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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Jun 2004 : 14:47:15
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Both the Black Isle Studio website and Interplay site are 404
Sean Reynold (of WOTC fame) who used to work for them has aparently quit because they didnt pay him
Seans Forums
http://p082.ezboard.com/fseankreynoldsboardsfrm1.showMessageRange?topicID=1817.topic&start=1&stop=20
Aparently Interplay havent been paying their rent either and all the employees and the company have been evicted by the owners.
Also does anyone know where JE Sawyers working these days?
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“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2004 : 14:54:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
Sean Reynold (of WOTC fame) who used to work for them has aparently quit because they didnt pay him
Sirius shakes head. That's enough to raise anyone's blood pressure to a dangerous level. Thanks Dargoth for sharing the information. |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2004 : 15:02:26
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Imagine it aint going to be pretty when they divy up the assets
Its going to be a four way fight between
Bioware: BIS still owe them royalties on the Macontoash sales for BG2 (the thing the court case was about last year)
Ex-Employees: Who want there wages
The State of California: Which is going to want its fines payed (Aparently BIS/Interplay got fined when they didnt pay their employees wages)
Interplays Creditors: Like the Company that rented the offices to them
All up I dont think theres going to be alot left of Interplay/BIS by the time there all finished |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Sarelle
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
508 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2004 : 15:16:40
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There already isn't that much left.
Sean Reynolds quit? Ouch. When did that happen? It isn't on his website, that I can find. |
Chair of the The Rightful Return of Monster Deities to FR Society (RRMDFRS)
My character, drawn by Liodain: Sarelle / Sarelle (smaller) |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2004 : 15:27:24
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quote:
Originally posted by Sarelle
There already isn't that much left.
Sean Reynolds quit? Ouch. When did that happen? It isn't on his website, that I can find.
read the link I posted |
“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2004 : 18:45:54
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I posted this over on the BG 3 thread 2 days ago...
"The Orange County Register reports that California labor investigators have shut down the publisher--something CEO Herve Caen disputes... (source:gamespot.com)
Less than a day after CEO Herve Caen said Interplay was "still here," the publisher has apparently been shut down by the State of California.
The Orange County Register's Tamara Chuang reported late Friday that California's Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement forced the Irvine, CA-based developer-publisher of Fallout to suspend operations.
The closure followed a snap inspection of Interplay's offices by investigators, who found the company was without workers’ compensation insurance and had not paid employees. According to officials, there were 14 staffers on-site Friday during the inspection, and 79 still on Interplay's payroll--down nearly 40 since their mid-April financial statements.
The labor officials' visitation was prompted by complaints by seven Interplay workers who claimed their wages had gone unpaid. Dean Fryer, spokesman for the California Labor Commissioner, told the Register, "An employer has responsibilities when they open a business. The responsibilities include proper and timely payment of wages. It includes providing workers compensation coverage in case there are injuries. If the employer cannot accommodate those basic issues of doing business, we cannot allow employees to work."
As a penalty for its infractions, Interplay was fined $1,000 for each employee on the payroll for a total of $79,000. This sum is in addition to the $179,000 it already owes the state in back taxes and the $432,000 in unpaid rent it owes its landlord, Arden Realty, who is reportedly on the verge of evicting the company. In addition, it is being sued for $156,000 in back Baldur's Gate royalties by BioWare. As of part of its mid-April financial statements, Interplay declared it only had $1.2 million in cash on hand.
Despite the increasingly daunting scale of Interplay's difficulties, Caen brushed them off. "I hope to have that [insurance] back by Monday or Tuesday," he told the Register optimistically. Caen also had the esprit to question the semantics of Chuang's article. "The company has not shut down. [The state] can’t do that. It can only let me not let employees work," he said.
In addition to breaking the closure news, Chuang also confirmed that Interplay employees had not been paid for over a month, had no health insurance, and had been told to remove their belongings from the building due to a looming lockout by Arden.
