Editing Star Control (section)

=== Conception ===
[[File:OC_03---3rd-Concept-image---late-spring-or-early-summer-1988.jpg|thumb|The mock-up image that Paul Reiche used to secure a publisher for the game. According to Reiche, "the idea was 3D space combat with the sort of [[Asymmetrical gameplay|asymmetrical]] match-ups we'd done with ''Archon."<ref name="Barton2016">{{cite book |author=Barton |first=Matt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV7OBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA203 |title=Honoring the Code: Conversations with Great Game Designers |date=April 19, 2016 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4665-6754-2 |pages=203– |access-date=October 20, 2020}}</ref>'']]
''Star Control'' was created by [[Paul Reiche III]] and [[Fred Ford (programmer)|Fred Ford]],<ref name="Barton2016" /><ref name="DeMaria2018">{{cite book|author=DeMaria|first=Rusel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dAF-DwAAQBAJ|title=High Score! Expanded: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games 3rd Edition|date=December 7, 2018|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-0-429-77139-2|access-date=October 20, 2020}}</ref> who both attended the [[University of California, Berkeley|University of California Berkeley]] around the same time, and both entered the [[video game industry]] in the early 1980s.<ref name="polygon">{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Colin |date=April 16, 2014 |title=Toys for Bob and the story behind ''Skylanders'' |url=http://www.polygon.com/2014/4/16/5614716/skylanders-story-toys-for-bob-skylanders-swap-force |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417013712/http://www.polygon.com/2014/4/16/5614716/skylanders-story-toys-for-bob-skylanders-swap-force |archive-date=April 17, 2014 |access-date=March 7, 2016 |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]}}</ref> Reiche had started his career working for ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' publisher [[TSR, Inc.|TSR]], before developing [[PC games]] for [[Free Fall Associates]].<ref name="GDC2015">{{cite web |author=Fred Ford & Paul Reiche III |date=June 30, 2015 |title=Classic Game Postmortem: Star Control |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Napx0MjivCM |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Napx0MjivCM |archive-date=2021-12-11 |access-date=October 20, 2020 |website=YouTube |publisher=[[Game Developers Conference]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> After releasing ''[[World Tour Golf]]'', Reiche created an advertising mock-up for what would become ''Star Control'', showing a dreadnaught and some ships fighting. He pitched the game to [[Electronic Arts]], before instead securing an agreement with [[Accolade, Inc.|Accolade]] as a publisher, thanks to Reiche's former [[Video game producer|producer]] taking a job there.<ref name="youtubex">{{cite web|author=Hutchinson|first=Lee|date=July 7, 2020|editor-last=Dacanay|editor-first=Sean|editor2-last=Niehaus|editor2-first=Marcus|title=Star Control Creators Paul Reiche & Fred Ford: Extended Interview|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/an-extended-interview-with-star-control-creators-fred-ford-paul-reiche-iii/|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815144859/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/an-extended-interview-with-star-control-creators-fred-ford-paul-reiche-iii/|archive-date=August 15, 2020|archive-format=Transcript|access-date=October 20, 2020|publisher=Ars Technica|quote=(2:00-16:04)}}</ref> Meanwhile, Ford had started his career creating games for Japanese personal computers before transitioning to more corporate software development.<ref name="Barton2016" /> After a few years working at graphics companies in [[Silicon Valley]], Ford realized he missed working in the game industry.<ref name="youtubex"/> At this point, Reiche needed a programmer-engineer and Ford was seeking a designer-artist, so their mutual friends set up a gaming night to re-introduce them.<ref name="GDC2015" /> The meeting was hosted at game designer [[Greg Johnson (game designer)|Greg Johnson]]'s house,<ref name="youtubex"/> and one of the friends who encouraged the meeting was fantasy artist [[Erol Otus]].<ref name="SC2team">{{cite web|author=Hutchinson|first=Lee|date=October 26, 2018|title=Video: The people who helped make Star Control 2 did a ton of other stuff|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/10/video-the-people-who-helped-make-star-control-2-did-a-ton-of-other-stuff/|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109025445/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/10/video-the-people-who-helped-make-star-control-2-did-a-ton-of-other-stuff/|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-format=Transcript|access-date=October 20, 2020|publisher=[[Ars Technica]]}}</ref>
 
''Star Control'' began as an evolution of concepts that Reiche created in ''[[Archon: The Light and the Dark]]'' and ''[[Mail Order Monsters]]''.<ref name="Barton2016"/> The project would adapt the action-strategy gameplay of ''Archon'' into a science fiction setting, where unique combatants fight space battles using distinct abilities.<ref name="Barton2016" /><ref name="GDC2015" /> Also called ''StarCon'', the title was a play on words.<ref name="HG101SC" /><ref name="warstories" /> According to Ford, "''StarCon'' is really just ''Archon'' with an S-T in front of it", pointing to the one-on-one combat and strategic modes of both games.<ref name="youtubex"/> ''Star Control'' would base its combat sequences on the classic game ''[[Spacewar!]]'',<ref name="DeMaria2018"/> as well as the core experience of space combat game ''[[Star Raiders]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Aycock|first=Heidi E H|date=January 1992|title=Principles of Good Design - Fun Comes First|url=https://archive.org/details/1992-01-compute-magazine/|archive-url=https://archive.org/details/1992-01-compute-magazine/page/n95/mode/2up|archive-date=August 24, 2011|access-date=October 20, 2020|publisher=Compute|page=94}}</ref>

This was the first collaboration between Ford and Reiche,<ref name="Barton2016" /><ref name="DeMaria2018" /> who decided to limit the game's scope to establish an effective workflow'''.'''<ref name="GDC2015" /> Releasing the game under their personal names, they also began referring to their partnership as [[Toys for Bob]].<ref name=":9" /><ref name="Barton2016" /> Programmer Robert Leyland and artist Erol Otus had both worked with Ford at his previous place of employment, and joined him as he began work on ''Star Control''.<ref name="Barton2016" />