wizards' brands.
While the products will cross different game genres, they are both being
designed from the beginning to have broad market appeal.
According to Garfield, their goal is to take the same ease of use and
compelling gameplay that have made the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and
Magic: The Gathering games so popular in the print world and apply them to
the PC. "To make mass market games successful, they've got to be easy to get
into and strategic enough to encourage continued play. To make them classics,
they need to be deep. Our goal is to apply these same design principles here,
and add to them the richness of something like an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
world."
PostLinear Entertainment will facilitate the creative transition from
print to digital media, as well as provide leading edge technology.
PostLinear currently has several proprietary technologies, including a
real-time 3D engine that features radiosity, dynamic lighting and
translucency, as well as a terrain renderer, advanced networking technology
and a real-time strategy engine. In addition, PostLinear's sister company,
Transactor Networks, will provide the technology to enable the buying and
selling of digital collectable objects in these games.
"We've spent the better part of three years developing our networking and
graphics technologies," Martinez points out. "The results of that investment
will be evident in both Vigilance and 10Six, products that will be released
later this year by SegaSoft. We're taking everything we've learned in the
process and applying it in these games."
Wizards of the Coast is a leading developer and publisher of entertainment
products, including the world's bestselling Magic: The Gathering trading card
game. Wizards of the Coast subsidiaries include TSR Inc., creator of the
popular Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventure game, and Five Rings Publishing
Group Inc., best known for the Legend of the Five Rings(TM) trading card game.
Headquartered just outside of Seattle, Wash., Wizards of the Coast has
international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan and London. For more
information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website at
(http://www.wizards.com).
PostLinear Entertainment is a premier developer of PC game products.
Flying Saucer, PostLinear's first game, was released earlier this year in
Europe and is due to be released in the United States this summer. Also being
released later this year are Vigilance, a real-time 3D action game, and 10Six,
the world's first million-player Internet-only real-time strategy game.
PostLinear is located in San Francisco, CA. For more information on
PostLinear Entertainment, visit the company's web site at
(http://www.PostLinear.com).
NOTE: WIZARDS OF THE COAST and Magic: The Gathering are registered
trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is a
registered trademark of TSR Inc. Legend of the Five Rings is a trademark of
Five Rings Publishing Group Inc. TSR Inc. and Five Rings Publishing Group
Inc. are subsidiaries of Wizards of the Coast Inc. PostLinear is a registered
trademark of PostLinear Entertainment, Inc.
SOURCE PostLinear Entertainment, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.transactor.net
CONTACT:
Roland Kippenhan of PostLinear Entertainment,
415-487-1100, ext. 240, or cellular, 415-505-4844
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