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Derek Smart is one of the very few independent software designers developing video games today. He is best known for creating the Battlecruiser 3000AD and Universal Combat video game series and his willingness to personally involve himself in discussions about himself and his games. Smart is a boardmember of the Miami chapter of the IGDA., and also the President and Lead Developer of 3000AD, Inc., a corporation based out of his home in Weston, Florida.

Game development

Battlecruiser 3000AD

Smart began his independent games development in 1990 with the vision of creating an all-encompassing space simulation game featuring strategy elements along with space, planetary, air and ground combat. Despite the fact that it would not be until 1996 that a product of his would be released, Smart became a recognizable personality during this six-year period. Through sometimes heated discussions taking place on Usenet about the game, his development efforts, and many other topics Smart would become known to the then-nascent online world.

His first game, Battlecruiser 3000AD, was covered through its development process by gaming magazines such as Strategy Plus, and talked about frequently on Usenet. This increased visibility drew publishers, and as the game's development continued, it changed hands from publisher to publisher. Eventually publishing rights would land with Take-Two Interactive who released the game in what could be described as an unfinished state in October of 1996, possibly because their fiscal year ends on October 31st. The game as it was released contained many bugs that made it unstable.

The initial release of the game was "a train wreck", according to a reviewer who later commented that "Smart consistently overrates his own products and his own abilities." The early release would lead to a lawsuit filed by Smart, alleging breach of contract on the part of Take-Two. The lawsuit would later be settled out of court. In late 1998, both parties released statements of resolution. Take-Two later became a publicly traded company and in its SEC filings on February 10th, 1997 stated that Battlecruiser 3000AD accounted for 14.2% of revenue for the fiscal year ending October 31, 1996 and that Smart's company 3000AD received advances totaling $618,000.

Despite technical problems and bad reviews, the game seemed to be a moderate commercial success. Smart issued several patches and upgrades for the product over the next few months and, eventually, a final patch was released to fix some of the major bugs. In February of 1998, after securing publishing rights back from Take-Two, Smart released the game for download from the internet free of charge.

Development of the game continued throughout 1998 towards version 2.0, and Interplay was announced as the publisher for an improved version of the original game (dubbed Battlecruiser 3000AD v2.0) through its Value Product Division. After its retail run, Smart also released that product on the Internet for free.

Battlecruiser Millennium

From 1998 to 2001, Smart developed his next game in the Battlecruiser franchise, Battlecruiser Millennium. The game was to be exclusively distributed at Electronics Boutique locations and was self-published by his company 3000AD, Inc. The deal made with EB was a first-of-its kind merchant exclusivity deal for a game's release, with an independent developer paying for all materials to publish the game for distribution through the retailer. When asked by the gaming media about his thoughts on the deal, Smart stated "I'm paying for everything. I bear all the risk. I pay for the cost of goods, including the boxes and manuals."

The game was released on November 19th of 2001 and was generally viewed as being better than his previous games. According to some reviews of the game, it was as encompassing and strategically pleasing as the developer had set out to make, but lacked in user interface design friendliness and atmosphere.

After its retail run Smart released Battlecruiser Millennium on the Internet for free as he had done with his previous titles. He has mentioned that he intends to keep up this practice of releasing his products for free once their "shelf life" has expired.

Like the previous game Battlecruiser 3000AD, Battlecruiser Millennium was also followed by an updated release titled Battlecruiser Millennium Gold.

Universal Combat

Development had started in 2002 on the new game in the Battlecruiser franchise under the name Battlecruiser Generations. As part of its design, the upcoming game would make use of newer technology. With the new publisher on board offering more oversight, discussions between Smart and the Dreamcatcher Games resulted in a change of direction towards more action-based game play than the Battlecruiser series had previously been known for. The changes warranted a new title, and the name was changed to Universal Combat.

