History Creator / IonStorm

* '''Ion Storm Dallas''' was founded late in 1996 by Creator/JohnRomero, Tom Hall (co-founders of Creator/IdSoftware), Todd Porter, and Jerry O'Flaherty (of 7th Level), who had signed a six-game contract with Creator/EidosInteractive. It is best remembered for its extravagant marketing antics (not unlike those of other startups springing up around the same time), indulging in some of the worst stereotypes of the Dot-Com Bubble Era (again, not unlike many of their contemporaries) and for its two original games, Romero's ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'' and Hall's ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}'', which came to define, for worse or better, their respective creators' gaming legacies. Both left the studio in 2001, just one month after ''Anachronox'' shipped, and Eidos shut it down immediately thereafter.

* '''Ion Storm Dallas''' was founded late in 1996 by Creator/JohnRomero, Tom Hall (co-founders of Creator/IdSoftware), Todd Porter, and Jerry O'Flaherty (of 7th Level), who had signed a six-game contract with Creator/EidosInteractive. It is best remembered for its extravagant marketing antics (not unlike those of other startups springing up around the same time), indulging in some of the worst stertypes of the Dot-Com Bubble Era (again, not unlike many of their contemporaries) and for its two original games, Romero's ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'' and Hall's ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}'', which came to define, for worse or better, their respective creators' gaming legacies. Both left the studio in 2001, just one month after ''Anachronox'' shipped, and Eidos shut it down immediately thereafter.

* '''Ion Storm Dallas''' was founded late in 1996 by Creator/JohnRomero, Tom Hall (co-founders of Creator/IdSoftware), Todd Porter, and Jerry O'Flaherty (of 7th Level), who had signed a six-game contract with Creator/EidosInteractive. It is best remembered for its extravagant marketing antics (not unlike those of other startups springing up around the same time) and for its two original games, Romero's ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'' and Hall's ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}'', which came to define, for worse or better, their respective creators' gaming legacies. Both left the studio in 2001, just one month after ''Anachronox'' shipped, and Eidos shut it down immediately thereafter.

->''"There were very volatile extroverts in Dallas, and Creator/{{Warren|Spector}}'s group tended to be very volatile introverts and {{nerd}}s."''

[[caption-width-right:350:[[BadassCreed "Design is Law"]] [[note]]This motto, attributed to Romero, was a clear polemic with Creator/JohnCarmack's well-known view that id's games are just there to [[TechDemoGame show off their newest engine's features]].[[/note]]]]

->''"There were very volatile extroverts in Dallas, and Warren's group tended to be very volatile introverts and {{nerd}}s."''

* '''Ion Storm Austin''', meanwhile, was founded in late 1997, when Romero persuaded the Creator/{{Origin|Systems}} and Creator/{{Looking Glass|Studios}} alumnus Warren Spector to found his own studio to make the game of his dreams, which would become ''VideoGame/DeusEx''. Spector's studio steered clear of Dallas' excesses and established itself as one of Looking Glass' successors by repatriating many ex-LGS developers, who went on to create ''VideoGame/ThiefDeadlyShadows''. Soon after ''Deadly Shadows'', however, Spector and most of the senior staff left, and, given how this was Ion Storm's sixth game for Eidos, the publisher closed the studio in 2005.

* '''Ion Storm Dallas''' was founded late in 1996 by Creator/JohnRomero, Tom Hall (co-founders of Creator/IdSoftware), Todd Porter, and Jerry O'Flaherty (of 7th Level), who had signed a six-game contract with Creator/EidosInteractive. It is best remembered for its extravagant marketing antics (not unlike those of other Dot-Com startups) and for its two original games, Romero's ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'' and Hall's ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}'', which came to define, for worse or better, their respective creators' gaming legacies. Both left the studio in 2001, just one month after ''Anachronox'' shipped, and Eidos shut it down immediately thereafter.

* '''Ion Storm Dallas''' was founded late in 1996 by Creator/JohnRomero, Tom Hall (co-founders of Creator/IdSoftware), Todd Porter, and Jerry O'Flaherty (of 7th Level), who had signed a six-game contract with Creator/EidosInteractive. It is best remembered for its extravagant marketing antics (not unlike those of other Dot-Com startups) and for its two original games, Romero's ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'' and Hall's ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}'', which came to define, for worse or better, their respective creators' gaming legacies. Both of them left the studio in 2001, just one month after ''Anachronox'' shipped, and Eidos shut it down immediately thereafter.

* Porter's ''Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3'' (1998) was an obscure RealTimeStrategy in development by 7th Level at the time of its closure.[[note]]Porter and O'Flaherty convinced Romero to let them complete the game with Ion Storm's resources.[[/note]] It had the misfortune of going up against ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' while having little to show for itself, flopping badly as a result. Despite the title, the game was not a third installment, but an original story set on a planet named "Gift 3".

* '''Ion Storm Dallas''' was founded late in 1996 by Creator/JohnRomero, Tom Hall (co-founders of Creator/IdSoftware), Todd Porter, and Jerry O'Flaherty (of 7th Level), who had signed a six-game contract with Creator/EidosInteractive. It is best remembered for its extravagant marketing antics (not unlike those of other Dot-Com startups) and for its two original games, Romero's ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'' and Hall's ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}'', which came to define, for worse or better, their respective creators' gaming legacies. Both founders left the studio in 2001, just one month after ''Anachronox'' shipped, and Eidos shut it down immediately thereafter.

* Porter's ''Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3'' (1998) was an obscure RealTimeStrategy in development by 7th Level at the time of its closure -- he and O'Flaherty convinced Romero to let them complete the game with Ion Storm's resources. It had the misfortune of going up against ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' while having little to show for itself, flopping badly as a result. Despite the title, the game was not a third installment, but an original story set on a planet named "Gift 3".

