Editing Looking Glass Studios

{{Short description|American former video game developer}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Blue Sky Productions|Blue Sky Studios}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Looking Glass Studios, Inc.
| logo = Looking Glass Studios logo.jpg
| former_name = {{Unbulleted list|Blue Sky Productions (1990–1992)|LookingGlass Technologies, Inc. (1992–1997)}}
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| industry = [[Video game industry|Video games]]
| fate = [[Dissolution (law)|Dissolved]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|1990}} in {{Nowrap|[[Salem, New Hampshire]], U.S.}}
| founders = {{Unbulleted list|[[Paul Neurath]]|[[Ned Lerner]]}}
| defunct = {{End date and age|2000|05|24}}
| hq_location_city = [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]
| hq_location_country = U.S.
| key_people = Paul Neurath ([[President (corporate title)|president]]; 1990–2000)
| num_employees = 120
| num_employees_year = 1999
| parent = [[AverStar]] (1997–1999)
| website = {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980209132406/http://www.lglass.com/ |date=February 9, 1998 |title=www.lglass.com}}
}}

'''Looking Glass Studios, Inc.''' (formerly '''Blue Sky Productions''' and '''LookingGlass Technologies, Inc.''') was an American [[video game developer]] based in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]. The company was founded by [[Paul Neurath]] with [[Ned Lerner]] as Blue Sky Productions in 1990, and merged with Lerner's Lerner Research in 1992 to become LookingGlass Technologies. Between 1997 and 1999, the company was part of [[AverStar|Intermetrics]] and was renamed Looking Glass Studios. Following financial issues at Looking Glass, the studio shut down in May 2000.

Notable productions by Looking Glass include the ''[[Ultima Underworld]]'', ''[[System Shock]]'' and ''[[Thief (series)|Thief]]'' series.

== History ==
=== Blue Sky Productions, Lerner Research, and ''Ultima Underworld'' (1990–1992) ===
Co-founders of Looking Glass, Paul Neurath and Ned Lerner, met at [[Wesleyan University]] where Lerner was a physics major and Neurath studied environmental science. The two worked together on the game ''[[Deep Space: Operation Copernicus]]'' (1987) before Lerner moved to the West Coast where he worked creating games for [[Electronic Arts]]. Neurath found work at [[Origin Systems]], who had moved their business to [[New Hampshire]] in 1984. Neurath worked on a number of projects including ''Ogre'' (1986) and ''Omega'' (1989). His largest project was leading the design of ''[[Space Rogue]]'' (1989), which he collaborated with Lerner on many of the technical aspects.<ref name="polygon">{{cite web |last=Mahardy |first=Mike |date=April 6, 2015 |title=Ahead of its time: The history of Looking Glass |url=https://www.polygon.com/2015/4/6/8285529/looking-glass-history |access-date=July 8, 2019 |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |publisher=[[Vox Media]]}}</ref><ref name="retrogamer">{{cite magazine |last=Walker-Emig |first=Paul |date=January 17, 2018 |title=From the Archives: Looking Glass Studios |magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] |publisher=[[Future Publishing]] |pages=74–79 |issue=177}}</ref> ''Space Rogue'' was in turn a major inspiration for ''[[Wing Commander (video game)|Wing Commander]]'' (1990) due to its melding of storytelling and space combat elements.

Before the completion of ''Space Rogue'', Origin Systems moved back to Texas along with the majority of the staff.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pope |first=Kyle |date=1989-12-01 |title=Origin Systems will move headquarters, workers to Austin |work=Austin American-Statesman |pages=D1}}</ref> Neurath, not wanting to move, decided to use the former Origin office to start his own studio, Blue Sky Productions, at 59 Stiles Road in [[Salem, New Hampshire]] in 1990.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1990-11-25 |title=Game Programmer |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |pages=B6}}</ref> Lerner, who had his own company called Lerner Research, supplied funds to help get the operation off the ground.<ref name="retrogamer" />

