Rockstar Lincoln

Rockstar Lincoln Limited (formerly Spidersoft Limited and Tarantula Studios) is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Lincoln. The company was founded as Spidersoft, by Steve Marsden, David Cooke, and Andrew Hewson in May 1992. At that time, they primarily developed Game Boy and Game Gear ports of various titles, including pinball-style games from publisher 21st Century Entertainment. The publisher acquired Spidersoft in 1995, though shut down in March 1998.

Rockstar Lincoln Limited

Formerly	Spidersoft Limited (1992–1998) Tarantula Studios (1998–2002)
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Video games
Founded	5 May 1992 (1992-05-05)
Founders	Steve Marsden David Cooke Andrew Hewson
Headquarters	Lincoln , England
Parent	21st Century Entertainment (1995–1998) Take-Two Interactive (1998–2002) Rockstar Games (2002–present)

In June 1998, Take-Two Interactive acquired Spidersoft, renaming them Tarantula Studios. The new studio continued working exclusively on Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, either for original concepts or for conversions of other Take-Two Interactive-owned properties, such as Grand Theft Auto (1999). In 2001, the studio was renamed Rockstar Lincoln and became part of Take-Two Interactive's Rockstar Games label. The studio has since become dedicated to working only on video game localisation and quality assurance for games published by Rockstar Games.

History

As Spidersoft (1992–1998)

Spidersoft was founded by Steve Marsden and David Cooke, with assistance from Andrew Hewson, on 5 May 1992.[1]^:208 Marsden and Cooke had previously developed Technician Ted for ZX Spectrum, which was published by Hewson's Hewson Consultants in 1984.[1]^:79 Although Hewson Consultants shut down in 1991, a successor, 21st Century Entertainment, was founded by Hewson just a few weeks after the prior's closure.[1]^:187 Spidersoft mostly developed ports or adaptations of other games, predominantly to Game Boy, Game Gear and MS-DOS, including pinball-based video games developed by Digital Illusions and published by 21st Century Entertainment.[1]^:208 Following the success of Pinball Fantasies in 1992, and its subsequent ports to other platforms, including Spidersoft's 1995-released ports to Atari Jaguar, Game Boy, PlayStation and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, 21st Century Entertainment acquired a controlling stake in Spidersoft.[1]^:203 Through the purchase, 21st Century Entertainment aimed at ensuring a steady supply of further pinball games and avoiding the need to rely on third-party contractors, such as Pinball Fantasies developer Digital Illusions, which appeared to want to cease operations in the pinball games niche market.[1]^:203 By that time, Spidersoft had around 20 employees.[1]^:208 In March 1998, 21 Century Entertainment's British headquarters shut down.[2]

As Tarantula Studios (1998–2002)

On 1 June 1998, Take-Two Interactive announced that they had acquired Spidersoft, which would henceforth be known as Tarantula Studios.[3] As part of the deal, Tarantula Studio would shift its focus on game development solely for Game Boy and Game Boy Color, starting with Montezuma's Return!, In-Fisherman Bass Hunter (unreleased) and an unannounced project for the former platform, as well as Three Lions and Space Station Silicon Valley for the latter.[3] Notable games developed by Tarantula Studios include Las Vegas Cool Hand (1998),[4] Montezuma's Return! (1998),[5] Rats! (1998),[6] Space Station Silicon Valley (1999),[7][8] Jim Henson's Muppets (1999),[9] Evel Knievel (1999),[10][11] Grand Theft Auto (1999),[12][13] Grand Theft Auto 2 (2000),[14] Austin Powers: Welcome to My Underground Lair! (2000),[15][16] and Austin Powers: Oh, Behave! (2000).[17][18] Amongst Tarantula Studios' games, some have received very negative reception; on IGN, Evel Knievel and Jim Henson's Muppets each received a review score of 2.0/10, the site's lowest-ever score for a Game Boy Color game, where Evel Knievel was said to be the overall worst game on the platform.[19] Tarantula Studios' last projects under that name were the PlayStation ports of Wildfire Studios' Kiss Pinball and Illusion Softworks' Hidden & Dangerous, both released in 2001 to negative reception.[20]

As Rockstar Lincoln (2002–present)

