Daydream Software
Their first game was "Safecracker", a point and click adventure game published by DreamCatcher Interactive. The game had a tumultuous production, starting when GT Interactive bought initial publisher Warner Interactive Europe. Daydream Software went public in late 1996. The company's goal was to increase its economic and decision-making freedom, and to secure the ability to select a publisher at the end of each game's development rather than at the beginning. President Jans Phersson-Broburg argued that self-financing Daydream's future games with money from Swedish investors, instead of obtaining "funding linked to specific projects" from publishers, would offer the developer more stability, flexibility and room for growth. For Daydream's public launch, roughly 20 million kr worth of shares, or 45.5% of the company, were offered to investors in Sweden. The initial public offering was a success, and Daydream opened on the Stockholm Stock Exchange's Stockholm Börsinformation (SBI) list in January 1997. Daydream was eventually able to buy back the rights to "Safecracker".
History of Western role-playing video games
The dark fantasy-themed RPG "Diablo" was released by Blizzard Entertainment on December 31, 1996, in the midst of a stagnant PC RPG market. "Diablo" is set in the fictional kingdom of Khanduras, in the world of Sanctuary, and has the player take control of a lone hero who battles to rid the world of Diablo, the Lord of Terror. Its development was influenced by "Moria" and "Angband", and "Diablo" resembles a roguelike due to its focus on dungeon crawling, and its procedurally generated levels. Major differences include the commercial quality of the game's graphics, its simplified character development, and its fast, real-time action. A factor in "Diablo"'s success was its support for online, collaborative play over a local area network or through its Battle.net online service. This greatly extended its replay value, though cheating was a problem. While not the first RPG to feature real-time combat, "Diablo"'s effect on the market was significant, a reflection of the changes that took place in other genres following the release of the action titles, "Doom" and "Dune II". It had many imitators, and its formula of simple, fast combat and replayability were used by what were later referred to as ""Diablo" clones", and more broadly "action RPGs".