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Goalsoft: A Retrospect

Table of Contents:

I. INTRODUCTION
II. DEVELOPERS
Mike Haley (1994-Present)
Marlon Castillo (1999-2003)
III. FINISHED PROJECTS
IV. UNFINISHED PROJECTS
V. CONCLUSION



I. INTRODUCTION

Goalsoft was founded in 1994 by Mike Haley. The name originated from an image that he discovered while using a program entitled PrintMaster Gold. The image consisted of an arrow through the word 'goal.' The primary focus of the company was computer game design. In later years, some time was spent on movie productions.



II. DEVELOPERS

Mike Haley (1994-Present)

Biography

In the beginning, Mike Haley didn't have any software for programming, or even an Internet connection. Instead, he wrote stories, and printed them out for friends and family. The Eggo featured a collection of stories written by Mike Haley and his brother, Steven Haley. One of these stories featured an obese man, who could not stop eating. Throughout the story, the suspense kept building, and finally, the man exploded. Some time passed, and Mike Haley grew tired of these stories. He wanted to design a computer game. Travel Log came close. It was nothing more than a picture show, but by clicking different links, the viewer could take different paths in a progressing story. It would be another few years before Mike Haley designed his first true computer game.

In the summer of 1998, Mike Haley decided to invest in a game editor entitled Klik & Play. He had several game ideas written down. Now he had to decide which one to use. Ormov: The Legend featured a computer geek, who, after a car accident, became a crazed motorcycle driver, Star Kat (also known as Space Feline and Star Roars) featured a frisky cat, who captained his own starship, and Space Ruckus featured a rookie pilot, who fought back during an alien invasion. Mike Haley made his decision. Space Ruckus became his first computer game. The other two game ideas were eventually scrapped. Within two weeks of Space Ruckus' release, Mike Haley had developed a sequel. Three more sequels followed over the course of the next two years.

In 2001, Mike Haley decided to leave Space Ruckus behind, and instead, he designed a game entitled Swashblood Isle. It featured a clumsy man, who, after losing his janitorial position onboard a cruise ship, set out to get a new job. The game was not met with success. Mike Haley decided to take a step back from game design for a while. Instead, he began writing articles for the Goalsoft Magazine. In 2003, Mike Haley returned to Space Ruckus, and began work on a reboot of the series. Space Ruckus: The Great Invasion is in development now, and will be released when the team feels that it is ready.

Credits

A Day at Goalsoft (Writer)
Adventure Bound (Writer)
Alien Conspiracy (Writer)
Bill Grig's Space Casino (Designer)
Comedy Incorporated (Writer)
Emnem Bentom (Writer)
Goalsoft Magazine (Web Designer & Writer)
Legend Fighter (Writer)
Low Income (Camera Operator)
Ormov: The Legend (Writer)
Pumpkin Seed Hunger (Designer)
Pumpkin Seed Revenge (Designer)
Pumpkin Seed Heist (Designer)
Quest for Zendar (Programmer)
Reflections of Space Ruckus (Writer)
Star Kat/Space Feline/Star Roars (Writer)
Space Ruckus (Designer)
Space Ruckus II (Designer)
Space Ruckus III (Designer)
Space Ruckus IV (Designer)
Space Ruckus V (Designer)
Space Ruckus VI (Writer)
Super Israel World (Designer)
Super Israel World 2 (Designer)
Swashblood Isle (Designer)
Swashblood Isle II (Designer)
Sword Quest (Designer)
The Eggo (Writer)
Thrown from the Throne (Writer)
Travel Log (Writer)

Marlon Castillo (1999-2003)

Biography

Marlon Castillo, much like Mike Haley, had a dream about designing computer games. Regardless of where he went, he carried a binder full of notes. Tunchiza was his most cherished story. It featured a world in great turmoil. An evil wizard had formed an army of soldiers, who were bent on ravaging every last resource. Meanwhile, three heroic teenagers set out on a quest to find a mystical being known as Zendar, who could restore peace. In the spring of 1999, Marlon Castillo met up with Mike Haley, who loved the notes. Mike Haley invited him to join Goalsoft. He had one small suggestion about Tunchiza though; change the name to Quest for Zendar. Mike Haley began programming Quest for Zendar, while Marlon Castillo revised his notes.

However, similar to the troubled world that they were creating, trouble was brewing for the project itself. Mike Haley had recently begun programming a Space Ruckus sequel. Thus, he could not dedicate enough time to Quest for Zendar. Marlon Castillo wasn't going to let his beloved story die, so he attempted to program the game himself. It wasn't long before he gave up. Sadly, Quest for Zendar was cancelled. In 2001, Marlon Castillo became the interviewer for the Goalsoft Magazine. He interviewed several Goalsoft developers, including Dave Smith and Jordan Calder. Marlon Castillo still looks back on Quest for Zendar, and hopes that it will come to light someday.

Credits

Goalsoft Magazine (Interviewer)
Marlon Castillo's Mad Castle (Designer)
Quest for Zendar (Designer)
Space Ruckus V (Voice Actor)
Swashblood Isle (Executive Producer)



III. FINISHED PROJECTS

The Eggo (1994)

n/a

Travel Log (1994)

n/a

Space Ruckus (1998)

Space Ruckus was the first game that Mike Haley designed. Usually, that number would be a good thing, but in this case, it was not. The game was very graphically limited, very short, and very buggy.