In 2002, Tarantula Studios became part of Take-Two's Rockstar Games label under the name Rockstar Lincoln.[21] In January 2011, long-time studio head of Rockstar Lincoln, Mark Lloyd, announced that he had resigned from the company.[22][23] His leaving coincided with that of Mark Washbrook, founder and former studio head of Rockstar London.[24][25] Rockstar Games reassured that neither departure would affect projects in development at their studios at the time.[26][27] While Washbrook went on to work with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Lloyd founded his own video game consultancy service, Titanium Consultancy, which was later voluntarily wound down.[24] In May 2012, both Washbrook and Lloyd signed with Activision to work for their mobile-focused Activision Leeds studio.[28] Later renamed The Blast Furnace, the studio also hired Gordon Hall, co-founder and former president of Rockstar Leeds, in August 2012.[29] Lloyd was succeeded by Tim Bates as general manager.[30]

Culture

Rockstar Lincoln offered subsided gym memberships to its employees, and hosted a "Sports & Social" team that organised sporting and leisure activities.[30] The studio won the "Active Workplace" award in the Lincolnshire Sports Awards in 2015 and 2016, and was nominated a third time in 2017.[30]

Leading up to the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 in October 2018, it was revealed that Rockstar Lincoln had, of all other Rockstar Games-owned studios, suffered the worst "crunch time".[31] Both former employees and employees working at the studio at the time reported that testers were paid low wages, had to work long hours and were subjected to strict security regulations.[31] Mandatory overtime for working on Red Dead Redemption 2 allegedly started in August 2017, prior to Rockstar Games entering "official crunch mode" in October 2017.[31] Testers at Rockstar Lincoln were asked to work on evenings and weekends; initially, they would work three nights per week, and later five.[31] Of those working overtime, localisers and lead testers were paid annually, and are thus were not compensated for working additional hours.[31] Meanwhile, regular testers were paid hourly and, depending on how long they worked, earned more than their leads.[31] In response to overtime reports, the studio's management announced in a meeting held on 19 October 2018 that overtime at the studio would from that point on be optional.[32] Following much public criticism of these practices, Rockstar Lincoln saw changes made to its policy. By 1 August 2019, all testers at the studio were to be converted to full-time employees, security measures were lowered in so far that cell phones could be used at the workplace, and a flexitime system was introduced.[33]

Games developed

As Spidersoft

Year	Title	Platform(s)	Publisher(s)	Notes
1992	Hook	Game Gear	Sony Imagesoft	Ported only; game developed by Ukiyotei
1993	Poker Face Paul's Blackjack		Adrenalin Entertainment	N/A
	Pinball Dreams	Game Boy, Game Gear, MS-DOS, Super Nintendo Entertainment System	21st Century Entertainment, GameTek	Ported only; game developed by Digital Illusions
	Chuck Rock	Game Boy	Sony Electronic Publishing	Ported only; game developed by Core Design
	Cliffhanger	Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Nintendo Entertainment System	Sony Imagesoft, Psygnosis	N/A
1994	Lemmings 2: The Tribes	Game Boy	Psygnosis	Ported only; game developed by DMA Design
	Andre Agassi Tennis	Game Gear	Lance Investments	Ported only; game developed by TecMagik
	Pinball Arcade	MS-DOS	21st Century Entertainment	N/A
	Poker Face Paul's Solitaire	Game Gear	Sega
	Pinball Dreams 2	MS-DOS	21st Century Entertainment
	Math Blaster Episode I: In Search of Spot	Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System	Davidson & Associates	Ported only; game developed by Davidson & Associates
1995	Pinball Fantasies	Atari Jaguar, Game Boy, PlayStation, Super Nintendo Entertainment System	21st Century Entertainment, GameTek	Ported only; game developed by Digital Illusions
	Pinball World	MS-DOS	21st Century Entertainment, Rebellion Developments	N/A
	Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Pinball	Amiga, Amiga CD32, MS-DOS	Alternative Software
	Pinball Mania	Amiga, Game Boy, MS-DOS	21st Century Entertainment, GameTek
1996	Pinball Builder	Microsoft Windows	21st Century Entertainment
	Total Pinball 3D	MS-DOS