* '''Ion Storm Dallas''' was founded late in 1996 by the Creator/IdSoftware co-founders Creator/JohnRomero and Tom Hall who had signed a six-game contract with Creator/EidosInteractive. It is best remembered for its extravagant marketing antics (not unlike those of other Dot-Com startups) and for its two original games, Romero's ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'' and Hall's ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}'', which came to define, for worse or better, their respective creators' gaming legacies. Both founders left the studio in 2001, just one month after ''Anachronox'' shipped, and Eidos shut it down immediately thereafter.
* '''Ion Storm Austin''', meanwhile, was founded in late 1997, when Romero persuaded the Creator/{{Origin|Systems}} and Creator/{{Looking Glass|Studios}} alumnus Warren Spector to found his own studio to make the game of his dreams, which would become ''VideoGame/DeusEx''. Spector's studio steered clear of Dallas' excesses and established itself as one of Looking Glass' successors by creating ''VideoGame/ThiefDeadlyShadows''. Soon after ''Deadly Shadows'', however, Spector and most of the senior staff left, and, given how this was Ion Storm's sixth game for Eidos, the publisher closed the studio in 2005.

!!Games developed at Ion Storm Dallas:

* ''Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3'' (1998) was an obscure RealTimeStrategy originally developed by another studio, which had the misfortune of going up against ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' while having little to show for itself, and flopped badly as a result. Despite the title, the game was not a third installment, but an original story set on a planet named "Gift 3".

* ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'' (2000)
* ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}'' (2001)

[[caption-width-right:350:[[BadassCreed "Design is Law"]] [[note]]This motto, attributed to Romero, was a clear polemic with Creator/JohnCarmack's well-documented view that id's games are just there to show off their newest engine's features.[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[BadassCreed "Design is Law"]] [[note]]This motto, attributed to Romero, was a clear polemic to Creator/JohnCarmack's well-documented view that id's games are just there to show off their newest engine's features.[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[BadassCreed "Design is Law"]]]]

%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

Ion Storm was a Texas-based video game development studio that existed for about a decade around the TurnOfTheMillennium. Or, you could say, there were actually ''two'' studios known as "Ion Storm", with very different ethos and design priorities, owing to the very different personalities of their respective founders. Still others would say that it was Ion Storm's overarching culture of auteur design[[note]]Its founder's motto was, in fact, "Design is Law".[[/note]] that allowed for this divide to flourish in the first place. The two studios/branches were:

* '''Ion Storm Austin''', meanwhile, was founded in late 1997, when Romero persuaded the Origin and Creator/{{Looking Glass|Studios}} alumnus Warren Spector to found his own studio to make the game of his dreams, which would become ''VideoGame/DeusEx''. Spector's studio steered clear of Dallas' excesses and established itself as one of Looking Glass' successors by creating ''VideoGame/ThiefDeadlyShadows''. Soon after ''Deadly Shadows'', however, Spector and most of the senior staff left, and, given how this was Ion Storm's sixth game for Eidos, the publisher closed the studio in 2005.

* ''Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3'' (1998) was an obscure RealTimeStrategy originally developed by another studio, which had the misfortune of going up against ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' while having little to show for itself, and flopped badly as a result. Despite the title, the game was not a third installment, but an original story set on the planet named "Gift 3".

* '''Ion Storm Austin''', meanwhile, was founded in late 1997, when Romero persuaded the Origin and Creator/{{Looking Glass|Studios}} alumnus Warren Spector to found his own studio and to make the game of his dreams, which would become ''VideoGame/DeusEx''. Spector's studio steered clear of Dallas' excesses and further solidified itself as one of Looking Glass' successors by creating ''VideoGame/ThiefDeadlyShadows''. Soon after ''Deadly Shadows'', however, Spector and most of the senior staff left the company, and, given how this was Ion Storm's sixth game for Eidos, the publisher closed the studio in 2005.

Ion Storm was a Texas-based video game development studio that existed briefly around the TurnOfTheMillennium. Or, you could say, there have been ''two'' studios known as "Ion Storm", with very different ethos and design priorities, owing to the very different personalities of their respective founders. Still others would say that it was Ion Storm's overarching culture of auteur design that allowed for this divide to occur in the first place. The two studios/branches were:

* '''Ion Storm Dallas''' was founded late in 1996 by Creator/IdSoftware co-founders Creator/JohnRomero and Tom Hall (by way of Apogee), funded by a six-game deal with Creator/EidosInteractive. It is best remembered for its extravagant marketing antics (not unlike those of other Dot-Com startups) and for its two original games, Romero's ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'' and Hall's ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}'', which came to define, for worse or better, their creators' gaming legacies. Both founders left the studio one month after ''Anachronox'' shipped in 2001, and Eidos shut it down immediately afterward.
* '''Ion Storm Austin''', meanwhile, was founded in late 1997 when Romero persuaded the Origin and Creator/{{Looking Glass|Studios}} alumnus Warren Spector to found his own studio and make the game of his dreams, which would become ''VideoGame/DeusEx''. Spector's studio steered clear of Dallas' excesses and further entrenched itself as one of Looking Glass' successors with ''VideoGame/ThiefDeadlyShadows''. After ''Deadly Shadows'', however, Spector left the company, and, given how this was Ion Storm's sixth game for Eidos, the publisher decided to close the studio in 2005.

* ''Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3'' (1998) was an obscure RealTimeStrategy originally developed by another studio, which had the misfortune of going up against ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' while having little to show for itself, and flopped badly as a result.