Although expected to be, Universal Combat was not ready in time for the 2003 holidays. It was shipped in early 2004 by the publisher, Dreamcatcher Games, at half of the originally announced price. Much like the situation which happened between Smart and Take-Two Interactive, Smart pursued legal action against his publisher. A cease and desist letter was issued on behalf of 3000AD to Dreamcatcher alleging, among other things, that the price reduction was "clearly calculated to inflict economic harm on 3000AD". In the hearing, Dreamcatcher Games claimed that the game's quality did not justify a midrange price, citing the graphics as a example of the overall quality of the game. A hearing was held to determine if Dreamcatcher would be prevented from shipping the title at the reduced price. The presiding judge denied the injunction stating that 3000AD "made bold but unsupported assertions regarding the irreparable harm to it", allowing Dreamcatcher Games to ship the game and 3000AD to proceed with their lawsuit. The matter was later settled out of court under undisclosed terms.

The game was reviewed and rated in several print and online game magazines. Gamespot, in its 59% review score, summarized its experience with the game by saying "This wildly ambitious simulation is torpedoed by an almost incomprehensible interface, the absence of a tutorial, numerous bugs, and many fit and finish issues, including dated production values." PC Gamer, in its 75% review said of its experience with the game, "...for the latter niche of hardcore space-simmers, Derek Smart's Battlecruiser series has been going strong for eight solid years. Over that time, the idiosyncratic space-combat franchise has transformed itself from a bug-ridden lemon to a respected genre contender. Universal Combat is the latest chapter in this recently rebranded series (with new publisher Dreamcatcher), and though the game remains an acquired taste, it's better than ever."

After terminating a publishing deal with Dreamcatcher Games., Smart released an updated release titled Universal Combat Gold. Starting with this release, Smart has made a policy of releasing games through online resellers.

In 2005, Smart also released Universal Combat: A World Apart, a full sequel to the original Universal Combat with a variety of revisions and enhancements. Game Rankings and Metacritic have given aggregate review scores of 54% and 48%, respectively, for the game.

In October 2006 Smart released Universal Combat: Special Edition.

Current projects

Template:Future game

On 25 January, 2006, 3000AD announced two upcoming projects for the XBox 360, Hostile Intent - Planetfall and KnightBlade - Line Of Defense. Both titles have a projected release in Q1 of 2008.

In December 2006, Smart announced Galactic Command a new franchise based on his IP. He also announced a collectors edition consisting of his Battlecruiser and Universal Combat games.

Gametap

In 2005 Turner Broadcasting licensed both Battlecruiser Millennium and Universal Combat Gold for their games on demand system, GameTap.

Online controversy

Derek Smart has become known among the gaming community not only for having engaged in various controversial and lengthy discussions on Usenet and game forums, but also for his writing style when responding to his critics, which may be perceived as dismissive or condescending. His notoriety for this was such that GameSpy lampooned Smart's online social interactions in its Daily Victim column.

In an interview which was featured on the cover page of Computer Gaming World, Smart said of his online persona: "Sometimes when I get online, and it's quiet, and I see something that attracts my attention, I'll post just to piss these guys off. That's why I do it. Because I'm in a good mood that day, I go in there and I start trouble."

Freespace licensing

Smart was reported to be seeking to license the Freespace IP to develop a game based on the popular space-sim previously published by Interplay. This sparked a controversy between Smart and his critics. The rumor was debunked by Yahoo video game news: "Following Bethesda Softworks' acquisition of the Fallout license earlier this week, word spread that cash-strapped publisher Interplay is having a franchise fire sale. The rumors of Smart's involvement started when he posed the question, "Would you buy Freespace 3 if I made it?" on the Adrenaline Vault forums. In the next paragraph, though, Smart clarified his supposition stating that he was only "seriously considering" licensing the Freespace engine. However, the very possibility of Smart taking over the series has generated a strong reaction, prompting him to post a typically verbose response to his critics." The controversy was further discussed in a Slashdot article

