Daydream Software

Daydream Software
Private
Industry Video gaming
Founded 1994
Defunct 2004
Headquarters Umeå, Sweden

Daydream Software is a defunct Swedish video game developer founded in 1994.[1] They released four games[2] (with another in the works)[3] before closing in 2003.

History

Daydream Software was founded in 1994 in Umeå, Sweden by a team of five and headed by lead designer Nigel Papworth on the principle that they would develop their own games without working with other major publishers to develop commissioned games.

Their first game was Safecracker, a point and click adventure game published by Dreamcatcher Interactive. The game had a tumultuous production, starting when GT Interactive bought initial publisher Warner Interactive Europe and cancelled the already finished and debugged game, calling it "not economically and commercially viable".[4] Daydream was eventually able to buy back the rights to Safecracker, and found a new publisher in Dreamcatcher Interactive, who released the game for PC and Mac OS X computers to mixed reviews.[5]

Their next title would be Traitors Gate (a game initially pitched to GT Interactive in 1996), an adventure game using an interface similar to Safecracker but with an espionage theme. The game was released in 2000 and (as with Safecracker) was published by Dreamcatcher Interactive. The game received mostly positive reviews,[6] and proved a financial success for the company, selling over 300,000 copies.[7]

Daydream's next game was a more ambitious title called Clusterball, a futuristic sports game released in late 2000 for PC computers after a successful run as a downloadable title on Real.com. The game garnered mixed to positive reviews[8] and but low sales for the company.[9]

Their next project was Ski-Doo: X-Team Racing, a snowmobile racing game. The title was released by Simon & Schuster Interactive in 2001 for PC computers. The game received little media attention.

In 2003, the company announced Campfire: Become Your Nightmare, for the Microsoft Xbox and Sony Playstation 2 consoles. It was dubbed as a "reverse survival horror game" (similar to Rockstar's Manhunt and 505 Games' Naughty Bear) that put the player in the role of a serial killer on a campground.[10] The game was inspired by slasher films of the 1970s and 1980s. However, the game received little press other than a trailer and concept artwork, and thus it was cancelled in 2004 for unknown reasons.[11]

Closing

Daydream Software was put through liquidation in February 2003[12] before closing in 2004. Most employees moving on to form a new development company: Resolution Interactive, which focused on iPhone games.[13] The company filed for bankruptcy in 2012.[14]

Associated Titles

Most of Daydream Software's games were continued by other companies later.

Games Developed

Safecracker (1997)
Traitors Gate (2000)
Ski-Doo: X-Team Racing (2001)
Clusterball (2001)
Campfire: Become Your Nightmare (2003) (CANCELLED)

References

  1. "Daydream Software AB", www.mobygames.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  2. "Daydream Software Company Information", www.gamefaqs.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  3. "Campfire Preview", www.ign.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  4. "Developers Postmortem: Safecracker", www.adventureclassicgaming.com, retrieved July 29, 2013
  5. "Safecracker MobyRank", www.mobygames.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  6. "Traitors Gate MobyRank", www.mobygames.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  7. "Developers Postmortem: Safecracker", www.adventureclassicgaming.com, retrieved July 29, 2013
  8. "Clusterball MobyRank", www.mobygames.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  9. "Clusterball (Game)", www.giantbomb.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  10. "Campfire Preview", www.ign.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  11. "Campfire [PS2/XBOX - Cancelled]", www.unseen64.net, retrieved July 30, 2013
  12. "Daydream Software AB", www.mobygames.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  13. "Resolution Interactive AB", www.mobygames.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  14. "Resolution Interactive (Company)", www.giantbomb.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  15. "'Clusterball Arcade' Lands on the iPhone", www.toucharcade.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  16. ""Campfire: Become Your Nightmare" Slasher Game", www.softpedia.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
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