Wikipedia

Raven Software

Raven Software Corporation(trade name:Raven;formerlyRaven Software, Inc.) is an Americanvideo game developerbased inMiddleton, Wisconsin,and part ofActivision.Founded in May 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel, the company is most known for thedark fantasyfranchiseHeretic/Hexen,the first twoSoldier of Fortunegames, as well aslicensedtitles based in theStar Wars: Jedi Knightseries andMarvel Comics'sX-Mencharacters, including 2006'sMarvel: Ultimate Alliance.Since 2011, Raven has been working on multipleCall of Dutygames as both lead and support developer.

Raven Software Corporation
Raven
FormerlyRaven Software, Inc. (1990–1997)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedMay 23, 1990;34 years ago(1990-05-23)inMadison, Wisconsin,US
FounderBrian Raffel
Steve Raffel
Headquarters
8496 Greenway Blvd,Middleton, Wisconsin
,
US
Key people
Products
Number of employees
350 (2022)[1][2]
ParentActivision(1997–present)
SubsidiariesRaven Shanghai
Websiteravensoftware.com

Raven's first game,Black Crypt(1992), was conceived in the late 1980s by Raffel brothers to be apaper-and-penrole-playinggame, until the two retooled the project from scratch to become avideo game.While it did not perform well commercially, its well reception by critics andtechnologyefforts led toJohn Romeroapproaching Raven to develop new titles for thepersonal computerstarting withShadowCaster(1993), which was powered byRaven Engine,a modifiedWolfenstein 3Denginedesigned byJohn Carmack.The game's success impressedid SoftwareandStrategic Simulations,who signed a deal to publish the company's next titles, which had grown to two teams to work on 1994'sCyClonesandHeretic.The latter, inspired by Brian Raffel's interest to make aDungeons & Dragons–inspired game, was critically acclaimed, spawningseveral sequelsand helping Raven grow to three development teams.

In August 1997, Activision announced it had agreed to acquire Raven and took over the distribution toHexen II,while the other two Raven teams continued the production on previously announced titlesTake No PrisonersandMageSlayer.After 1998'sHeretic II,Raven aimed to expand its games to a broader audience, acquiringSoldier of Fortunemagazinename rights to develop agame of the same namewhile also working on its first licensed title,Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force.The latter achieved universal acclaim by critics and has since gained acult following,encouragingLucasArtsto collaborate with Raven onStar Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi OutcastandStar Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.The company also continued partnering with id Software, working onQuake 4and the 2009Wolfenstein,and becoming one of the first studios to licenseid Tech 4.

In the 2000s, Raven worked withMarvel Entertainmenton some of itssuperheroproperties, developingX-Men Legends(2004),X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse(2005),Marvel: Ultimate Alliance(2006) andX-Men Origins: Wolverine(2009). This lasted until Raven announced a newintellectual property,Singularity,which was released to positive reception in 2010. In 2011, Raven shifted to work on severalCall of Dutytitles as support developer, and in 2014, the company opened a Chinese studio inShanghaito work onCall of Duty OnlinewithTencent Games.[3][4]Raven worked withInfinity WardandTreyarchon 2020'sCall of Duty: WarzoneandCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War,leading production on the latter's single-player campaign. It developedCall of Duty: Black Ops 6,which was released on October 24, 2024.

History

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Foundation andBlack Crypt(1986–1992)

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In 1986, Brian Raffel was anart teacheratUniversity of Wisconsin–Madisonandcross country-track coach atMiddleton High Schooland his brother, Steve, was ascreen-printshop.[5][6][7]Their late father, Don, was an influence on the two growing up playingDungeons & Dragonsadventure modulessuch asPalace of the Silver Princess,Tomb of Horrors,Lost Tomb of Martek,andCastle Amber,who inspired Brian draw a concept by the end of 1988 called "The Well"— apaper-and-penrole-playing gameoriginally conceived as aD&Dmodule until Steve came up and reworked it with Brian to be its own thing.[8][9]

After seeing some of the recent games released to theAmiga,Brian decided that their art was "as good as and in some cases better" than what was coming and choose moveThe Wellto the Amiga for taking advantage of itscomputer power.Brian brothers retool the project from scratch while opened their own company to work on the now calledBlack Crypt.[6]Raven Software was officialy incorporated on May 23, 1990.[10]