Published games

References

1. ^ "GameSpy.com - Daily Victim: A tribute to online gaming dementia". Retrieved 2006-12-05. Cite error: The named reference "victim" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. "IGDA Miami - Chapter Meeting: June 2002". Retrieved 2006-11-28.
3. ^ "loonygames' Guest Editorial: Derek Smart". Retrieved 2006-12-05.
4. "Get in the Game: Battlecruiser Millennium". Retrieved 2006-12-05.
5. "Battlecruiser 3000 A.D. for PC Review - PC Battlecruiser 3000 A.D. Review". Retrieved 2006-10-20.
6. ^ "GameSpy.com - Article: The 25 Dumbest Moments in Gaming". Retrieved 2006-10-20.
7. "Smart, Take-Two Settle differences - News at GameSpot". Retrieved 2006-10-21.
8. "www.sec.gov archives Take Two Interactive Software Inc". Retrieved 2006-12-05.
9. "Battlecruiser 3000 A.D. Set Free - News at GameSpot". Retrieved 2006-12-05.
10. "Press Release: Interplay Value Products Division to distribute Battlecruiser 3000AD v2.0". Interplay. August 5, 1998.
11. ^ "Battlecruiser series". Retrieved 2006-10-21.
12. "IGN: EB Signs Pact with Derek Smart". Retrieved 2006-12-06.
13. "GameSpy.com - GameSpin: Volume 2 -- Battlecruiser Millennium, Tropico and Anarchy Online". Retrieved 2006-12-06.
14. "Battlecruiser Millennium Reviews". Retrieved 2006-12-06.
15. "Battlecruiser Millennium (pc: 2001): Reviews". Retrieved 2006-12-05.
16. "Battlecruiser Millennium - It's much improved over the previous release but it still asks for too much from the player". Retrieved 2006-12-05.
17. "AusGamers.com - Australia's Games Community: Battlecruiser Millenium Now Freeware". Retrieved 2006-10-21.
18. "UC Version Control". Retrieved 2006-12-05.
19. "Battlecruiser Generations rechristened - PC News at GameSpot". Retrieved 2006-12-05.
20. "3000AD Issues Cease & Desist Letter to Dreamcatcher" (PDF). Retrieved 2004-02-04.
21. "3000AD Final Factum Filed Against Dreamcatcher" (PDF). Retrieved 2004. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
22. "Canadian Judge Rules On 3000AD Injunction Against Dreamcatcher". Retrieved 2004. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
23. "Universal Combat ships despite lawsuit". Retrieved 2004-02-05.
24. "DreamCatcher to publish another 3000AD title". Retrieved 2005-01-13.
25. "Universal Combat Reviews". Retrieved 2006-10-20.
26. "Universal Combat for PC Review - PC Universal Combat Review". Retrieved 2006-10-20.
27. "PC Gamer review of Universal Combat" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-10-20.
28. "3000AD announces trio of new titles, breaks ties with publisher - PC News at GameSpot". Retrieved 2006-12-06.
29. "BATTLECRUISER Online - Sales and Order Information". Retrieved 2006-10-20.
30. "UCAWA Dev Version Control". Retrieved 2006-12-06.
31. "Universal Combat: A World Apart (pc: 2005): Reviews". Retrieved 2006-12-06.
32. GameRankings.com aggregate review of Universal Combat: A World Apart
33. "3000 A.D. Completely Sells Out to Xbox 360". TeamXbox. 2006-01-25. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
34. "Hostile Intent - Planetfall (X360)". GameSpy. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
35. "KnightBlade -- Line Of Defense (X360)". GameSpy. Retrieved 2006-12-01.
36. "Galactic Command (PC/XB360)". Retrieved 2006-12-04.
37. "Turner licenses 3000AD titles for GameTap". Retrieved 2005-08-05.
38. "Computer Gaming World Interview". Retrieved 2006-12-06.
39. ^ "Rumor Control: $179 DS in November and $29.99 GameCube games - PC News at GameSpot". Retrieved 2006-12-06.
40. "Slashdot - Derek Smart Lusting Rights to Freespace?". Retrieved 2006-12-06.

External links

• 3000AD Inc. website
• Derek Smart's website
• Moby Games' entry on Derek Smart
• Editorial: Why I love Derek Smart

• Computer and video game designers
• Living people