Editing Color Dreams

{{Short description|Video game developer and publisher}}
{{refimprove|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Color Dreams
| logo =
| caption =
| fate = reformed as StarDot Technologies
| successor = [[Wisdom Tree]]<br/>StarDot Technologies
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1988}}
| defunct = {{End date and age|1997}}
|location_city = [[Brea, California]]
|location_country = [[United States|U.S.]]<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Eddy |first1=Andy |title=Color Dreams may be Nintendo's nightmare |magazine=Video Games & Computer Entertainment |date=July 1989 |issue=6 |pages=28–31 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/0/01/VG%26CE_US_06.pdf}}</ref>
| industry = [[Video games]] (formerly)<br/>[[Electronics]] (as StarDot Technologies)
| products = Various video games for [[Nintendo Entertainment System]]<br>[[IP camera]]s (as StarDot Technologies)
| key_people = Dan Lawton (founder/co-owner)<ref name="Deforest">{{cite web|url=http://colordreams.rogerdeforest.com/|title=Color Dreams - Wisdom Tree - Secret Scout|last=Deforest|first=Roger|accessdate=28 February 2015}}</ref>
}}
[[Image:Robodemons-gameplay.png|150px|right|thumb|A screenshot of ''[[Robodemons]]'', a Color Dreams game]]
'''Color Dreams''' ([[Doing business as|d/b/a]] '''StarDot Technologies''') is an American company formerly known for [[video game developer|developing]] and publishing unlicensed [[video game]]s for the [[8-bit]] [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] (NES). The company left the [[video game industry]] in the mid-1990s, shifting its focus to [[IP camera]]s and related surveillance equipment.<ref name="Floyd">{{cite web|url=http://www.thevintagegamers.com/2014/02/interview-with-wisdom-tree-owner-brenda-huff/|title=Interview with Wisdom Tree Owner Brenda Huff|last=Floyd|first=Samuel|date=23 February 2014|work=Vintage Gamers|accessdate=28 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="Gibson">{{cite web|url=http://www.sega-16.com/2006/08/interview-brenda-huff/|title=Interview: Brenda Huff |last=Gibson |first=Nick |work=Sega-16.com|accessdate=28 February 2015}}</ref>

==History==
While most companies that developed NES games obtained an official license from [[Nintendo]] to produce game cartridges, Color Dreams was unusual in that it developed NES games without an official license.<ref name="Weiss2009">{{cite book|last=Weiss|first=Brett|title=Classic Home Video Games, 1985–1988: A Complete Reference Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F01wiUr9LKQC|accessdate=28 February 2015|date=6 July 2009|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476601410}}</ref> To produce these unlicensed games, Color Dreams had to bypass the NES's "lock out" chip (the [[10NES]]).<ref name="woodyard">{{cite news|last=Woodyard |first=Chris|title=Nintendo Keeps Color Dreams Up Worrying Video Games|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=1990-10-24|page=5|quote=Color Dreams' games circumvent the Nintendo lockout chips and can therefore operate on the Nintendo system.}}</ref> The company successfully bypassed the system, developed a game (''[[Baby Boomer (video game)|Baby Boomer]]''), and released it in 1989. Several other titles followed in 1989 and 1990, including ''[[Captain Comic]]'', ''[[Crystal Mines]]'', and ''[[Robodemons]]''.

As a result of its reputation for releasing poor games, Color Dreams formed the label '''Bunch Games''' in 1990. Bunch Games was meant to be a label that Color Dreams could use to release lower quality games so that its reputation would not be damaged further. Using this label, Color Dreams published several English versions of games by [[Thin Chen Enterprise|Sachen]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=NESWORLD.COM - COLOR DREAMS (UNLICENSED NINTENDO GAMES) |url=http://www.nesworld.com/colordreams.php |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=www.nesworld.com}}</ref>

In 1991, Color Dreams formed [[Wisdom Tree]] for the purpose of releasing [[Christian video games|Christianity-themed games]]. The Wisdom Tree label resulted in Color Dreams' best selling titles, including ''[[Spiritual Warfare (video game)|Spiritual Warfare]]'' and ''[[Bible Adventures]]''. Wisdom Tree is also noted for creating the only unlicensed [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]] game to ever be released in North America, ''[[Super 3D Noah's Ark]]''.<ref name="Matulef">{{cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-01-14-unlicensed-snes-game-super-3d-noahs-ark-to-be-reprinted|title=Unlicensed SNES game Super 3D Noah's Ark to be reprinted|last=Matulef|first=Jeffrey|date=14 January 2014|work=[[Eurogamer]]|accessdate=28 February 2015}}</ref> While Wisdom Tree remains active today and is still selling religious video games, Color Dreams left the video game business in 1996 to focus on digital camera development, now trading as StarDot Technologies.<ref name="Deforest"/><ref name="Gibson"/><ref name="stardot">{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/Stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=8160347|title=Color Dreams, Inc.: Private Company Information|work=Businessweek|publisher=[[Bloomberg L.P.]]|accessdate=28 February 2015}}</ref>