Shortly after established Raven, Brian got togetherprogrammersRick Johnson and Ben Gokey, andmusicianKevin Schilder to join the company. Johnson was the youngest crew member at 18 years old.[11][12]Black Cryptproduction started in April 1990 and lasted nearly two years, with Raffel brothers and the team moving to a $200 per month office, which sat under aworkshopinMadison.[9][13]The game's budget was $40,000.[14]Described as a "Age of Darknessfirst-persontile-basedreal-time combatdungeon simulator ",Black Cryptdraws inspirations fromFTL Games'Dungeon Master3Drealtimestyle and consists of twelve interconnected dungeons rendered in 64-colourextra half-brite graphics,which allowed players define apalettecustomization of sixty-four colours—unlikeDungeon Masterand its clones.[15][16]

id Software

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Raven Software was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel.[17]Originally a three-person company, they were discovered byJohn Romero,co-founder ofid Software,who collaborated with Raven to make games using their game engine beginning withShadowCaster.[18]Raven then started making games with id Software; the company even briefly moved to the same street as id Software.[19]They used id'senginesfor many of their games, such asHeretic,Hexen: Beyond HereticandHexen II.

In 2005 and 2009, Raven developed two games from id's catalog:Quake 4andWolfensteinrespectively.[20]

Activision

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The company was independent until 1997, when it was acquired byActivisionfor $12 million.[21]They were still collaborating with id Software but at the same time developed other titles as well such asSoldier of Fortunein 2000,Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academyin 2003,X-Men Legendsin 2004 and many more.

In August 2009, following poor performance and possible over-budget ofWolfenstein,[22][23]the company made a major layoff of 30 to 35 staff, leaving two development teams. This was reduced to one after more layoffs in October 2010, after delays withSingularity;as many as 40 staff were released. Following the layoffs and after id Software was bought over byZeniMax Media,Raven has since become a primary developer for theCall of Dutyseries.[24][25][26]By July 2021, Raven Software had grown to roughly 350 employees.[27]

See also:Activision Blizzard worker organizationandMicrosoft and unions § United States

In December 2021, Activision did not renew the contract of several members of thequality assurance(QA) department that were contract employees. One of the associate managers said that "valuable members" were fired although they "were promised, for months, that Activision was working towards a pay restructure to increase their wages".[28]Following these firings as well as othercontroversiesinvolving Activision Blizzard, astrikehas been initiated.[29][30]On January 21, 2022, Raven's QA team formed a union named theGame Workers AlliancewithCommunications Workers of America.[31]

In May 2022, workers of the Raven QA team voted to unionize with a count of 19 – 2 in favor.[32]In June 2022 Activision Blizzard CEOBobby Kotickstated that the company would recognize the union and begin negotiations with it.[33]Following the Raven QA team's successful unionization, the 20-member QA team ofBlizzard Albanyannounced a unionization drive in July 2022 as GWA Albany.[34]The vote passed (14–0), forming the second union at an Activision Blizzard subsidiary.[35]

On March 8, 2024, 600 QA testers at 3Activisionstudios inAustin, Texas,Eden Prairie, MinnesotaandEl Segundo, Californiajoined Raven and Blizzard's unionizations to form the union "Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA" and voted to unionize (390–8) in favor, making it the largest video game union in the United States. FollowingMicrosoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard,who included Raven Software, the companyvoluntarily recognizedthe union.[36][37][38]

Games

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Main article:List of Raven Software games

Heretic/Hexen(1994–1998)

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Heretic(also referred asHexen) is a series of first-person shooter games with action-adventure and action role-playing elements. The first game,Heretic(1994), was one of the first games to feature inventory manipulation and the ability to look up and down. It also introduced multiplegibobjects that spawned when a character suffered a death by extreme force or heat. The game was the first in the "Serpent Riders" trilogy, followed by sequelsHexen: Beyond Heretic(1995) andHexen II(1997). A direct sequel to the first game,Heretic II,was released in 1998. Set in "City of the Damned",capital cityof thedark fantasyfictional world of Silverspring, the series was one of the first to combine 3D realistic graphics withfantasysetting, using Silverspring and its people to enrich the narrative and exploration.