With a concept to create a [[First-person (video games)|first-person]] dungeon crawler in the vein of ''[[Dungeon Master (video game)|Dungeon Master]]'' (1987), Neurath began recruiting from the local region. One of his early hires was Doug Church, programmer and graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Church working together with Chris Green of Lerner Research developed a basic three-dimensional, [[Texture mapping|texture mapped]] demonstration of the game with animation by former Origin artist Douglas Wike.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Neurath |first=Paul |date=2000-06-23 |title=The Story of Ultima Underworld |url=https://www.ttlg.com/articles/uw2.asp |website=TTLG}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Maher |first=Jimmy |date=2019-01-18 |title=Life Off the Grid, Part 1: Making Ultima Underworld The Digital Antiquarian |url=https://www.filfre.net/2019/01/life-off-the-grid-part-1-making-ultima-underworld/ |access-date=2024-03-16 |language=en-US}}</ref> The demo was showcased at the 1990 Summer [[Consumer Electronics Show]] to attract publisher interest. [[Richard Garriott]] and [[Warren Spector]] of Origin Systems saw the demo and decided to finance their first game.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Spector |first=Caroline |title=Ultima VII and Underworld: more Avatar adventures |date=1993 |publisher=Prima Pub |isbn=978-1-55958-251-3 |series=Secrets of the games series |location=Rocklin, CA}}</ref>

The demo, initially named ''Underworld'', was rebranded under the [[Ultima (series)|''Ultima'' series]]. The initial funding for the game was purportedly $30,000, allowing Neurath to hire his initial staff into Blue Sky Productions. The final cost of production was around $400,000<ref name="polygon" /> and would be released in March 1992 as ''Ultima Underworld'' (1992). By the end of production on ''Ultima Underworld'', the company had moved to a new office in [[Lexington, Massachusetts]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=1992-06-29 |title=Office Manager |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |pages=A67}}</ref>

=== LookingGlass Technologies (1992-1996) ===
Blue Sky Productions began work on the sequel to ''Ultima Underworld'' while Neurath and Lerner spoke about merging their two companies. Lerner Research was fresh off the completion of ''[[Car and Driver (video game)|Car & Driver]]'' (1992) and had been granted a license to develop EA's next ''[[Madden NFL|Madden]]'' title for the [[Sega Genesis]] for which they needed more development support. The two decided on a name change in order to differentiate themselves from the game company [[BlueSky Software|Blue Sky Software]].<ref name="ttlginterv">{{cite web |title=Ultima Underworld 2 Interview |url=https://www.ttlg.com/articles/UW2int2.asp |access-date=February 15, 2020 |website=TTLG}}</ref> Initially they used the name "Flying Fish Designs" but eventually settled on Looking Glass.<ref name=":0" /> The name was chosen both as a reference to the book [[Through the Looking-Glass|Through the Looking Glass]] by Lewis Carroll and to the idea that their game worlds transported people to new worlds. They initially considered "Looking Glass Studios" but decided that their specialty was more in technology.<ref name="GameSpy">{{cite web |last=Keefer |first=John |date=March 31, 2006 |title=GameSpy Retro: Developer Origins, Page 17 of 19 |url=http://www.gamespy.com/articles/697/697083p17.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609133112/http://www.gamespy.com/articles/697/697083p17.html |archive-date=June 9, 2007 |website=[[GameSpy]]}}</ref>

LookingGlass Technologies Inc. was incorporated on June 29, 1992 with Neurath as President and Ned Lerner as Vice President and Treasurer. ''[[John Madden Football '93]]'' (1992) was the first game released by the new studio, with ''Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds'' (1993) following. Origin became a subsidiary of Electronic Arts in September 1992; EA handled all future publishing arrangements with the studio.<ref name="retrogamer" />

The experienced development team led by Doug Church developed ''[[System Shock]]'' (1994), a pioneering combination of first-person shooter mechanics and immersive systems. The game was decently successful, but initially released on floppy disk which cut out the voiced dialog in its data entry logs, a novel narrative technique for which the game became known.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maher |first=Jimmy |date=2021-03-19 |title=System Shock The Digital Antiquarian |url=https://www.filfre.net/2021/03/system-shock/ |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=Digital Antiquarian |language=en-US}}</ref> The CD-ROM version utilized voice acting developed by an internal sound team, made up of members from the local band [[Tribe (band)|Tribe]]: Greg LoPiccolo, Eric Brosius, and Terri Brosius – also voice of ''System Shock''{{'}}s villain SHODAN – who later moved into a game design role.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gourley |first=Bob |date=1994-10-02 |title=Area musicians leave Tribe's sound for a new music |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |pages=City 13}}</ref>

