Access Software Inc.(>1999 Microsoft-2006)


Indie Built, Inc. was a Salt Lake City, Utah based video game developer founded in 1982 by Bruce Carver as Access Software.

Key people Bruce Carver and Chris Jones.

Bruce Eugene Carver (May 4, 1948 – December 28, 2005) was a co-founder of video game developer Access Software (later renamed Indie Built) in 1982. On December 28, 2005, Carver unexpectedly died of cancer.

Christopher Jones (born March 4, 1954)is a videogame designer and finance professional. He is most famous for his series of interactive movies starring the hard-boiled, out-of-his-time gumshoe Tex Murphy, played by Jones himself, a private investigator that lives in San Francisco in the middle of the 21st century.


History

After buying a Commodore 64 in 1982, Bruce Carver wrote a sprite editor called "Spritemaster" which became commercially successful. He next wrote an arcade game, Neutral Zone, and formed Access Software. The company developed the RealSound audio technology, the Links computer golf series, and the Tex Murphy detective games.

In 1987, Access announced The Robotic Workshop, a toy kit that allowed users to build and program robots using a home computer. The kit was a precursor to the much more popular Lego Mindstorms kits released in the late 1990s. The Robotic Workshop included over 50 Capsela parts, including two motors, gears, wheels, and sensors.

Access Software was acquired by Microsoft in 1999, became part of Microsoft Game Studios and was renamed to "Salt Lake Games Studio". In 2003 it was renamed again to "Indie Games".

In October 2004, Microsoft sold the development studio to Take-Two Interactive (T2) and it took on the name Indie Built. They became part of T2's 2K Games/2K Sports brand. Indie shipped Amped 3 for the launch of Xbox 360 and worked on Top Spin 2 for Xbox 360 developed by Power and Magic. Take 2 suddenly closed Indie Built on April 28, 2006 without publicly stating any reasons for the closure.

In 2007, Chris Jones and Aaron Conners founded Big Finish Games, which is staffed primarily by veterans of Access/Indie Built. In 2012, they commenced development on a new Tex Murphy game.

Games / Hardware

10 Great Games 3
10th Frame (1986)
Amazon: Guardians of Eden (1992)
Amiga Gold Hits 1
Amped 2 (2003, Xbox)
Amped 3 (2005, Xbox 360)
Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding
Beach Head (1983, Atari, C64)
Beach Head II: The Dictator Strikes Back (1985)
Countdown (1990)
Crime Wave (1990)
Echelon (1987)
Famous Courses of the World: Vol. II
The Gold Collection II
Help! Charity Compilation
Leader Board
Leader Board Par 4
Links 2001
Links 386 CD
Links 386 Pro
Links Expansion Pack
Links Extreme
Links LS 1997
Links LS 1998 Edition
Links LS 1999
Links LS 2000
Links LS 2000 10 Course Pack
Links 2003 (2002)
Links 2004 (2003)
Links: Championship Course: Banff Springs
Links: Championship Course: Barton Creek
Links: Championship Course: Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Links: Championship Course: Bighorn
Links: Championship Course: Bountiful Golf Course
Links: Championship Course: Castlepines
Links: Championship Course: Firestone Country Club
Links: Championship Course: Hyatt Dorado Beach Resort
Links: Championship Course: Innisbrook - Copperhead
Links: Championship Course: Mauna Kea
Links: Championship Course: Pebble Beach
Links: Championship Course: Pinehurst Country Club
Links: Championship Course: Troon North
Links: Fantasy Course: Devils Island
Links: The Challenge of Golf
Mach5, Mach128 (C64/C128)
Martian Memorandum
Mean Streets (1989)
Microsoft Golf
Microsoft Golf 2.0
Microsoft Golf 3.0
Microsoft Golf 2001 Edition
Ollies Follies
The Pandora Directive
Raid over Moscow (1985, C64/Atari)
Robotic Workshop (1987, C64/C128/Amiga)
The Scrolls of Abadon
Solid Gold
Tex Murphy: Overseer
Top Spin (2003)
Top Spin 2 (2006)
Total Sports
Under a Killing Moon
World Class Leader Board