Soldier of Fortune(2000–2002)

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Raven is the creator ofSoldier of Fortune,a military first-person shooter series based in themagazine of the same name.The first game,Soldier of Fortune(2000) introduced GHOUL, an in-housephysics enginedesigned by Raven that helped the game's realisticgraphic depictionsof firearms dismembering the human body. This graphic violence is the main stylistic attraction, enabling depiction of extreme graphic violence, in which character models are based on body parts that can each independently sustain damage (gorezones). Players play as John Mullins in the first game andSoldier of Fortune II: Double Helix(2002). The series continued after Raven ceased developing further games.Soldier of Fortune: Payback(2007) was developed byCauldron HQ,whileSoldier of Fortune Online,anMMOFPS,was developed by South Korean companyDragonflyand released in 2010.

Star Wars: Jedi Knight(2002–2003)

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Main article:Star Wars: Jedi Knight

Star Wars: Jedi Knightis a series of first- and third-person shooter games with action-adventure hack and slash elements. Originally created and developed byLucasArts,Jedi Knightwas passed to Raven after numerous restructures at LucasArts in the 2000's led by then president Simon Jeffery. The series is set years afterReturn of the Jediand focuses onKyle Katarn,a formerImperialofficer who becomes amercenaryworking for theRebel Alliance,and later aJediand instructor atLuke Skywalker's Jedi Academy. Raven produced Katarn's storyline sequelsStar Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast(2002) andStar Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy(2003).[39][40]

In 2012, Raven began hiring employees for a game,[41]and were announced as collaborating withInfinity WardonCall of Duty: Ghostsin May 2013.[42]

On April 3, 2013 following the closure ofLucasArts,Raven Software released thesource codeforStar Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi OutcastandStar Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi AcademyonSourceForgeunder theGPL-2.0-onlylicense.[43]

In April 2014, the company became lead developer of the now shutdownfree-to-playChineseCall of Dutytitle,Call of Duty: Online.[44]The company also remadeCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,titledCall of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.[45]

In 2020, Raven Software collaborated withInfinity Wardon the gameCall of Duty: Warzone.The company is considered the face of maintaining, updating and debugging the game as they regularly provide status updates and patch notes on Twitter and their official website (though it is unclear if they are the sole studio responsible behind-the-scenes).[46][47][48]

Raven developedCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold WarwithTreyarch,which released on November 13, 2020.[49]

Raven developedCall of Duty: Black Ops 6with Treyarch, which released on October 24, 2024.

Development philosophy

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Co-founder and studio head Brian Raffel atD.I.C.E. Summit 2009

Raven is known for its approach to multi-project development teams and choice to useproject leadsand "state-of-the-arttools"that can help incubate ideas before evolve intoproduction.[50]Eric Biessman, Raven's project director, said: "It's very laid back here. We're left alone to be as creative as we can be".[50]The work culture at Raven is focused in their mentality of team-driven initiatives, extensiveplaytests,emergent narrative-focused gameplay and lessmiddle-managementinvolvement.[51][52][53]Brian Raffel ascribes the company'smottoas "move or die", explaining that different directions and creative opportunities are a key element ingame designto help Raven determinate which market and public their games are visioning.[54][55]The studio's vice-president Steve Raffel also headRaven Scout Team(RST), aresearchgroup within the company who spend time with analysis, planning and creatingvertical slices-based methods to be purposeful improved in company's future projects.[50][56]

Accolades and recognition

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Raven was listed in 2016 byFortuneas the 77th best place to work, and the 66th best in 2017, both as part ofActivision Blizzardstudios.[57][58]Raven co-founder Brian Raffel was inducted onIn BusinessHall of Fame"for his visionary leadership and unparalled passion in game's industry, shaping a successful company and inspiring countless individuals within the gaming community, helping create a close-knit and collaborative culture among teams that marked him as a true icon".[59]

References

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  5. ^"Raven Software's Fun Facts".Raven Software.September 21, 2011.RetrievedAugust 4,2024.
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