Download (Windows 98/2000)

Space Ruckus II (1998)

Space Ruckus II was released only two weeks after the first game. As you can imagine, it was not much better. It was, however, the first Goalsoft game to incorporate cheat codes and hidden content.

Download (Windows 98/2000)

Space Ruckus III (1998)

Originally, Space Ruckus III was going to be set immediately after Space Ruckus II, but Mike Haley wanted a change of pace, so he decided to push the story forward by twenty years. Space Ruckus III suffers from some of the worst bugs in the series. One particular issue causes the first two levels to be skipped entirely.

Download (Windows 98/2000)

Space Ruckus IV (1999)

Space Ruckus IV was not very different from Space Ruckus III, but it did correct many of the worst bugs. It also incorporated a multiplayer option, but was very limited.

Download (Windows 98/2000)

Space Ruckus V (2000)

If not for the necessity of a senior project, Space Ruckus V may have never been finished. Mike Haley spent more than a year designing this game, and for the most part, it seemed to pay off. It was not perfect by any means, but definitely better than the previous four titles in the series.

Download (Windows 98/2000)

Pumpkin Seed Hunger (2000)

In 2000, Mike Haley designed Space Ruckus V, and included several mini-games. This was one them. It was later released as a standalone game. The basis for this game originated from a teacher that Mike Haley had in high school, who was obsessed with pumpkin seeds.

Coming Soon: Pumpkin Seed Hunger (Remake)

Pumpkin Seed Revenge (2000)

n/a

Super Israel World (2000)

In 2000, Mike Haley designed Space Ruckus V, and included several mini-games. This was one them. It was later released as a standalone game. This game featured Israel Alvidrez as a Mario look-alike.

Goalsoft Magazine (2001)

The Goalsoft Magazine featured a series of articles published monthly on the Internet. It was managed by Mike Haley (Web Designer & Writer), with help from Dave Smith (Comedy Writer) and Marlon Castillo (Interviewer).

Pumpkin Seed Heist (2001)

n/a

Super Israel World 2 (2001)

n/a

Swashblood Isle (2001)

n/a

Comedy Incorporated (2002)

After the demise of the Goalsoft Magazine in July of 2001, Dave Smith decided to launch his own web site. This was the result. Contributors included Chris Cromer (Web Assistance) and Mike Haley (Writer).

Low Income (2002)

While video taping for Legend Fighter one afternoon in July of 2002, Israel Alvidrez came up with the idea for Low Income. It was a rather silly mockery of all things cheap. Israel Alvidrez played as numbskull Dick Buttkiss on a tour of a sleazy neighborhood.



IV. UNFINISHED PROJECTS

Alien Conspiracy (1998-2002)

n/a

Emnem Bentom (1998-2001)

Emnem Bentom was a controversial game design that was set inside the World Trade Center, and involved a terrorist plot. It was invisioned three whole years before the horrendous terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. Obviously, the game never came to be.

Ormov: The Legend (1998)

n/a

Reflections of Space Ruckus (1998)

By the time that Mike Haley finished Space Ruckus III, he had run a bit dry on new ideas for the series. So, instead of a sequel, he decided to write a prequel to the original Space Ruckus. Of course, Space Ruckus IV would come later. Reflections of Space Ruckus never saw the light of day, but many of its plot details were salvaged for use in Gridline Games' current project, Space Ruckus: The Great Invasion.

Star Kat/Space Feline/Star Roars (1998-2000)

n/a

Quest for Zendar (1999-2003)

n/a

Adventure Bound (2000-2002)

n/a

Bill Grig's Space Casino (2000-2002)

Inspired by casino computer games of the time, Mike Haley decided to develop this game, which featured Bill Grig and other Space Ruckus characters in various management positions onboard an orbiting casino. It was originally indended to be a pit stop between Space Ruckus V and Space Ruckus VI, but neither Bill Grig's Space Casino or Space Ruckus VI were ever released.

Epic Quest (2000-2002)

One of the few Goalsoft games that Mike Haley had absolutely nothing to do with. This was an RPG that Jordan Calder worked on for a few years, but never finished.

Legend Fighter (2000-2002)

n/a

Project 51 (2000-2002)

A mysterious game project by "MrFrostyO" that never surfaced.

Sword Quest (2000-2002)

n/a

A Day at Goalsoft (2001)

A Day at Goalsoft was an inside joke of sorts. It was an actual game, but only a handful of people ever laid eyes on it. In the game, Goalsoft was overtaken by a group of Velorians that had escaped from Space Ruckus. A similar story was later written entitled A Day at Gridline Games.

Marlon Castillo's Mad Castle (2001)

n/a

Space Ruckus VI (2001)

n/a

Thrown from the Throne (2001-2002)

n/a

Swashblood Isle II (2002)

n/a



V. CONCLUSION

Goalsoft, at its roots, was a collaboration of developers, who loved designing games. Many of the games did not meet with success, but that did not stop development. The team had an unbreakable spirit. They were always willing to try again. Goalsoft has served as the company name for many years, but now, the name has finally been changed. Gridline Games has been chosen as the new company name.

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