3D Groove Games (partially lost online games; 1998-2009): Difference between revisions
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'''3D Groove''' was a 3D game engine that was active between 1998 and 2009, with its peak occurring in the early to mid-2000s. Many 3D Groove games were lost when 3D Groove's site | '''3D Groove''' was a 3D game engine that was active between 1998 and 2009, with its peak occurring in the early to mid-2000s. Many 3D Groove games were lost when 3D Groove's site went down in 2009. | ||
The 3D Groove engine was created by the company The | The 3D Groove engine was created by the company The Groove Alliance. While The Groove Alliance developed their own original games, their main focus was to develop games to advertise various toys, movies, and cartoons. 3D Groove's Advergames would be developed at the request of a company for one of its brands, such as Radio Shack, AT&T, Intel, Pringles, etc. | ||
These games could be played online with a web browser plugin, but often there was a more fully featured version of the same game which could be purchased and played offline. The games were licensed royalty-free and non-exclusively, and the game would need to be removed after the license expired.<ref>[http:// | These games could be played online with a web browser plugin, but often there was a more fully-featured version of the same game which could be purchased and played offline. The games were licensed royalty-free and non-exclusively, and the game would need to be removed after the license expired.<ref>[http://seanlydon.com/sonyconnectcd/profiles/930.htm The Groove Alliance's business model.] Retrieved 21 Dec '16</ref> | ||
==Technology== | ==Technology== | ||
3D Groove games could be built to be played on the desktop or in a browser. At first, there was 3D Groove SX, which allowed developers with the Director to create a Shockwave Movie (with a filetype of DCR) with a 3D Groove game. In 2002, 3D Groove GX was introduced, and it allowed for the creation of 3D Groove games without the need for Director. With 3D Groove GX, developers would use the private SDK provided by The Groove Alliance to create Groove World Files (with a filetype of GRV.) | |||
Both versions of 3D Groove, in turn, used the 3D Game Machine | Both versions of 3D Groove, in turn, used the 3D Game Machine development framework (3DGM for short) from Virtually Unlimited Corp. In September 2001, 3D Groove bought the source code for 3DGM.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19981206063529/http://www.virtually3d.com/ Information about 3D Game Machine.] Retrieved 06 Jan '17</ref> 3D Groove games may make use of the 3DGM Model File format (with a file type of 3GM) and are similar to the standard 3DS Model File format but with greater functionality. For example, the ability to use quads - or faces with any amount of vertices - instead of only triangles, was included. | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
In 1995, before 3D Groove existed, programmer Jules Urbach worked at DigitalFusion and helped to code the game ''Real Pool'', a basic 3D pool game for the Mac intended to rival the ''Virtual Pool'' series. The game was published by MacSoft and got a Windows port in 1998, which was published through GT Interactive (which would later become Infogrames) shortly before the | In 1995, before 3D Groove existed, programmer Jules Urbach worked at DigitalFusion and helped to code the game ''Real Pool'', a basic 3D pool game for the Mac intended to rival the ''Virtual Pool'' series. The game was published by MacSoft and got a Windows port in 1998, which was published through GT Interactive (which would later become Infogrames) shortly before the Groove Alliance was established. | ||
The | The Groove Alliance was established on July 6th, 1998. Mr. Urbach was the company's co-founder, with entrepreneur Chris Kantrowitz and programmer Peter Laufenberg, who did much of the C++ code for the 3D Groove web browser plugin. Other notable names involved with 3D Groove are Patrick Thiel from Pepworks.com (animator,) Ben Encarcion (artist,) Nick Kang (developer,) Jed Whedon and Rene Winkler (music and sound design) and Jamie and Simon Edis from Ezone.com (artist and programmer, respectively, who used 3D Groove for their web games.) | ||
The assets used in ''Real Pool'' were recycled to make a web demo version, becoming the first use of the 3D Groove engine. | The assets used in ''Real Pool'' were recycled to make a web demo version, becoming the first use of the 3D Groove engine. It was intended to promote the full game, the web version of ''Real Pool'' used 3D Groove SX and was published on Shockwave.com, becoming their first 3D game, where it got between 5-6 million plays according to Laufenberg. The game made over four million dollars in total sales, according to Vice President of Marketing for Infogrames Paul Rinde. It was later recycled again into an advergame for Jack Daniels. | ||
The | The Groove Alliance then developed a game called ''SkyDive!'' which was released by Electronic Arts on June 30th, 1999, with their Gonzo Games label. It received mostly negative reviews.<ref>[http://gamerankings.com/pc/198664-skydive/index.html Information on ''SkyDive!''.] Retrieved 15 Dec '16</ref> | ||
