![]() ![]() ![]() As Indie Built (2004–2006) Īround 2004, Microsoft opted to leave the sports-game development market due to the impact of the Electronic Arts Sports (EA Sports) label, using their strength to produce sports-related games for the Xbox console. He died from cancer on December 28, 2005. That year, Carver left the company to pursue new interests, eventually founding Carver Homes, a construction company, in 2004. In 2003, Microsoft rebranded Salt Like Games Studio as Indie Games. Initially working on products to for the personal computer, Salt Lake City Studio transitioned to Xbox versions of Links as well as the Amped snowboarding and Top Spin tennis sports games, following the console's introduction in 2002. Upon the formation of Microsoft Game Studios (then called Microsoft Games) in 2000, Microsoft rebranded Access Software as Salt Lake Games Studio. Access divested itself of the TruGolf division and made the company its own entity with Microsoft's purchase. With the acquisition, Access's principal offices remained in Salt Lake City. Microsoft desired to produce a high-end line of golf games based on Links with Access, while offering Microsoft Golf as lower-budget titles. According to Steve Witzel, Microsoft looked to acquire Access after USA Today reviewed both Microsoft Golf and Links and rated the latter much higher Microsoft thought it would be easier to buy Access than try to compete. Microsoft sought to acquire Access to gain its Links series of golf games Access had created Microsoft Golf as one of the first games to run within the Microsoft Windows operating system based on Links 386 Pro. ![]() In April 1999, Access Software was acquired by Microsoft for an undisclosed sum. As Salt Lake Games Studio and Indie Games (1999–2003) As Access continued to develop the Links games for computers, they established a subsidiary, TruGolf, that created golf simulators, with Roger Carver overseeing this division. This became the basis of Leader Board, the first game considered part of the Links series, and would establish the behind-the-golfer view for most other golf simulation games that followed. With little artistic skill among their team, the developers set up a small studio in the basement, projecting frame-by-frame VHS footage of Roger Carver's golf swing onto a clear sheet, tracing his outline onto the sheets as to then convert them into sprites within the Commodore 64 system. In 1984, while there were other golf games on the market, most used a top-down approach, while Bruce Carver wanted to create a game that was shown from behind the golfer. One of Access' key products were a series of sprite-based golfing games in the Links. In its early days, Access Software operated out of Carver's basement. In November that year, Carver, together with Chris Jones, incorporated Access Software with a starting capital of US$25,000. The name was chosen Carver and some of his friends had searched through a dictionary, considering "Action Software" and "Center Soft" before sticking with "Access Software". ![]() After Carver had implemented these changes, he began selling them under the name "Access Software" through Computers Plus. He presented the product to Steve Witzel, who operated Computers Plus, a retail computer store in Salt Lake City's Midvale suburb Witzel provided Carver with several improvement suggestions for the program. In 1982, Bruce Carver, an engineer for Salt Lake City-based company Redd Engineering, created a sprite-editing program called Spritemaster. Separately, Jones has established Big Finish Games to continue the Tex Murphy series. Following the closure by Take-Two, many of the studio's developers went to TruGolf. TruGolf, a company that develops indoor golf simulators, was formerly a subsidiary of Access Software based on the display technology they had made for the Links games and spun out to its own company during the Microsoft acquisition. Following a poor financial performance at Take-Two, Indie Built was closed down in May 2006. In January 2005, Access Software became part of Take-Two's 2K label. Access Software was acquired by Microsoft in April 1999, transitioning in name twice before being acquired by Take-Two Interactive in October 2004, receiving the name Indie Built. Founded in November 1982 by Bruce Carver and Chris Jones, the company created the Beach Head, Links and Tex Murphy series, as well as Raid over Moscow. was an American video game developer based in Salt Lake City, Utah. ![]()
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