LookingGlass moved to a new facility in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] in Fall 1994.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1994-09-11 |title=Redefine the Leading Edge |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |pages=B42}}</ref> They received $3.8 million of investment from venture capital firms in November of that year.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Ronald |date=1995-05-03 |title=Preparing for takeoff |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |pages=77, 80}}</ref> In 1995, the company started publishing their own games under their own label starting with ''[[Flight Unlimited]]'' (1995).<ref name=":1" /> Designed by [[Seamus Blackley]], the game was noted for its realistic physics simulation and was very successful for Looking Glass, selling 300,000 copies by mid-1997.<ref name="smallbusiness">{{cite news |last=Von Hoffman |first=Constantine |date=July 22, 1997 |title=The Small Business Page; Software Company Plays Games Against Competition |newspaper=[[Boston Herald]] |pages=Business; 24}}</ref><ref name="ngen">{{cite magazine |date=April 1995 |title=Looking Glass |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-004/page/n61 |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] |pages=60–64 |issue=4}}</ref> The series was followed up by several sequels/

''[[Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri|Terra Nova: Strike Force Centuri]]'' (1996) was a large [[multimedia]] production by the studio. The full-motion cutscenes were shot inside of the Looking Glass offices on a greenscreen, with staff members doubling as actors and producers of the film. The game featured other technological achievements like procedural animation, but the massive production took its toll on Looking Glass, not recouping its production costs.

=== Looking Glass Studios (1997-2000) ===
Due in part to the failure of ''Terra Nova'' and ''[[British Open Championship Golf]]'' (1997), Neurath sought outside investment to keep the company afloat. [[Intermetrics]], a Massachusetts-based software company, acquired LookingGlass in 1997. The official name of the company was changed to Intermetrics Entertainment Software, LLC, operating under the trade name of Looking Glass Studios.

The Intermetrics buyout preceded a number of departures at the studio. Co-founder Ned Lerner left to form Multitude with Looking Glass programmer Art Min. Most famously, designer Ken Levine, artist Rob Fermier, and programmer Jonathan Chey who had worked together on a ''Star Trek: Voyager'' game canceled in production formed [[Irrational Games]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chey |first=Jonathan |date=November 1999 |title=Irrational Games' System Shock 2 |journal=Game Developer |pages=52–59}}</ref> Irrational formed a studio initially based in the Looking Glass offices, where they co-developed ''[[System Shock 2]]'' (1999) and the canceled ''Deep Cover'' before becoming fully independent.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weise |first=Matthew |date=2011-06-29 |title=Looking Glass Studios Interview Series - Audio Podcast 5 - Ken Levine |url=http://gambit.mit.edu/updates/2011/06/looking_glass_studios_intervie_4.php |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=gambit.mit.edu}}</ref>

During the production of ''[[Thief: The Dark Project]]'' (1998), Looking Glass hired [[Warren Spector]] away from Origin Systems to staff a development arm of the company in Austin, Texas first opened in 1995.<ref name="retrogamer" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=1995-05-07 |title=LEADING EDGE Game Co. |work=Austin American-Statesman |pages=K18}}</ref> Though Spector left soon afterwards to join [[Ion Storm]], the Texas office remained open to create console games for various publishers. They created a port of ''[[Command & Conquer (1995 video game)|Command & Conquer]]'' for the [[Nintendo 64]], ''[[Destruction Derby 64]]'' (1999), along with canceled projects ''Tamiya Racing'' and ''[[Mini Racers]]''.

