Daydream Software

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.^[4] Its starting team of five was 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.^[5] Daydream Software went public in late 1996.^[6][7] The company's goal was to increase its economic and decision-making freedom, and to secure the ability to select a publisher at the end of each game's development rather than at the beginning.^[7] President Jans Phersson-Broburg argued that self-financing Daydream's future games with money from Swedish investors, instead of obtaining "funding linked to specific projects" from publishers, would offer the developer more stability, flexibility and room for growth.^[8] For Daydream's public launch, roughly 20 million kr worth of shares, or 45.5% of the company, were offered to investors in Sweden.^[7] The initial public offering was a success,^[9] and Daydream opened on the Stockholm Stock Exchange's Stockholm Börsinformation (SBI) list in January 1997.^[10] Daydream was eventually able to buy back the rights to Safecracker.

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 1999 and (as with Safecracker) was published by DreamCatcher Interactive. The game received mostly positive reviews,^[11] and proved a financial success for the company, selling over 300,000 copies.^[12]

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^[13] but low sales for the company.^[14]

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.^[15] 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.^[16]

Closing

Daydream Software was put through liquidation in February 2003^[17] before closing in 2004. Most employees moving on to form a new development company: Resolution Interactive, which focused on iPhone games.^[18] The company filed for bankruptcy in 2012.^[19]

Associated Titles

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

• Safecracker received an unrelated sequel for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii, as well as PC computers in 2006 by The Adventure Company called Safecracker: The Ultimate Puzzle Adventure.
• Traitors Gate 2: Cypher was released in 2003, also by The Adventure Company. The game is unreleated to the original and, unlike its predecessor, the game was universally panned by critics.
• Clusterball received a sequel, originally titled Clusterball 2 and renamed Clusterball Arcade, for the iPhone in 2008.^[20]
• The rights to Campfire were eventually sold to Nordic VFX in 2009,^[21] who began developing the game for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3, although the company has not made any further announcements and the game is assumed to be cancelled.

Games Developed

• Safecracker (1997)
• Traitors Gate (1999)
• Ski-Doo: X-Team Racing (2001)
• Clusterball (2001)
• Campfire: Become Your Nightmare (Canceled)

References

External links

• Official site (archived)