Shockwave.com announced a partnership with | Shockwave.com announced a partnership with Groove Alliance to develop new games. One of these was ''Tank Wars'', a game where you drive around the city playing as a tank destroying other tanks. It was released in Spring 2000 and got over 1.5 million plays per month.<ref>[http://prnewswire.com/news-releases/groove-alliance-to-debut-six-new-3d-games-on-shockwavecom-72989302.html Information on Shockwave.com's partnership with Groove Alliance.] Retrieved 28 Nov '16</ref><ref>[http://legendsworld.net/shooter/game/2176 Statistic about the game ''Tank Wars''.] Retrieved 28 Nov '16</ref> | ||
From January 2001 to August 2003, Joseph Varet became 3D Groove's CEO. | From January 2001 to August 2003, Joseph Varet became 3D Groove's CEO. | ||
Kpe and the | Kpe and the Groove Alliance announced a partnership. The first title they released under this partnership was ''Otto's Killer Carvin Snowboard'' for NickArcade.<ref>[http://prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-groove-alliance-and-kpe-form-strategic-partnership-71229517.html Information on kpe's partnership with Groove Alliance.] Retrieved 28 Nov '16</ref> RealNetworks announced a distribution agreement with the Groove Alliance for their RealArcade platform.<ref>[http://prnewswire.com/news-releases/realnetworks-announces-distribution-agreements-with-activision-and-other-game-publishers-as-popularity-of-realarcade-grows-71392512.html Information on RealNetworks distribution agreement with Groove Alliance.] Retrieved 28 Nov '16</ref> 3D Groove also made a sequel to ''Real Pool'' called ''Real Pool 2'', which became the first game to use the new 3D Groove GX engine version.<ref>[http://gamezone.com/news/infogrames_inc_racks_em_up_nationwide_as_real_pool_2_ships Statistics and information about ''Real Pool''.] Retrieved 28 Nov '16</ref> | ||
By March 2002, the 3D Groove engine had been downloaded 40 million times.<ref>[http://scifipulse.scifiwebs.com/Trek%20Archive/March/Ewrtalksgaming.htm The 3D Groove engine download statistic.] Retrieved | By March 2002, the 3D Groove engine had been downloaded 40 million times.<ref>[http://scifipulse.scifiwebs.com/Trek%20Archive/March/Ewrtalksgaming.htm The 3D Groove engine download statistic.] Retrieved 03 Jul '17</ref> In early 2004, Peter Laufenburg left the Groove Alliance. | ||
3D Groove marketed a new ''Battle of the Planets'' game to celebrate the show's 25th anniversary. ''Transformers Battle Universe'' for the [[Net Jet Games ( | 3D Groove marketed a new ''Battle of the Planets'' game to celebrate the show's 25th anniversary. ''Transformers Battle Universe'' for the [[Net Jet Games (partially found inaccessible Tiger Electronics brand games; 2007-2009)|Net Jet controller]] was also made in the 3D Groove GX engine. | ||
In early 2009, 3D Groove's site shut down, causing a lot of their games to be lost. | In early 2009, 3D Groove's site shut down, causing a lot of their games to be lost. | ||
The | The Groove Alliance rebranded as OTOY, which is still around today but has moved in a different direction, instead focusing on their OctaneRender engine used to create photorealistic graphics from within 3D modelling tools such as Maya. Jules Urbach's explanation for 3D Groove's sunset is that he wanted to shift his full attention to OTOY's bigger goals which involved GPU rendering, as explained in a Twitter reply. He also added that a half dozen people from Groove still work at OTOY as of writing.<ref>[https://twitter.com/JulesUrbach/status/1315412108574564353 Twitter post explaining OTOY's shift in focus.] Retrieved 13 Oct '20</ref> | ||
One blog post on A Tree Falling in the Forest about Jules Urbach, who worked at 3D Groove, wrote that he was "kind of screwed" by certain people in Groove Alliance.<ref>[http://boesky.blogspot.ca/2008/07/check-it-out-otoy-edition.html A blog post on A Tree Falling in the Forest about Jules Urbach who was involved with 3D Groove.] Retrieved 29 Aug '16</ref> When asked on the Ezone Discord server what happened to 3D Groove as a company, Ezone responded that "all [they] know is that Jules got ripped off in some way by the CEO." However, these stories don't coincide with OTOY's official response. | |||
== | ==Availability of Games and Download== | ||
The 3D Groove games are for the most part currently available for purchase. However, several are still available to play thanks to various means, such as archive.org or people uploading a game that was on their computer. Many games were also given out directly by Simon Edis from Ezone. A list of games that are currently lost and found can be viewed below. A MEGA Folder of the currently found 3D Groove games is available [https://mega.nz/#F!9xx1Fb6J!htG1PEOPan3QnbSB_j3m_A here for download]. | |||
==Groove Alliance Original Titles== | |||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | # | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Game Title | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Status | |||
|- | |||