The lack of success for Looking Glass' projects continued to exert pressure on the studio, in addition to their difficulties finding publishers. Eidos Interactive published ''[[Flight Unlimited II]]'' (1997) and both ''Thief'' games, Electronic Arts published ''System Shock 2'' and ''[[Flight Unlimited III]]'' (1999). In 1999, Intermetrics divested their ownership of Looking Glass, leaving them without any financial support.<ref name="GameSpy" /> The following year, several publishing deals with Eidos, Sony, and Microsoft fell apart.<ref name="ttlg">{{cite web |url=http://www.ttlg.com/articles/lgsclosing.asp|title=Reasons for the Fall: A Post-Mortem On Looking Glass Studios |first=James |last=Sterrett |date=May 31, 2000 |website=TTLG|access-date=July 8, 2019}}</ref>

On May 24, 2000, Neurath called a meeting attended by all employees. He announced that the studio was closing down and the staff left the building that day, with public announcements following.<ref name="ttlg" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/05/25/looking-glass-broken |title=Looking Glass Broken |author=IGN Staff |date=May 24, 2000 |website=[[IGN]]|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|access-date=July 8, 2019}}</ref> Irrational Games continued work on ''Deep Cover'' until its subsequent cancellation; many former Looking Glass staff like Terri Brosius joined them. Development on ''Thief III'' was handed to a team led by ''Thief II'' project lead Steve Pearsall until it was canceled. A ''Flight Unlimited'' spin-off, ''Flight Combat'', which was an estimated three months from completion, was handed to [[Mad Doc Software]] to be completed as ''[[Jane's Attack Squadron]]'' (2002) as the final game with credits by Looking Glass Studios.

=== Legacy ===
Looking Glass Studios has been called one of the most important development studios in the history of video games. Their game catalog including the ''Ultima Underworld'', ''System Shock'', and ''Thief'' series are seen as the foundation for the [[immersive sim]] genre of action games. Games like ''[[The Elder Scrolls: Arena]]'', ''[[Deus Ex (video game)|Deus Ex]]'', and ''[[Dishonored]]'' are explicitly modeled after Looking Glass' catalog. The latter two feature designers who were formerly members of Looking Glass.

''Ultima Underworld'' was an influence on id Software's move to create visually impressive first person shooters. [[John Romero]], who had worked on ''Space Rogue'', conversed with Paul Neurath about the texture mapping technology used in the early Underworld demo. He spoke about this to [[John Carmack]], who implemented the technique into ''[[Catacomb 3-D]]'' (1991). This technology was crucial to the creation of ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'' (1992) and ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'' (1993). {{Citation needed|reason=The "Legacy" section on the Ultima Underworld page itself mentions of conflicting accounts for this -- it shouldn't be written as undeniable fact|date=March 2024}}

Many other of Looking Glass' developers went on to work on important AAA games. Ned Lerner joined [[Sony]] Worldwide Studios as Director of Engineering where he worked on games through the [[PlayStation 3]] and [[PlayStation 4]]. Seamus Blackley and other Looking Glass cohorts left to join [[Dreamworks Interactive]], working on the innovative ''[[Trespasser (video game)|Trespasser]]'' (1998). AI programmer on ''Thief: The Dark Project'' Tom Leonard joined [[Valve Corporation]] where he developed the AI for [[Source (game engine)|Source]] projects including ''[[Half-Life 2]]''. Doug Church went on to work for Ion Storm, Electronic Arts, and eventually Valve. Greg LoPiccolo and Eric Brosius joined [[Harmonix]] where they played a major role in the development of the ''[[Guitar Hero]]'' and ''[[Rock Band]]'' franchises.

Following the closure of Looking Glass, Paul Neurath founded [[Floodgate Entertainment]] in Boston, Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fleming |first=Jeffrey |date=September 14, 2009 |title=Gamescape: A Look at Development in North America's Cities, Page 1 of 8 |url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132521/gamescape_a_look_at_development_.php?page=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512004413/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132521/gamescape_a_look_at_development_.php?page=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 12, 2012 |access-date=July 8, 2019 |website=[[Gamasutra]]}}</ref> They ported ''Ultima Underworld'' to mobile platforms as well as worked on titles like ''[[Dark Messiah of Might and Magic]]''. Floodgate was later acquired by [[Zynga]] and merged into the Zynga Boston studio; Neurath became the creative director.<ref>{{cite web |last=Watts |first=Steve |date=March 24, 2011 |title=Zynga acquires Floodgate Entertainment |url=https://www.shacknews.com/article/67909/zynga-acquires-floodgate-entertainment |access-date=July 8, 2019 |website=[[Shacknews]]}}</ref> After the closure of Zynga Boston in October 2012,<ref>{{cite web |last=Orland |first=Kyle |date=24 October 2012 |title=Zynga lays off 5 percent of workforce, closes 3 offices (updated) |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/10/reports-zynga-lays-off-more-than-100-in-austin-office/ |access-date=July 8, 2019 |website=[[Ars Technica]]}}</ref> Neurath established [[OtherSide Entertainment|Otherside Entertainment]] in 2013. He reassembled many Looking Glass employees to work on a spiritual successor of ''Ultima Underworld'', ''[[Underworld Ascendant]]'' (2018), initially funded through [[Kickstarter]].