Still, some of the Interplay staffers at the office on Friday held out a more genuine sense of hope than their employer. "The reason I stick around is that I’m a diehard loyalist and I love the people I work with," IS manager Steve Jobes told the Register. "If there is any sliver of hope that Interplay may someday turn around I want to be there to see it." |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2004 : 19:02:05
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| Whoa Kuje31, thanks for posting these additional details. What a mess. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2004 : 19:24:48
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quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
Whoa Kuje31, thanks for posting these additional details. What a mess.
Yeah, I guess every one missed it when I linked it and posted it in the BG thread here on Candlekeep...... |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Sarelle
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
508 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jun 2004 : 12:15:16
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I'm so featherbrained. Thanks Dargoth.
quote:
Originally posted by kuje31
quote:
Originally posted by SiriusBlack
Whoa Kuje31, thanks for posting these additional details. What a mess.
Yeah, I guess every one missed it when I linked it and posted it in the BG thread here on Candlekeep......
I read it! |
Chair of the The Rightful Return of Monster Deities to FR Society (RRMDFRS)
My character, drawn by Liodain: Sarelle / Sarelle (smaller) |
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Capn Charlie
Senior Scribe
USA
418 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jun 2004 : 16:31:01
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As did I.
However, ramifications of the complete collapse of Interplay are just now registering. We also lost 42° East. I have had little childish dreams of a Sea Dogs style Pirate Isles game.
I got out my stack of "good" games, and a surprising portion of them wer Interplay! This is a huge(perhaps even gargantuan!) hit to the field of computer game development. I mean, my gods! if we lost Blizzard and Firaxis(two others on the list until recently of "never going anywhere") what else would we have around for game production?
Sierra? I like sierra as much as the next guy, but they just don't cut it.
I got to thinking(and no, it didn't hurt, wiseacre) what if we tried to lobby for the release of some of the infinity engine,(or any other pet project code) into free release? Cid Meier released Civilization II source code, and it now graces my OS(Linux Redhat Fedora) in a free version.
The GNU General Public License something akin to the d20 system in it's aims(except minus the draconian terms in the OGL).
Basically, when a company gets to the point where they aren't making money off of the game anymore(i.e. when Sierra ran out of copies of Tribes 2, they considered releasing this relatively new game via the GNU General public license), they throw the open source programmers a bone or two for continued good will.
I figure, there must be hordes of dnd players with programming and general computer expertise willing to pool resources and make the Infinity engine the "d20 system" of the web. Open source is the wave of the future, dinosaurs like windows are on the way out. I belive that it might be possible to retrieve the source code for, say, baldur's gate. Seeing as I highly doubt it is really considered a big asset anymore. In software terms, it is entirely obsolete. But then again, so is Civilization II.
However, this is really not my area of expertise. I will get my pet techie on looking into this, and dredge a couple of links to the organizations that might be ble to either set me straight, or assist us in taking BG for the international treasure it is, and releasing it.
The dream may not be dead... |
Shadows of War: Tales of a Mercenary
My first stab at realms fiction, here at candlekeep. Stop on by and tell me what you think. |
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TwoBit
Acolyte
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2004 : 08:22:17
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I agree with your statment about Open source. I'm so tired of widows, I spend my life soft-booting. Sometime, I will take the time to learn Linux, right now I have their complete cammand reference sitting in front of me. (The perfect sleep aid, LoL!)
Twobit |
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Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2004 : 09:03:37
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quote:
Originally posted by TwoBit
I agree with your statment about Open source. I'm so tired of widows, I spend my life soft-booting. Sometime, I will take the time to learn Linux, right now I have their complete cammand reference sitting in front of me. (The perfect sleep aid, LoL!)
Twobit
Tried Knoppix yet? |
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TwoBit
Acolyte
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2004 : 10:42:09
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No, the guy I barowed the cammand reference from can't find the CD. If you download it from the net is it the same as you would get on the CD.
Twobit |
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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2004 : 11:00:35
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I dont think you'll be getting anything for free from the Interplay collapse theres to many people owed money for any freebies
I wouldnt be suprised if Bioware buys some of the D&D rights Interplay had from the Liquidator.