|1||3D Marble Demo||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|2||9MM: Beer Bottle Shootout||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|3||AlienX||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|4||Death From Above||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|5||High Roller||<span style=color:orange>'''Partially Found'''</span><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000302022850/http://www.3dgroove.com:80/ Small screenshots of ''High Roller'' and ''Outpost X''.] Retrieved 10 Oct '18</ref><ref>[http://angelfire.com/games2/Nova/3D.html A brief review of ''High Roller''.] Retrieved 24 Oct '18</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|6||Nothin' But Net||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|7||Outpost X Demo||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|8||Piscean||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|9||Real Pool||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|10||Real Pool 2||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|11||Showdown: The gunfighting game||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|12||SkyDive!||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|13||SkyRacer: Impulse||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|14||Star Battalion||<span style=color:red>'''Lost''' | |||
|- | |||
|15||Tank Wars||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|16||Tank Wars Multiplayer||<span style=color:red>'''Lost'''</span><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20011016151035fw_/http://www.3dgroove.com:80/website/about.html A capture mentioning ''Tank Wars Multiplayer'' existing on e4.com.] Retrieved 10 Oct '18</ref> | |||
|} | |||
==Groove Alliance Advergames== | |||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | # | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Game Title | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Status | |||
|- | |||
|1||3D Groove Bose Game||<span style=color:red>'''Lost'''</span><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040211011633/http://inhance.com:80/portfolio_interactive5.htm Site on which 3D Groove Bose Game of unknown title, ''Cisco Broadband Game'' and ''SEMIs ChipsOnTour'' would've been embedded.] Retrieved 10 Oct '18</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|2||Cisco Broadband Game||<span style=color:red>'''Lost''' | |||
|- | |||
|3||Code Red Nothin' But Net||<span style=color:red>'''Lost''' | |||
|- | |||
|4||Disc Dogger||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050507072736/http://jeep.games.yahoo.com:80/games/disc/DiscDogger.htm A capture of ''Disc Dogger'''s loader which tries to install 3D Groove. The game itself was not caught.] Retrieved 10 Oct '18</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|5||Eight Legged Freaks||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|6||FedEx USA Express||<span style=color:red>'''Lost'''</span><ref>[https://linkedin.com/in/jvaret Joseph Varet's LinkedIn suggesting there was a FedEx advergame in the 3D Groove engine.] Retrieved 28 Oct '17</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|7||Intel's Showdown: The gunfighting game||<span style=color:red>'''Lost''' | |||
|- | |||
|8||Jack Daniel's Real Pool||<span style=color:red>'''Lost''' | |||
|- | |||
|9||M&M'S: Yellow Takes Tokyo||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|10||Pedal to the Metal||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|11||SkyRacer: Impulse||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|12||Michelob Golf||<span style=color:red>'''Lost'''</span><ref>[http://artofwei.com/about-me/ Art of Wei's portfolio mentioning ''Michelob Golf''.] Retrieved 10 Oct '18</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|13||Mountain Dew Skateboarding||<span style=color:red>'''Lost''' | |||
|- | |||
|14||Nesquik: Chocolate Mountain Challenge||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|15||[[Pringles Pony Express (found 3D Groove online game; 2002)|Pringles Pony Express]]||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|16||Super Spud Boxing||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|17||RC Stunt Machine Showdown||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|18||SEMIs ChipsOnTour||<span style=color:red>'''Lost''' | |||
|- | |||
|19||Volvo Cross-Country Challenge||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|20||Unlimited Challenge 2||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|} | |||
==Cartoon Network== | ==Cartoon Network== | ||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | # | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Game Title | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Status | |||
|- | |||
|1||Showdown in the Sky in 3D||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|2||Toonami: Trapped in Hyperspace||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''' | |||
|} | |||
==Disney== | ==Disney== | ||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | # | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Game Title | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Status | |||
|- | |||
