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===Promotion Software and Sixteen Tons Entertainment===
===Promotion Software and Sixteen Tons Entertainment===
In 1993, Ralph Stock founded the company, Promotion Software GmbH, in [[Tübingen]], Germany. His company initially gained recognition with promotional games such as ''Victor Loomes'', ''Tom Long: The Time Adventure'' (MS DOS)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/tom-long-the-time-adventure|title=Tom Long: The Time Adventure|publisher=[[MobyGames]]|accessdate=2019-10-19}}</ref> and ''Jeff Jet: Adventure Infohighway''. In 1994, he released his first political edutainment game: ''Der rasende Reporter'' (simulation, MS DOS). In cooperation with Ikarion, Stock developed other titles like ''Mad News'' (1994) and ''Caribbean Disaster'' (1995) in the style of the humoristic simulation game, Mad TV. Musician [[Chris Huelsbeck]] composed the soundtracks for these and other games by Ralph Stock.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,9245|title=Chris Huelsbeck|publisher=[[MobyGames]]|accessdate=2019-10-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sixteen-tons.de/en/about-ralph-stock|title=About Ralph Stock (1994 - Mad News)|publisher=official website|accessdate=2019-10-19}}</ref>
In 1993, Ralph Stock founded the company Promotion Software GmbH in [[Tübingen]], Germany. His company initially gained recognition with promotional games such as ''Victor Loomes'', ''Tom Long: The Time Adventure'' (MS DOS)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/tom-long-the-time-adventure|title=Tom Long: The Time Adventure|publisher=[[MobyGames]]|accessdate=2019-10-19}}</ref> and ''Jeff Jet: Adventure Infohighway''. In 1994, he released his first political edutainment game: ''Der rasende Reporter'' (simulation, MS DOS). In cooperation with Ikarion, Stock developed other titles like ''Mad News'' (1994) and ''Caribbean Disaster'' (1995) in the style of the humoristic simulation game, Mad TV. Musician [[Chris Huelsbeck]] composed the soundtracks for these and other games by Ralph Stock.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,9245|title=Chris Huelsbeck|publisher=[[MobyGames]]|accessdate=2019-10-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sixteen-tons.de/en/about-ralph-stock|title=About Ralph Stock (1994 - Mad News)|publisher=official website|accessdate=2019-10-19}}</ref>


Stock also worked with board game authors like [[Reiner Knizia]], creating digital versions of board games like, ''Keltis'' (2009), ''Einfach Genial'' (2009), and ''Heckmeck'' (2014).
Stock also worked with board game authors like [[Reiner Knizia]], creating digital versions of board games like, ''Keltis'' (2009), ''Einfach Genial'' (2009), and ''Heckmeck'' (2014).

Revision as of 18:13, 19 October 2019

Stock, Ralph
Ralph Stock, 2014
Born1969
Gießen
NationalityGerman
Occupation(s)game designer and entrepreneur
Known forMad TV (video game), Emergency (video game series)

Ralph Stock (* 1969 in Gießen) is a German Game Designer and entrepreneur. He is best known for his video games Mad TV and Emergency.

Life and career

The early years

Around 1977, Ralph Stock stumbled upon a Commodore PET at the home of a family friend and had his first chance to dabble in computer science. Hamurabi, a resource-management game, spurred his fascination with computer games and their development. In the early ‘80s, at the age of twelve, Ralph Stock built his first computer, a Sinclair ZX81, from an assembly kit. He used this computer for his first experiments in programming.[1] At the age of fifteen, Stock developed his first game for the Commodore 64 with a group of friends from school: an adventure game called Philosopher’s Stone. Ralph Stock was still at school when the game was published and commercially marketed by Kingsoft in 1984.[2] While still finishing school, Stock worked on Bozuma: Mystery of the Mummy and East vs. West: Berlin 1948, finally graduating in 1988. Bozuma was published by Time Warp Software GmbH, a Rainbow Arts (Softgold) label. Stock continued to work with Softgold/Rushware, first as a freelancer, and later in a permanent role as a programmer and producer at Rainbow Arts. He even developed his own project, Mad TV, at Rainbow Arts; laying the foundations for its indirect successors. After working as a producer and game designer at Rainbow Arts, Ralph Stock became the chief producer and head of development in 1990.[3]

For Stock, like many other game developers in the post-Amiga era, Rainbow Arts was a place to test his ideas before founding his own company.[4] Stock has admitted himself that developing the German-language versions of computer games by Lucasfilm Games, TSR, and SSI, and interacting with game designers from around the world, like Chris Roberts and Richard Garriott, was pivotal in his career as a game designer and producer.[5]

Promotion Software and Sixteen Tons Entertainment

In 1993, Ralph Stock founded the company Promotion Software GmbH in Tübingen, Germany. His company initially gained recognition with promotional games such as Victor Loomes, Tom Long: The Time Adventure (MS DOS)[6] and Jeff Jet: Adventure Infohighway. In 1994, he released his first political edutainment game: Der rasende Reporter (simulation, MS DOS). In cooperation with Ikarion, Stock developed other titles like Mad News (1994) and Caribbean Disaster (1995) in the style of the humoristic simulation game, Mad TV. Musician Chris Huelsbeck composed the soundtracks for these and other games by Ralph Stock.[7][8]

Stock also worked with board game authors like Reiner Knizia, creating digital versions of board games like, Keltis (2009), Einfach Genial (2009), and Heckmeck (2014).

