| Simutronics |
Website Links For Simutronics |
Information About ™Simutronics |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SIMUTRONICS | |
| video game companies | |
| companies established in 1987 | |
| companies based in missouri | |
| companies based in st. louis | |
| companies based in maryland | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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The company's flagship product, ''GemStone IV'', has been running for around 15 years. ''GemStone'' was originally accessed through General Electric 's Internet Service Provider GEnie , later becoming accessible through AOL , Prodigy , and CompuServe before Simutronics finally moved all their games to their own domain, play.net, in 1997. SIMUTRONICS PRODUCTS All of the following titles are multiplayer online games:
INTERACTIVE FICTION ENGINE Simutronics' products '' GemStone IV '', '' DragonRealms '', '' Modus Operandi '', and '' Alliance Of Heroes '' are text-based multiplayer games built on the proprietary Interactive Fiction Engine (IFE), which is written in the C Programming Language . The IFE is responsible for managing the server's memory, interacting with the game's database, and communicating with the clients. It also includes an interpreter for the proprietary GemStone Scripting Language (GSL), a relatively simple language which abstracts away most of the complex details that the IFE handles. The major advantage of the IFE, unlike most other game engines including those of many major graphical MMOG s, is that it is constructed to allow the modification of all properties of the game except those implemented directly by the IFE without requiring a game restart. This includes the game's geography and all functions written in GSL. As a result of this, scheduled game Downtime tends to be infrequent and short. It also means that game releases tend to be incremental instead of gathered up into large Patch es, and bug fixes can be applied immediately on completion instead of waiting for the next downtime. Originally, many core game Command s (such as those relating to movement and inventory management) were implemented directly by the IFE. Over time, most of those have been migrated to GSL to allow for easier modification. The upcoming title '' Hero's Journey (game) '' will be based around a similar system, using the Hero Script Language (HSL). CORPORATE CULTURE Unlike most game developers, the majority of Simutronics employees are not full time staff housed in the corporate offices. The relatively small onsite staff includes mainly corporate officers, billing and legal staff, Product Managers , and engine programmers. The day-to-day development and customer service staff of the games is comprised of part time offsite contractors, called GameMasters , most of whom have full time jobs elsewhere. Whether this staff is paid varies. {Link without Title} {Link without Title} As a result of their less central status, GameMasters do not have access to billing or personal information for customers or the engine code. All development work by GameMasters is done in GSL (for the IFE games) or HSL (for ''Hero's Journey''). GameMasters are hired, trained, and perform their duties without ever setting foot in a corporate office. This employment practice provides wider options for hiring and a lower payroll to Simutronics, and a flexible work environment for the GameMasters. The main avenue for customer-company communication is through the official Simutronics forums. Compared to the employees of other online game companies, GameMasters are relatively unrestricted in their discussions with customers. Most unusual is the ability of developers to discuss issues directly with customers, rather than through a community manager or other customer service employee. TRIVIA
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