|1||American Dragon Jake Long: Robot Pandemonium||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|2||Dunk Tank||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|3||Hamsterball Bowling||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|4||JetiXtreme 3D Racing||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|5||Johnny Kapahala: Island Grind||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|6||Kim Possible: Middleton Mayhem||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|7||The Great Race of Oban||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|8||Tarzan's Jungle Rescue||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|9||Yin Yang Yo: The Dangerous Comic Book of Dread||<span style=color:green>'''Found''' | |||
|} | |||
==Ezone== | ==Ezone== | ||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | # | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Game Title | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Status | |||
|- | |||
|1||Battle of the Planets: Peril of the Praying Mantis||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|2||Farmer Giblet's Turkey Farm (Turkey 3D!)||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|3||Lenny Loosejocks Boardin||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|4||Lenny Loosejocks in Snow Worries!||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|5||Penguin Racers||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|6||Santa Goes Buttboardin' 3D||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|7||Super Mega Big Trucks - Arena||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|8||Space Wombat||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|} | |||
==NickArcade== | ==NickArcade== | ||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | # | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Game Title | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Status | |||
|- | |||
|1||All Grown Up Krazy Karts||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|2||Adventures of Bleeposaurus||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|3||Adventures of Bleeposaurus - Dragonfire||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|4||Blue's Clues: Joe's 3-D Scavenger Hunt||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|5||Danny Phantom Ghost Sweep||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|6||Diego's Rescue Adventure 3-D||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|7||Dora's 3-D Soccer||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|8||Dora's The Explorer 3-D Backpack Adventure||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|9||Dora's The Explorer 3-D Driving Adventure||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|10||Dora's The Explorer 3-D Pyramid Adventure||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|11||Fairly Oddparents - Information Stupor Highway||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|12||Hey Arnold! Runaway Bus||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|13||[[Jimmy Neutron: Gotta Blast! Rocket Race (partially found online game; 2002)|Jimmy Neutron: Gotta Blast! Rocket Race]]||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|14||Jimmy Neutron: Rescue Jet Fusion||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
==Roddenberry | |15||Jimmy Neutron Space Blast||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | ||
|- | |||
|16||Otto's Killer Carvin Snowboard||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|17||Rocket Power Big Air Mountain||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|18||SpongeBob SquarePants 3-D||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|19||SpongeBob SquarePants 3D Pinball Panic||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|20||[[SpongeBob SquarePants Saves the Krusty Krab 3D (found computer game; 2002)|SpongeBob SquarePants Saves the Krusty Krab]]||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|21||Wild Thornberrys 3D Chopper Chase||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|} | |||
==Pepworks/andUP== | |||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | # | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Game Title | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Status | |||
|- | |||
|1||002 Turbo||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|2||Animenace: Operation Phantom||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|3||Architecture Demo||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20051220041003/http://www.andup.com/start.htm Page linking to ''Lisasquest 3D'' and ''Architecture Demo'' made in Groove GX.] Retrieved 10 Oct '18</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|4||Baby Knight||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|5||Battle of the Planets: 3D Battle Racer||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|6||Battle of the Planets: Zoltar's Revenge||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|7||Bio Boxing 3D||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|8||Cyobreed||<span style="color:gray;">'''Non-existent'''</span><ref>[https://deviantart.com/marcnail/art/aquanoid-4089042 Marc Nail discussing ''Cyobreed'''s cancellation.] Retrieved 24 Oct '18</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|9||Elfsquest||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|10||Leo's Great Day 2||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|11||Lisasquest 3D||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|} | |||
