Looking Glass Studios

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Looking Glass Studios was originally founded in 1990 as 'Looking Glass Technologies' when the companies 'Blue Sky Productions' and 'Lerner Research' merged. Originally based in Lexington, Massachusetts the company moved to Cambridge, MA, in 1994. Many of the early employees were MIT graduates. As the company grew, they had satellite office all over the United States of America in Redmond (Washington), Austin (Texas) and Huntington Beach (California).

Looking Glass started with some financial troubles when the game 'Terra Nova' proved a commercial failure and then 'Ultima Underworld' was released, at the same time as rival-like game 'Wolfenstein 3D'. While both were ground-breaking in their ways, many members of Looking Glass were unhappy that Wolfenstein had enter production a year after Ultima had, and was extremely popular. They felt if Underworld had been slightly smaller then it could have been released earlier and beaten Wolfenstein.

Looking Glass tried to 'right that wrong' with Dark Camelot, a game which would be innovative and ambitious, while at the same time, small enough to be released within a year. As worked moved on, the game turned into Thief: The Dark Project. In 1997, the company was renamed Looking Glass Studios.

In 1997, the company merged with Intermetrics, Inc to become Intermetrics Entertainment Software, LLC. Intermetrics became AverStar after it acquired Pacer Infotech in February 1998. In March 1999, Intermetrics divested Looking Glass Studios Inc.

Bankruptcy

The company went out of business on May 24, 2000 during a financial crisis related to their publisher at the time, Eidos Interactive. Warren Spector managed to move many Looking Glass Studios employees over to Ion Storm Austin.

After the company folded, people from Looking Glass went on to work at Ion Storm, Irrational Games, Harmonix, Mad Doc Software, Arkane Studios, Westwood Studios, Valve, and to found Floodgate Entertainment and Digital Eel, amongst other later studios.

Game List

• Car and Driver (1992) - As Lerner Research
• Ultima Underworld: the Stygian Abyss (1992) - As Blue Sky Productions
• John Madden Football '93 [Sega Megadrive/Genesis] (1992) - As Blue Sky Productions
• Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (1993) - As Looking Glass Technologies
• System Shock (1994) - As Looking Glass Technologies
• Flight Unlimited (1995) - As Looking Glass Technologies
• Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri (1996) - As Looking Glass Technologies
• British Open Championship Golf (1997) - As Looking Glass Technologies
• Flight Unlimited 2 (1997) - As Looking Glass Studios
• Thief: The Dark Project (1998) - As Looking Glass Studios
• Thief Gold (1999) - As Looking Glass Studios
• Command & Conquer [N64] (1999) - As Looking Glass Studios
• System Shock 2 (1999) - As Looking Glass Studios
• Flight Unlimited 3 (1999) - As Looking Glass Studios
• Destruction Derby 64 [N64] (1999) - As Looking Glass Studios
• Thief II: The Metal Age (1999) - As Looking Glass Studios
• Jane's Attack Squadron (2002) - As Looking Glass Studios