SIE Bend Studio
 |
|
| Division of Sony Interactive Entertainment | |
| Industry |
Computer and video games Interactive entertainment |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder |
Marc Blank Michael Berlyn |
| Headquarters | Bend, Oregon, U.S. |
|
Key people
|
Christopher Reese John Garvin Gerald Harrison |
| Products | Syphon Filter series (1999–2007) |
| Owner | Sony |
|
Number of employees
|
~100+ |
| Parent | SIE Worldwide Studios |
| Website | Official website |
SIE Bend Studio (formerly Blank, Berlyn and Co. and Eidetic) is an American video game developer founded in Bend, Oregon in 1993. They were acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2000 and are best known for developing the Syphon Filter series franchise.
Infocom founders Marc Blank and Michael Berlyn, who had worked together at Infocom, formed "Blank, Berlyn and Co." in 1993. Blank, Berlyn and Co. originally developed games and productivity apps for the Apple Newton but soon expanded to pursue the PC and console games market. During the expansion the company changed its name to "Eidetic" and Christopher Reese was recruited.
Eidetic's first console game was Bubsy 3D, released in 1996 for the PlayStation. The game was Eidetic's first experience developing a 3D game and the studio found it difficult transitioning to 3D development. Eidetic only had eight employees when developing Bubsy 3D. The game was poorly received.
In late 1997, a producer from Sony's 989 Studios approached Eidetic with a one-page synopsis for an action espionage thriller that would be a response to the highly successful GoldenEye 007. The synopsis was entitled "Syphon Filter" which had no meaning and it contained no story and characters, but included ideas for the setting and gameplay mechanics. Sony trusted Eidetic with the project despite Bubsy 3D's poor reception because the team had experience with developing for the PlayStation and an engine that could run the game. For the development of Syphon Filter, Eidetic recruited five more employees.
The development of Syphon Filter was difficult for Eidetic because they had no experience making a stealth action game. Due to missing deadlines and making changes to the game's structure, story and mechanics, Syphon Filter was almost cancelled several times. Writer and director John Garvin joined Eidetic after the first prototype of Syphon Filter was created. Despite the difficulties Eidetic experienced, 989 Studios producer Connie Booth had great faith in the project.
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Wikipedia