==Roddenberry/[[Net Jet Games (partially found inaccessible Tiger Electronics brand games; 2007-2009)|NetJet]]== | |||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" | |||
|- | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | # | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Game Title | |||
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Status | |||
|- | |||
|1||OTOY Battle Space||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|- | |||
|2||Star Trek Online||<span style=color:red>'''Lost''' | |||
|- | |||
|3||Transformers Battle Universe||<span style="color:green;">'''Found''' | |||
|} | |||
==Gallery== | ==Gallery== | ||
<gallery mode=packed heights= | <gallery mode=packed heights=100px> | ||
3dgroove.png|A clean version of the 3D Groove logo. | |||
3dgroove_blue.png|The 3D Groove logo in blue, as seen in ''Alien X''. | |||
banner_install.png|The Groove Alliance banner. | |||
RC.jpg|The logo for ''Radio Shack: RC Stunt Machine Showdown''. | |||
SUMMER2.png|The title screen for [[SpongeBob SquarePants Saves the Krusty Krab 3D (found computer game; 2002)|''SpongeBob SquarePants Saves the Krusty Krab'']]. | |||
Hey Arnold 3D Gameplay.png|A still from ''Hey Arnold! Runaway Bus 3D''. | |||
Dora The Explorer Backpack Adventure 3D Title.png|The title screen for ''Dora's 3-D Backpack Adventure''. | |||
Pringles Pony Express.png | |||
Powerpuff Girls 3D Bubbles.png | |||
3D Blues Clues Grocery Store.png | |||
Dora 3D Backpack Pond.png | |||
Diego 3D Rescue Screenshot.png | |||
Nesquik 3D Screenshot.png | |||
Dora 3D Driving Adventure Screenshot.png | |||
Dora 3D Pyramid Adventure Screenshot.png | |||
Dora 3D Barn.png | |||
Blues Clues 3D House.png | |||
Mazda Skyracer Impulse Screenshot.png | |||
Blues Clues 3D Cash Register.png | |||
Blues Clues 3D School.png | |||
Blues Clues 3D Park.png | |||
Hey Arnold 3D Advertisement.png | |||
Hey Arnold 3D Bridge.png | |||
Jimmy Neutron Space Blast Ad.png | |||
Wild Thornberries 3D Chopper Chase Nigel Thornberry.png | |||
Pringles Spud Boxing Screenshot.png | |||
Rocket Power Big Air Mountain Screenshot.png | |||
Jimmy Neutron 3D Screenshot.png | |||
Dora 3D Soccer Screenshot.png | |||
WTCC Nigel Running.png | |||
Wild Thornberries 3D Chopper Chase Eliza Thornberry Gameplay.png | |||
Pringles 3D Boxing Twisted Curly O' Brien.png | |||
Yin yang Yo.jpg | |||
Dangereous.jpg | |||
Jetixtreme_146x110.jpg|Thumbnail of the game ''JetiXtreme''. | |||
Kimpossible_146x110.jpg|Thumbnail of the game ''Kim Possible: Middleton Mayhem''. | |||
Kp_middleton_mayhem.jpg|Small screenshot of the game ''Kim Possible: Middleton Mayhem''. | |||
MMMs_Yellow_Takes_Tokyo_Title.png|The title screen for ''M&M's - Yellow Takes Tokyo''. | |||
MMMs_Yellow_Takes_Tokyo_Gameplay.png|Screenshot of the game ''M&M's - Yellow Takes Tokyo''. | |||
P10_cartoon_network.jpg|''Toonami: Trapped in Hyperspace'' | |||
JNGBRR Possible gameplay.png | |||
Jackdanielspool.jpg|''Jack Daniel's Real Pool'' | |||
Skyracer picon2.gif | |||
Mazda.PNG|Select Car Screen for ''Mazda: Skyracer Impulse''. | |||
Mazda_2.PNG|Gameplay of ''Mazda: Skyracer Impulse''. | |||
SorryscreenKP.jpg|Sorry screen for ''Kim Possible: Middleton Mayhem''. | |||
Jetixtreme.jpg|Small thumbnail of ''JetiXtreme''. | |||
SorryscreenJETIX.jpg|Sorry screen for ''JetiXtreme''. | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
*[https://mega.nz/#F!9xx1Fb6J!htG1PEOPan3QnbSB_j3m_A Link to a MEGA folder containing some found 3D Groove content, including games and Shockwave xtras. All games are for Windows unless otherwise specified.] | *[https://mega.nz/#F!9xx1Fb6J!htG1PEOPan3QnbSB_j3m_A Link to a MEGA folder containing some found 3D Groove content, including games and Shockwave xtras. All games are for Windows unless otherwise specified.] Retrieved 08 Jul '16 | ||
*[http://director-online.dasdeck.com/buildArticle.php?id=286 Article about 3D in Director with a screenshot of 3D Groove's Xtra being used within Director.] | *[http://director-online.dasdeck.com/buildArticle.php?id=286 Article about 3D in Director with a screenshot of 3D Groove's Xtra being used within Director.] Retrieved 23 Apr '17 | ||
*[https:// | *[https://youtu.be/9NIR2T4X9uY A commercial for the M&M's game: ''Yellow Takes Tokyo''.] Retrieved 13 Nov '17 | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist|2}} | ||
[[Category:Lost internet media]] | [[Category:Lost internet media]] | ||
[[Category:Lost video games]] | [[Category:Lost video games]] | ||
[[Category:Partially lost media]] | [[Category:Partially lost media]] | ||
[[Category:Non-existence confirmed]] |
Latest revision as of 06:59, 2 February 2024
3D Groove was a 3D game engine that was active between 1998 and 2009, with its peak occurring in the early to mid-2000s. Many 3D Groove games were lost when 3D Groove's site went down in 2009.
