A new software development studio, syntheticblue will be producing entertainment and educational software for Mac OS X. However, at least initially, they will also be making versions of their titles for the traditional Mac operating system.
“I will be supporting the Classic Mac as well as Mac OS X for the first couple of projects,” company founder Dan Abrahams-Gessel told MacCentral. “As more and more features of OS X become critical to my projects, and more and more of the Mac community moves to OS X, I will cease to support the Classic Mac OS. OS X has, or will have, many features unavailable in Classic Mac: superior extension support for OpenGL, multichannel audio, preemptive multithreading and modern memory management, to name a few.”
“We’ll focus on achieving an aesthetic standard to match the quality of Mac OS X,” he added. “Titles will be as visually elegant as they are enjoyable.”
syntheticblue plans on delivering its products on a subscription basis. Abrahams-Gessel described the subscription “as a software bundle of previous releases, which includes a year’s worth of new software and updates.”
“Everything I create for syntheticblue will be immediately available to all subscribers via the Web at our Web site,” he said. “If you let your subscription lapse, you won’t lose the software you’ve paid for, you just won’t get access to new software and add-ons.”
Plans include the development of a library of software to attract new subscribers, and a regular introduction of new features and additions to keep their interest.
“I’m shooting for a fan base — to focus on a group of customers who appreciate software they can’t get from anywhere else, and want to see it improved and the line expanded,” Abrahams-Gessel said.
Expected in mid-August is Escape 2068, an arcade-style action game. It’s a classic action shooter, but the look “will be quite different,” Abrahams-Gessel said. Dynamo Trouble, a virtual construction toy, will follow soon afterwards. It will be a virtual marble blocks toy, with action parts and special sound effects.
Abrahams-Gessel said he chose to work with the Mac platform instead of the Wintel platform because of the character of Mac owners. They’re “people who value design, and are clearly sensitive to the quality of the products they buy for themselves and their children,” he said.
With his one-person company, he hopes to find his place in the Mac community, relating to customers “almost like a local shopkeeper, listening to their needs and being as responsive as possible.” The Web is the storefront, communications channel and support center, Abrahams-Gessel said.
He’ll be demoing some of his products in conjunction with other vendors at this week’s Macworld New York.
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