===Cancelled projects===
One Color Dreams project that was never released was a game based on the movie ''[[Hellraiser]]''.<ref name="Deforest"/> The game cartridge, or "Super Cartridge" as it was called at the time, contained an extra processor that modified the tiles in the cartridge [[RAM]] without alerting the NES processor. This allowed for enhanced graphic effects rarely seen on the NES, such as a fully animated background running without the lag usually found with such tricks. The extra processor also performed [[palette swap]]ping between [[scan line|scans]] of the TV to give the illusion of extra color. Because of delays in production, development problems, lack of a market for unlicensed games based on horror movies, and the exorbitant amount of money it took to make each Super Cartridge, the project was eventually abandoned.<ref name="NESWorld">{{cite web|url=http://www.nesworld.com/colordreams2.php|title=Color Dreams|work=NESWorld.com|accessdate=28 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="gamasutra">{{Cite web |title=How a Hellraiser tie-in became Super 3D Noah's Ark |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/how-a-hellraiser-tie-in-became-i-super-3d-noah-s-ark-i- |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=[[Game Developer (website)|Game Developer]] |language=en}}</ref>

=== Legacy ===
In August 2011, Ken Beckett, the programmer of ''[[Crystal Mines]]'', released the [[source code]] under a custom [[permissive license]] to the public.<ref>[http://pdroms.de/nintendoentertainmentsystem/crystal-mines-source-code-nes-game Crystal Mines (Source Code) (NES Game)] on pdroms.de (Aug 26, 2011)</ref><ref>[http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?t=8057  Post subject: Crystal Mines Source Code Released] on nesdev.com (August 2011)</ref> Artwork is still proprietary, but can be shared for non-commercial, personal use.<ref>[http://gilgalad.arc-nova.org/vgscr/nes/Crystal%20Mines%20(NES)%2011151989%20Version.zip Crystal%20Mines%20(NES)%2011151989%20Version.zip] in "Crystal Mines License.txt" ''"Ken's license: - The name "Crystal Mines", the graphics, sound, music, and the levels are NOT open source. People other than me worked on them, and for that version of the game actually got royalties and still have ownership. It's OK to possess them for personal use, but they can't be reused in a new game or distributed for profit. - As the sole author of the code, I (Ken Beckett) will allow the source code for the NES version to be used in other works, provided that: A) Credit is given to 'Ken Beckett' in both the portions of re-used source code AND in the credits of the new game, and B) That the code is modified sufficiently such that the new game is not easily recognizable as being Crystal Mines with new graphics/sound/music. -Ken"''</ref>

==Video games published by Color Dreams==
All games were developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System unless otherwise noted.

* ''[[Baby Boomer (video game)|Baby Boomer]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Captain Comic]]'' (1989; also known as ''[[The Adventures of Captain Comic]]'')
* ''Crystal Mines'' (1989)
* ''[[Master Chu and the Drunkard Hu]]'' (1989; developed by [[Thin Chen Enterprise|Joy Van]])
* ''[[Metal Fighter]]'' (1989; the [[United States|U.S.]] version of ''[[Joyvan Kid]]'', developed by Joy Van)
* ''[[Raid 2020]]'' (1989)
* ''Challenge of the Dragon'' (1990)
* ''[[King Neptune's Adventure]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Menace Beach]]'' (1990)
* ''P'radikus Conflict'' (1990)
* ''Pesterminator: The Western Exterminator'' (1990)
* ''[[Robodemons]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Silent Assault]]'' (1990; the U.S. version of ''Raid'', developed by Joy Van)
* ''[[Captain Comic II: Fractured Reality]]'' (1990; only for [[MS-DOS]])
* ''[[Operation Secret Storm]]'' (1991)
* ''Secret Scout in the Temple of Demise'' (1991)
* ''[[Crystal Mines II]]'' (1992; only for [[Atari Lynx]])
* ''Free Fall'' (prototype)

===As Bunch Games===
* ''[[Castle of Deceit]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Galactic Crusader]]'' (1990; the [[United States|U.S.]] version of ''[[Incantation (video game)|Incantation]]'', developed by [[Thin Chen Enterprise|Joy Van]])
* ''[[Mission Cobra]]'' (1990; the U.S. version of ''[[Sidewinder (video game)|Sidewinder]]'', developed by Joy Van)
* ''[[Moon Ranger]]'' (1990; developed by [[Odyssey Software]])
* ''[[Tagin' Dragon]]'' (1990; the U.S. version of ''[[Colorful Dragon]]'', developed by [[Thin Chen Enterprise|Sachen]])

===As Wisdom Tree===
* ''[[Bible Adventures]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Exodus (video game)|Exodus]]'' (1991)
* ''[[King of Kings: The Early Years]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Joshua & the Battle of Jericho]]'' (1992)
* ''Spiritual Warfare'' (1992)
* ''Bible Buffet'' (1993)
* ''[[Super 3D Noah's Ark]]'' (1994; for [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]] and MS-DOS)
* ''[[Menace Beach#Sunday Funday|Sunday Funday]]'' (1995)

==See also==
* [[Tengen (company)|Tengen]]
* [[Zemina]]
* [[List of NES games]]
* [[Home Entertainment Suppliers]]
* [[Thin Chen Enterprise|Sachen]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Plain link|http://www.stardot.com/|StarDot Technologies}}

[[Category:Technology companies based in California]]
[[Category:Companies established in 1988]]
[[Category:Technology companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Video surveillance companies]]
[[Category:Commercial video games with freely available source code]]
[[Category:Technology companies established in 1988]]
[[Category:1988 establishments in California]]