The 3D Groove engine was created by the company The Groove Alliance. While The Groove Alliance developed their own original games, their main focus was to develop games to advertise various toys, movies, and cartoons. 3D Groove's Advergames would be developed at the request of a company for one of its brands, such as Radio Shack, AT&T, Intel, Pringles, etc.
These games could be played online with a web browser plugin, but often there was a more fully-featured version of the same game which could be purchased and played offline. The games were licensed royalty-free and non-exclusively, and the game would need to be removed after the license expired.[1]
Technology
3D Groove games could be built to be played on the desktop or in a browser. At first, there was 3D Groove SX, which allowed developers with the Director to create a Shockwave Movie (with a filetype of DCR) with a 3D Groove game. In 2002, 3D Groove GX was introduced, and it allowed for the creation of 3D Groove games without the need for Director. With 3D Groove GX, developers would use the private SDK provided by The Groove Alliance to create Groove World Files (with a filetype of GRV.)
Both versions of 3D Groove, in turn, used the 3D Game Machine development framework (3DGM for short) from Virtually Unlimited Corp. In September 2001, 3D Groove bought the source code for 3DGM.[2] 3D Groove games may make use of the 3DGM Model File format (with a file type of 3GM) and are similar to the standard 3DS Model File format but with greater functionality. For example, the ability to use quads - or faces with any amount of vertices - instead of only triangles, was included.
History
In 1995, before 3D Groove existed, programmer Jules Urbach worked at DigitalFusion and helped to code the game Real Pool, a basic 3D pool game for the Mac intended to rival the Virtual Pool series. The game was published by MacSoft and got a Windows port in 1998, which was published through GT Interactive (which would later become Infogrames) shortly before the Groove Alliance was established.
The Groove Alliance was established on July 6th, 1998. Mr. Urbach was the company's co-founder, with entrepreneur Chris Kantrowitz and programmer Peter Laufenberg, who did much of the C++ code for the 3D Groove web browser plugin. Other notable names involved with 3D Groove are Patrick Thiel from Pepworks.com (animator,) Ben Encarcion (artist,) Nick Kang (developer,) Jed Whedon and Rene Winkler (music and sound design) and Jamie and Simon Edis from Ezone.com (artist and programmer, respectively, who used 3D Groove for their web games.)
The assets used in Real Pool were recycled to make a web demo version, becoming the first use of the 3D Groove engine. It was intended to promote the full game, the web version of Real Pool used 3D Groove SX and was published on Shockwave.com, becoming their first 3D game, where it got between 5-6 million plays according to Laufenberg. The game made over four million dollars in total sales, according to Vice President of Marketing for Infogrames Paul Rinde. It was later recycled again into an advergame for Jack Daniels.
The Groove Alliance then developed a game called SkyDive! which was released by Electronic Arts on June 30th, 1999, with their Gonzo Games label. It received mostly negative reviews.[3] Shockwave.com announced a partnership with Groove Alliance to develop new games. One of these was Tank Wars, a game where you drive around the city playing as a tank destroying other tanks. It was released in Spring 2000 and got over 1.5 million plays per month.[4][5]
From January 2001 to August 2003, Joseph Varet became 3D Groove's CEO.
Kpe and the Groove Alliance announced a partnership. The first title they released under this partnership was Otto's Killer Carvin Snowboard for NickArcade.[6] RealNetworks announced a distribution agreement with the Groove Alliance for their RealArcade platform.[7] 3D Groove also made a sequel to Real Pool called Real Pool 2, which became the first game to use the new 3D Groove GX engine version.[8]
By March 2002, the 3D Groove engine had been downloaded 40 million times.[9] In early 2004, Peter Laufenburg left the Groove Alliance.
3D Groove marketed a new Battle of the Planets game to celebrate the show's 25th anniversary. Transformers Battle Universe for the Net Jet controller was also made in the 3D Groove GX engine.
In early 2009, 3D Groove's site shut down, causing a lot of their games to be lost.
