Day 4
A quick look at how your favorite gaming company derived its name. This 5-part series is a reprint of a 2000 article, with some 2006 updates.

Editor's Note: Anyone who has ever concocted a name for anything dear to them has a story for their decision. Whether it's their dog, their precious gaming rig, or their first born, the name they have chosen (consciously or otherwise), more often than not, has its origin deeply rooted in meaning. Just ask your parents. In any case, with a little investigative work, GameSpy has dug deep into the psyche of several gaming company CEOs and unearthed their motives for bestowing their company namesakes. Have we missed any you would like to see? Let us know.




Monolith Productions

GameSpy: Who started your company and in what year?

Jason Hall -- CEO: Monolith Productions, Inc. was founded in 1995 by Brian Goble, Garrett Price, Paul Renault, Toby Gladwell, Brian Waite and myself.

GameSpy: How did you decide on your company name?

Brian L. Goble -- V.P. Distributable Engine Technology: At the time we formed the company, DOS was still the OS of choice for games. Because of this, we knew we had to come up with a name that was 8 characters or less (for 8.3 filenames). We had been researching story and technology ideas for our demo CD and we were watching a lot of movies. "Monolith" came up, was semi mysterious, wasn't taken, and was 8 characters. Perfect.

GameSpy: How did you decide on the logo and are you still using the original? If it is not the original logo, what prompted you to change it?

Samantha Ryan -- Producer and Director of Marketing: The logo has gone through several incarnations. The original featured a large, red M, which was cool, but the name was a bit hard to read and didn't work extremely well on some marketing pieces. The logo was modified over time to make it easier to read on boxes and other marketing materials and keep the color from clashing.

2006 Update: In 2004 Monolith Productions was acquired by Warner Bros. Entertainment. They currently employ over 100 people.





BioWare

GameSpy: Who started your company and in what year?

Brad Grier -- BioWare PR: Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka started programming medical education software for the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine in 1994 while residents in family medicine. Augustine joined to add artistic embellishment shortly thereafter. The trio's first project, the Acid-Base Simulator, was completed while they were still in Residency. Following graduation, Greg and Ray were appointed Research Associates in the Division of Studies in Medical Education. Their second, and final, medical project, the Gastroenterology Patient Simulator was completed in 1995. Not quite content to sit on their stethoscopes, the trio realized that their need to express themselves creatively was pulling them in a different direction. Soon after, they hooked up with a talented group of game programmers and artists and BioWare Corp. became a reality -- incorporated on February 1, 1995. Granted, it started in a small room in Greg's basement, but from humble beginnings.

GameSpy: How did you decide on your company name?

Dr. Ray Muzyka -- co-founder: As I recall, the name came mainly from Bio = human and Ware = software. We make entertaining software for humans (with the founders' origins being doctors). Also, the name conveys 'human/machine interface'.

GameSpy: How did you decide on the logo and are you still using the original? If it is not the original logo, what prompted you to change it?

Brad Grier: Our current logo allows us a lot of flexibility. By using different treatments to the basic logo, we can update it or incorporate it more easily into various games. For example, at E3 we unveiled the Dragon Logo, which has been used in promotional trailers for Baldur's Gate 2 and Neverwinter Nights.

2006 Update: Bioware and Pandemic merged in November 2005, but each company has maintained its identity. The new studio Bioware Austin was announced this month, where they are currently developing a new MMO.




Next: G.O.D. Games...