In 1997, inspired by Command & Conquer, Stock created a rescue-simulation game, Emergency: Fighters for Life - a real-time strategy game “turned into something positive”, which was released in 1998. According to Gamesindustry.biz, the Emergency series remains one of the most important German game titles to this day. Under the label Sixteen Tons Entertainment, Ralph Stock developed many other games in Tübingen like Gotcha! (2006), The Show (2007), and sequels in the Emergency game series. In 2009, he founded a subsidiary studio in the Media City Babelsberg.[9] Games developed there were published under the name Quadriga Games up until 2012. Since 2017 the studio is based in Berlin.

Social commitment

Stock works on gamification and games for digital education through the division of Promotion Software GmbH specialized in applied games (Serious Games Solutions) and shares his experience at trade fairs. In addition to his work as a game developer, he attended the International German Forum on Health and Innovation (Internationales Deutschlandforum) at the request of Angela Merkel, which was held at the German Chancellery. Stock also speaks at events like the Learntec conference, the Didacta trade fair for the education sector, the Bizplay trade conference, the Serious Games Conference, and German Dev Days. Ralph Stock is often invited to judge competitions. In 2019 he was a judge at the Animated Games Award, a contest held by the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Films.

Recognition

Ralph Stock is regarded as one of the leading developers of digital games for the health and education sectors. His most famous game, Mad TV, is a whacky television station simulation game published by Rainbow Arts in 1991. The game received positive reviews from the trade press (Powerplay magazine: “There’s no question about it, such a brilliant idea deserves the best rating: Mad TV is one of the funniest strategy games of the year”)[10] and inspired various official and unofficial sequels. Stock’s Emergency HQ, released in 2018 for iOS and Android, is the first game in the Emergency series to be designed as a purely free-to-play game. PocketPC magazine describes it as a successful implementation of the Emergency game principle: “In conclusion: a strong classic re-issued for the mobile gaming market”.[11]

Games (excerpt)

Awards (excerpt)

  • 2018: Comenius-EduMedia-Award for Blue Brain Club.[13]
  • 2017: Deutschland – Land der Ideen, category ″awarded place″ (German: ″ausgezeichneter Ort″) for Teamwork.[14]
  • 2014: "Deutscher Preis für Onlinekommunikation 2014", category "Best Corporate Game" for Power Matrix.[15]
  • 2013: "Digital Communication Awards 2013", category "Best Corporate Game" for Power Matrix.[16]
  • 2013: Deutscher Computerspielpreis jury award, category "Bestes Serious Game", for Menschen auf der Flucht.[17]
  • 2010: Serious Games Award of the jury for Willi wills wissen: Bei den Wikingern at the Serious Games Conference[18]
  • 2009: Kindersoftwarepreis TOMMI for Willi wills wissen: Bei den Wikingern.[19]

References

  1. ^ Olschewski, Felix (2013). Mysterium Spieleentwickler: Schritt für Schritt vom Wunsch zur Karriere (German). Felix Olschewski. ISBN 978-3842342262.
  2. ^ "Gamedesign bei der Kinderuni – Kinder müssen die Spiele vorher testen (German)". Stuttgarter Zeitung. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  3. ^ "Spielfluss muss heute neu definiert werden (German)". makinggames.biz. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  4. ^ Retro Gamer Spezial, Verlag Heinz Heise, February 2017, p. 179
  5. ^ "About Ralph Stock (1994 - Mad News)". official website. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  6. ^ "Tom Long: The Time Adventure". MobyGames. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  7. ^ "Chris Huelsbeck". MobyGames. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  8. ^ "About Ralph Stock (1994 - Mad News)". official website. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  9. ^ "Potsdamer Unternehmen - Spielen für den Ernstfall ( German)". Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  10. ^ "Mad TV". Kultboy.com (German: “Keine Frage, für so eine geniale Idee wird die beste Note gezogen: MadTV gehört zu den witzigsten Strategiespielen des Jahres”). Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  11. ^ "Angespielt: Emergency HQ ist eine Neuauflage des bekannten Emergency HD". pocketpc.ch (German: “Fazit: Starker Klassiker für den Mobile Gaming Markt neu aufgelegt”). Retrieved 2019-10-10.
  12. ^ "?Nur Top-Designer können Serious Games machen?". making games, 2013. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  13. ^ "Comenius Award (German press release)" (pdf). comenius-award.de. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  14. ^ "Land der Ideen: Krisensimulation Teamwork, Ausgezeichnete Orte 2017 (German)". Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  15. ^ "Deutscher Preis für Onlinekommunikation 2014 (German)". onlinekommunikationspreis.de. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  16. ^ "Digital Communication Awards Winnerlist 2013 (German)". digital-awards.eu. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  17. ^ "Preisträger Bestes Serious Game 2013 (German)". deutscher-computerspielpreis.de. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  18. ^ "Serious Games Award Gold 2010 (German)". Verband der deutschen Games-Branche. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  19. ^ "Willi wills wissen - Bei den Wikingern (TOMMI Archiv 2009)". kindersoftwarepreis.de. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
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