The Groove Alliance rebranded as OTOY, which is still around today but has moved in a different direction, instead focusing on their OctaneRender engine used to create photorealistic graphics from within 3D modelling tools such as Maya. Jules Urbach's explanation for 3D Groove's sunset is that he wanted to shift his full attention to OTOY's bigger goals which involved GPU rendering, as explained in a Twitter reply. He also added that a half dozen people from Groove still work at OTOY as of writing.[10]
One blog post on A Tree Falling in the Forest about Jules Urbach, who worked at 3D Groove, wrote that he was "kind of screwed" by certain people in Groove Alliance.[11] When asked on the Ezone Discord server what happened to 3D Groove as a company, Ezone responded that "all [they] know is that Jules got ripped off in some way by the CEO." However, these stories don't coincide with OTOY's official response.
Availability of Games and Download
The 3D Groove games are for the most part currently available for purchase. However, several are still available to play thanks to various means, such as archive.org or people uploading a game that was on their computer. Many games were also given out directly by Simon Edis from Ezone. A list of games that are currently lost and found can be viewed below. A MEGA Folder of the currently found 3D Groove games is available here for download.
Groove Alliance Original Titles
# | Game Title | Status |
---|---|---|
1 | 3D Marble Demo | Found |
2 | 9MM: Beer Bottle Shootout | Found |
3 | AlienX | Found |
4 | Death From Above | Found |
5 | High Roller | Partially Found[12][13] |
6 | Nothin' But Net | Found |
7 | Outpost X Demo | Found |
8 | Piscean | Found |
9 | Real Pool | Found |
10 | Real Pool 2 | Found |
11 | Showdown: The gunfighting game | Found |
12 | SkyDive! | Found |
13 | SkyRacer: Impulse | Found |
14 | Star Battalion | Lost |
15 | Tank Wars | Found |
16 | Tank Wars Multiplayer | Lost[14] |
Groove Alliance Advergames
# | Game Title | Status |
---|---|---|
1 | 3D Groove Bose Game | Lost[15] |
2 | Cisco Broadband Game | Lost |
3 | Code Red Nothin' But Net | Lost |
4 | Disc Dogger | Lost[16] |
5 | Eight Legged Freaks | Found |
6 | FedEx USA Express | Lost[17] |
7 | Intel's Showdown: The gunfighting game | Lost |
8 | Jack Daniel's Real Pool | Lost |
9 | M&M'S: Yellow Takes Tokyo | Found |
10 | Pedal to the Metal | Found |
11 | SkyRacer: Impulse | Found |
12 | Michelob Golf | Lost[18] |
13 | Mountain Dew Skateboarding | Lost |
14 | Nesquik: Chocolate Mountain Challenge | Found |
15 | Pringles Pony Express | Found |
16 | Super Spud Boxing | Found |
17 | RC Stunt Machine Showdown | Found |
18 | SEMIs ChipsOnTour | Lost |
19 | Volvo Cross-Country Challenge | Found |
20 | Unlimited Challenge 2 | Found |
Cartoon Network
# | Game Title | Status |
---|---|---|
1 | Showdown in the Sky in 3D | Found |
2 | Toonami: Trapped in Hyperspace | Partially Found |
Disney
# | Game Title | Status |
---|---|---|
1 | American Dragon Jake Long: Robot Pandemonium | Found |
2 | Dunk Tank | Found |
3 | Hamsterball Bowling | Found |
4 | JetiXtreme 3D Racing | Found |
5 | Johnny Kapahala: Island Grind | Found |
6 | Kim Possible: Middleton Mayhem | Found |
7 | The Great Race of Oban | Found |
8 | Tarzan's Jungle Rescue | Found |
9 | Yin Yang Yo: The Dangerous Comic Book of Dread | Found |
Ezone
# | Game Title | Status |
---|---|---|
1 | Battle of the Planets: Peril of the Praying Mantis | Found |
2 | Farmer Giblet's Turkey Farm (Turkey 3D!) | Found |
3 | Lenny Loosejocks Boardin | Found |
4 | Lenny Loosejocks in Snow Worries! | Found |
5 | Penguin Racers | Found |
6 | Santa Goes Buttboardin' 3D | Found |
7 | Super Mega Big Trucks - Arena | Found |
8 | Space Wombat | Found |
NickArcade
# | Game Title | Status |
---|---|---|