Trokia might buy Fallout licence (depens on their fincial situation)
As for Games
I havent bought anything from Interplay since Icewind Dale 2
Games on my MUST BUY list include
Rome Total War
Half Life 2
Star Wars Battlefront
Medal of Honor: Pacfic Assault
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“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2004 : 11:17:43
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quote:
Originally posted by TwoBit
No, the guy I barowed the cammand reference from can't find the CD. If you download it from the net is it the same as you would get on the CD.
Twobit
Yes, in most cases. Knoppix is a good intermediate step-it's a LiveCD(meaning you boot from it instead of your hard disk) and it's meant to introduce people to Linux. Baby steps, people, baby steps-don't be expecting to master it in a day. |
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TwoBit
Acolyte
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2004 : 22:04:05
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Don't worry I wouldn't, we own a server and still contract out the work because it's a hell of a lot cheaper after all the doctor bills for migraines. I think it would be interesting to learn though.
Twobit |
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Capn Charlie
Senior Scribe
USA
418 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jun 2004 : 22:39:43
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quote:
Originally posted by Dargoth
I dont think you'll be getting anything for free from the Interplay collapse theres to many people owed money for any freebies
Somehow I doubt that the sourcecode for an obsolete game is that high up on their list of assets.
However, you are likely right. IF they think they could get anything from the infinity engine they would try.
Heh, maybe we(the BG fan community) should pass around the hat, and offer the liquidator a buck apice for it. They would likely accept any serious offers, and I am pretty sure that the BG fans would chip in a buck apiece to increase the likelyhood of seeing more. |
Shadows of War: Tales of a Mercenary
My first stab at realms fiction, here at candlekeep. Stop on by and tell me what you think. |
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Talwyn
Learned Scribe
Australia
222 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2004 : 03:10:44
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I'd like to second Capn Charlies suggestion of passing " the hat" about and trying to co-opperatively get the infinity engine into the hands of the online gaming community.
I'd certainly be willing to donate $1 to that cause.
As to the downfall of interplay, well I suspect it's a case of greed and incompetence at work here. I remember hearing rumblings about the company way back in '99. I think it's disgraceful that a successful games co. isn't paying it's employees properly.
However, on that note, maybe it's for the best. What could happen here is the talent that was working for Interplay, can form together and start up a new venture. The phoenix must burn before it can arise from it's ashes. |
Over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combating the forces of evil...prayer, fasting, good works and so on.
Up until Doom, no one seemed to have thought about the double-barrel shotgun.
EAT LEADEN DEATH DEMON!
Terry Pratchett
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Edited by - Talwyn on 19 Jun 2004 03:12:08 |
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Capn Charlie
Senior Scribe
USA
418 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jun 2004 : 15:59:04
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I was just thinking of this again the other day, and chuckled a bit when I got an idea.
How about rather than offering some raised money to their ceditors, we make an offer to donate it all to some worthy charity should the engine be released to open source.
Now wouldn't that be enough pressure, imagine how petty most any company would look if they kept the rights to a long defunct computer game when gamers are offering to send a big 'ol check to some worthy cause. Shoot, they would be nuts to not jump on it for the good publicity alone.
Or maybe then again I am just beating the dead horse with a chainsaw, and the dream really is dead. |
Shadows of War: Tales of a Mercenary
My first stab at realms fiction, here at candlekeep. Stop on by and tell me what you think. |
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Talwyn
Learned Scribe
Australia
222 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jun 2004 : 04:14:58
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I like your ide about offering the money to charity, it would make them look like evil capitalist bastards if they said no.
However, they probably have creditors and employees to pay off and the auditors will be wanting to extract the most amount of cash out of the company.
I fear that Capn Charlie may be right, the dream may not be dead but it's definately on life support at the moment and someone has pulled the plug out! |
Over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combating the forces of evil...prayer, fasting, good works and so on.
Up until Doom, no one seemed to have thought about the double-barrel shotgun.
EAT LEADEN DEATH DEMON!
Terry Pratchett
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Well I guess its official BIS/Interplay are gone
