Apogee Returns
It all started in 1987.
This was an era before graphics cards, before Google, before Amazon, back when Atari was still a thing. No one had any idea about smart phones, or really any type of phone you carried around with you. Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Bitcoin, Netflix, Tesla... all future dreams of future billionaires.
Apogee released Kingdom of Kroz in 1987, a simple dungeon hack game inspired by Rogue, done entirely in ASCII graphics.
Kingdom of Kroz II (1990)
The key innovation was not the game itself, but HOW it was released: its 75 levels divided into three episodes of 25 levels each, and the first episode released freely to the public using numerous online services like CompuServe, AOL, GEnie, and hundreds of online bulletin boards.
This was the start of shareware gaming. It was the start of the indie developers being able to successful market their own games, bypassing the many big publishers of the day, like EA, Origin, Acclaim, Psygnosis, Brøderbund and Cinemaware--most sand in the wind today.
Apogee's direct-to-gamers marketing techniques showed the way for numerous other indie studios to reach substantial player bases and bootstrap themselves to tremendous success.
"Apogee was the big innovator in the shareware era of gaming where Epic and many others had their start. Scott's work in recruiting and managing great teams and building an effective business model was a constant source of inspiration."
-Tim Sweeney, Epic Games (CEO)
And Apogee itself funded and helped launch the first games from numerous studios, like Parallax Software (Descent), Q Studios (Blood), Remedy Entertainment (Death Rally and Max Payne 1 & 2), and id Software (Commander Keen and Wolfenstein 3D).
Why are we back?
Indie developers have never had it so good, with engines and tools and marketplaces and Steam and self-publishing! But there are still many many things an indie-focused publisher like Apogee can bring to the party:
Funding -- Money helps make better games, it helps people focus full-time on their passion rather than just do it as a side gig.
Marketing & PR -- How many great indie games don't reach their potential because the world just doesn't know about them?
Big Boxes -- Apogee makes sure collectors get what they really want, something amazing to put on their shelf and full of collectable goodies.
Porting -- If you are not releasing version 1.0 of your game on ALL platforms simultaneously, you're not doing it right.
QA and Localization -- The pros do it, so should indies.
Experienced Guidance -- We've been doing this for decades, and that kind of experience matters.
We'll try to have a new blog or two monthly. In the meantime, you can follow us at these social hangouts!