1 | All Grown Up Krazy Karts | Found |
2 | Adventures of Bleeposaurus | Found |
3 | Adventures of Bleeposaurus - Dragonfire | Found |
4 | Blue's Clues: Joe's 3-D Scavenger Hunt | Found |
5 | Danny Phantom Ghost Sweep | Found |
6 | Diego's Rescue Adventure 3-D | Found |
7 | Dora's 3-D Soccer | Found |
8 | Dora's The Explorer 3-D Backpack Adventure | Found |
9 | Dora's The Explorer 3-D Driving Adventure | Found |
10 | Dora's The Explorer 3-D Pyramid Adventure | Found |
11 | Fairly Oddparents - Information Stupor Highway | Found |
12 | Hey Arnold! Runaway Bus | Found |
13 | Jimmy Neutron: Gotta Blast! Rocket Race | Partially Found |
14 | Jimmy Neutron: Rescue Jet Fusion | Found |
15 | Jimmy Neutron Space Blast | Found |
16 | Otto's Killer Carvin Snowboard | Found |
17 | Rocket Power Big Air Mountain | Found |
18 | SpongeBob SquarePants 3-D | Found |
19 | SpongeBob SquarePants 3D Pinball Panic | Found |
20 | SpongeBob SquarePants Saves the Krusty Krab | Found |
21 | Wild Thornberrys 3D Chopper Chase | Found |
Pepworks/andUP
# | Game Title | Status |
---|---|---|
1 | 002 Turbo | Found |
2 | Animenace: Operation Phantom | Partially Found |
3 | Architecture Demo | Lost[19] |
4 | Baby Knight | Found |
5 | Battle of the Planets: 3D Battle Racer | Found |
6 | Battle of the Planets: Zoltar's Revenge | Found |
7 | Bio Boxing 3D | Found |
8 | Cyobreed | Non-existent[20] |
9 | Elfsquest | Found |
10 | Leo's Great Day 2 | Found |
11 | Lisasquest 3D | Found |
Roddenberry/NetJet
# | Game Title | Status |
---|---|---|
1 | OTOY Battle Space | Found |
2 | Star Trek Online | Lost |
3 | Transformers Battle Universe | Found |
Gallery
The title screen for SpongeBob SquarePants Saves the Krusty Krab.
External Links
- Link to a MEGA folder containing some found 3D Groove content, including games and Shockwave xtras. All games are for Windows unless otherwise specified. Retrieved 08 Jul '16
- Article about 3D in Director with a screenshot of 3D Groove's Xtra being used within Director. Retrieved 23 Apr '17
- A commercial for the M&M's game: Yellow Takes Tokyo. Retrieved 13 Nov '17
References
- ↑ The Groove Alliance's business model. Retrieved 21 Dec '16
- ↑ Information about 3D Game Machine. Retrieved 06 Jan '17
- ↑ Information on SkyDive!. Retrieved 15 Dec '16
- ↑ Information on Shockwave.com's partnership with Groove Alliance. Retrieved 28 Nov '16
- ↑ Statistic about the game Tank Wars. Retrieved 28 Nov '16
- ↑ Information on kpe's partnership with Groove Alliance. Retrieved 28 Nov '16
- ↑ Information on RealNetworks distribution agreement with Groove Alliance. Retrieved 28 Nov '16
- ↑ Statistics and information about Real Pool. Retrieved 28 Nov '16
- ↑ The 3D Groove engine download statistic. Retrieved 03 Jul '17
- ↑ Twitter post explaining OTOY's shift in focus. Retrieved 13 Oct '20
- ↑ A blog post on A Tree Falling in the Forest about Jules Urbach who was involved with 3D Groove. Retrieved 29 Aug '16
- ↑ Small screenshots of High Roller and Outpost X. Retrieved 10 Oct '18
- ↑ A brief review of High Roller. Retrieved 24 Oct '18
- ↑ A capture mentioning Tank Wars Multiplayer existing on e4.com. Retrieved 10 Oct '18
- ↑ Site on which 3D Groove Bose Game of unknown title, Cisco Broadband Game and SEMIs ChipsOnTour would've been embedded. Retrieved 10 Oct '18
- ↑ A capture of Disc Dogger's loader which tries to install 3D Groove. The game itself was not caught. Retrieved 10 Oct '18
- ↑ Joseph Varet's LinkedIn suggesting there was a FedEx advergame in the 3D Groove engine. Retrieved 28 Oct '17
- ↑ Art of Wei's portfolio mentioning Michelob Golf. Retrieved 10 Oct '18
- ↑ Page linking to Lisasquest 3D and Architecture Demo made in Groove GX. Retrieved 10 Oct '18
- ↑ Marc Nail discussing Cyobreed's cancellation. Retrieved 24 Oct '18