As Tarantula Studios

Year	Title	Platform(s)	Publisher(s)	Notes
1998	Las Vegas Cool Hand	Game Boy, Game Boy Color	Take-Two Interactive	N/A
	Montezuma's Return!
	Rats!
1999	Hollywood Pinball	Game Boy Color
	Space Station Silicon Valley
	Three Lions
	Jim Henson's Muppets
	Evel Knievel		Rockstar Games
	Grand Theft Auto
2000	Austin Powers: Oh, Behave!
	Austin Powers: Welcome to My Underground Lair!
	Grand Theft Auto 2
	Formula One 2000		Take-Two Interactive
2001	Kiss Pinball	PlayStation		Ported only; game developed by Wildfire Studios
	Hidden & Dangerous			Ported only; game developed by Illusion Softworks

References

1. Hewson, Andrew (9 May 2016). Hints & Tips for Videogame Pioneers (First ed.). Lulu.com. ISBN 9781844991365. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
2. "21st Century Entertainment Ltd R.I.P". pcpinball.com. 10 March 1998. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
3. Johnston, Chris (1 June 1998). "Take 2 Captures Tarantula". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 3 February 1999.
4. Cleveland, Adam (24 September 1999). "Las Vegas Cool Hand". IGN. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
5. Harris, Craig (20 March 2000). "Montezuma's Return". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
6. Cleveland, Adam (29 September 1999). "Rats!". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
7. Harris, Craig (30 July 1999). "Space Station Silicon Valley". IGN. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
8. Jones, Tim (20 June 2000). "Space Station Silicon Valley". IGN. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
9. Nix, Marc (17 April 2000). "Muppets". IGN. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
10. Harris, Craig (17 September 1999). "Evel Knievel". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
11. Harris, Craig (7 December 1999). "Evel Knievel". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
12. Harris, Craig (29 November 1999). "Grand Theft Auto". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
13. Harris, Craig (15 September 1999). "Grand Theft Auto". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
14. Harris, Craig (19 December 2000). "Grand Theft Auto 2". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
15. Harris, Craig (28 June 2000). "Austin Powers: Welcome To My Underground Lair". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
16. Carle, Chris (29 September 2000). "Austin Powers: Welcome To My Underground Lair". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
17. Harris, Craig (28 June 2000). "Austin Powers: Oh Behave!". IGN. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
18. Carle, Chris (29 September 2000). "Austin Powers: Oh Behave!". IGN. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
19. IGN Nintendo Team (31 October 2008). "Worst Reviewed Nintendo Console Games, Page 1 of 2". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
20. Smith, David (30 April 2001). "KISS Pinball". IGN. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
21. Forde, Matt (17 September 2017). "Feature: The Complete History of Rockstar Games on Nintendo Platforms". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
22. Hillier, Brenna (27 January 2011). "Rockstar bids farewell to two studio heads". VG247. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
23. Reilly, Jim (26 January 2011). "Rockstar London Studio Head Exits". IGN. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
24. Martin, Matt (22 May 2012). "Ex-Rockstar bosses working with Activision Leeds studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
25. Alexander, Leigh (27 January 2011). "Rockstar London Studio Head Resigns". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
26. French, Michael (27 January 2011). "Two Rockstar UK dev execs depart". Develop. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
27. Meer, Alec (27 January 2011). "Exit for Rockstar London and Lincoln studio bosses". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
28. Nunneley, Stephany (22 May 2012). "Report – former Rockstar London bosses sign on with Activision Leeds". VG247. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
29. Orry, James (9 August 2012). "Former head of Rockstar Leeds joins Activision's mobile studio". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
30. Franklin, Ashley (12 July 2017). "Lincolnshire Sports Awards 2017 - Rockstar face tough competition in quest to make it three in a row". Lincolnshire Live.
31. Schreier, Jason (23 October 2018). "Inside Rockstar Games' Culture Of Crunch". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
32. Kim, Matt (19 October 2018). "Rockstar Lincoln QA Tester Says Overtime is No Longer Mandatory". USgamer. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
33. Bailey, Dustin (6 August 2019). "Rockstar hires testers full-time after criticism – "things have been better since last year"". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.