The rights to Looking Glass' catalog were initially split between various rights holders, which made re-releases of their catalog difficult. Eidos retained the rights to the ''Thief'' franchise. ''[[Thief: Deadly Shadows]]'' (2004) was created by Ion Storm and the reboot ''[[Thief (2014 video game)|Thief]]'' (2014) was created by [[Eidos-Montréal]]. Stephen Kick of [[Nightdive Studios]] secured the rights to re-release the ''System Shock'' games and eventually acquired the IP rights to create a remake, ''[[System Shock (2023 video game)|System Shock]]'' (2023), and a future sequel.

== Technology ==
{{Main|Dark Engine}}

== Games developed ==
{{Main|List of Looking Glass Studios video games}}
=== By Lerner Research ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Title
!Publisher
|-
|1987
|''[[Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer]]''
| rowspan="3" |[[Electronic Arts]]
|-
|1991
|''[[F-22 Interceptor]]''
|-
|1992
|''[[Car and Driver (video game)|Car and Driver]]''
|}

=== By Blue Sky Productions ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Title
!Publisher
!Notes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1992
|''[[Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss]]''
|[[Origin Systems]]
|
|-
|''[[John Madden Football '93]]''
|[[EA Sports]]
|[[Sega Genesis]] version
|}

=== As LookingGlass Technologies (post-merger) ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Title
!Publisher
|-
|1993
|''[[Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds]]''
|[[Origin Systems]]/[[Electronic Arts]]
|-
|1994
|''[[System Shock]]''
|Origin Systems
|-
|1995
|''[[Flight Unlimited]]''
| rowspan="3" |LookingGlass Technologies
|-
|1996
|''[[Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri]]''
|-
|1997
|''[[British Open Championship Golf]]''
|}

=== As Looking Glass Studios (rename) ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Title
!Publisher
!Notes
|-
|1997
|''[[Flight Unlimited II]]''
| rowspan="2" |[[Eidos Interactive]]
|
|-
|1998
|''[[Thief: The Dark Project]]''
|
|-
| rowspan="4" |1999
|''[[Command & Conquer (1995 video game)|Command & Conquer]]''
|[[Nintendo]]
|[[Nintendo 64]] port
|-
|''[[System Shock 2]]''
| rowspan="2" |[[Electronic Arts]]
|Co-developed with [[Irrational Games]]
|-
|''[[Flight Unlimited III]]''
|
|-
|''[[Destruction Derby 64]]''
|[[THQ]]
|
|-
|2000
|''[[Thief II]]''
|Eidos Interactive
|
|-
|2002
|''[[Jane's Attack Squadron]]''
|[[Xicat Interactive]]
|Originally cancelled, finished by [[Mad Doc Software]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Reilly |first=Luke |date=April 1, 2013 |title=5 More Defunct Developers Who Went Out With a Bang |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/02/5-more-defunct-developers-who-went-out-with-a-bang |access-date=July 8, 2019 |website=[[IGN]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]}}</ref>
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Looking Glass Studios}}
{{Thief series}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:American companies established in 1990]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 2000]]
[[Category:Video game development companies]]
[[Category:Video game companies established in 1990]]
[[Category:Video game companies disestablished in 2000]]
[[Category:Defunct video game companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Companies based in Cambridge, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1990 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:2000 disestablishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in Massachusetts]]