7th Level was a video game development company based in Dallas, Texas and founded in 1993. Notable game titles by the company include: the three Monty Python games (with the aid of Python member Eric Idle); G-Nome (1997), a MechWarrior-style game; Helicops (1997), an anime-inspired game that featured arcade-style aerial combat; and Tracer, a game where the player hacked computer systems distributed for cash by using a virtual avatar in the design of Neuromancer, Shadowrun, or Snowcrash-styled virtual worlds.
History
On February 24, 1995, 7th Level announced that they have acquired Distant Thunder Entertainment, Inc., a Dallas-based game developer specializing in 3-D games.2 The same year the company acquired Lanpro Corp. and Lanpro Localization Center Inc., based in San Francisco, Calif., who localize interactive entertainment and educational multimedia software.3
On March 1, 1996, 7th Level announced that they have acquired PyroTechnix, a privately held company based in Cincinnati, Ohio.4 The company grew to nearly 300 employees in Texas, California, Ohio, and Europe by June 1996.5
On November 17, 1997, 7th Level announced their intention to merge with Pulse Entertainment, in order to create P7 Solutions.67 The following day, the distribution rights for the three Monty Python games were acquired by Panasonic Interactive Media,8 which ended 7th Level's involvement with the game's development and publishing. The merger announced between 7th Level and Pulse Entertainment was cancelled in April 1998.9
In February 1999, 7th Level merged with Street Technologies Inc. and formed a website named 7th Street.com,10 which later became learn.com, tutorials.com, and Taleo, which was acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2012. George Grayson, the co-founder of 7th Level, later founded The Imagination Station.
Before ceasing all game development, 7th Level had begun working on another title, named Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3. The partially-completed game was sold to Ion Storm to finish development.
Titles
| Game name | Release year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tuneland series | 1993–1997 | Released by a division of 7th Level |
| Lil' Howie's FunHouse series | 1993-1997 | Starring the voice of Howie Mandel; Developed by subsidiary Kids' World Entertainment |
| Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time | 1994 | |
| Battle Beast | 1995 | |
| Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games | 1995 (PC), 1996 (Mac OS), 1997 (SNES) | Developed by 7th Level and published by Disney Interactive |
| Take Your Best Shot | 1995 | |
| Ace Ventura | 1996 | |
| Arcade America | 1996 | |
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Topsy Turvy Games | 1996 | |
| Monty Python & the Quest for the Holy Grail | 1996 | |
| Tracer | 199611 | |
| The Universe According to Virgil Reality | 1996 | |
| G-Nome | 1997 | |
| Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | 1997 | |
| Tamagotchi | 1997 | PC version, created in association with Bandai Digital Entertainment |
| Helicops | 1997 | |
| My Teacher Is an Alien | 1997 | |
| Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3 | 1998 | Development finished by Ion Storm |
| Return to Krondor | 1998 | Development finished by PyroTechnix |
External links
- Official website (archived)
References
"The Imagination Station's management information". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-03-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20070928042547/http://www1.istation.com/en/corpsite/company/mgmt.asp ↩
"7th Level, Inc. Announces Acquisition Of Distant Thunder Entertainment, Inc". 7th Level. February 24, 1995. Archived from the original on February 20, 1998. Retrieved August 18, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/19980220105653/http://www.7thlevel.com/corp/press/1995/dthunder.htm ↩
"7th Level Acquires Lanpro Entities for Approximately $2 million As Base to Expand Asia Pacific Sales". 7th Level. December 18, 1995. Archived from the original on February 20, 1998. Retrieved August 18, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/19980220105606/http://www.7thlevel.com/corp/press/1995/lanpro.htm ↩
"7th Level Acquires PyroTechnix". 7th Level. March 1, 1996. Archived from the original on February 20, 1998. Retrieved August 18, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/19980220105527/http://www.7thlevel.com/corp/press/1996/pyrotech.htm ↩
"George Grayson Named Entrepreneur of the Year in 'Emerging Company' Category 10th Annual National Competition Established by Ernst & Young". 7th Level. June 28, 1996. Archived from the original on January 29, 1998. Retrieved August 18, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/19980129210217/http://www.7thlevel.com/corp/press/1996/eoy.htm ↩
"7th Level Gets Out of Games". The Computer Show. 1997-11-17. http://www.thecomputershow.com/computershow/news/7thlevelnogames.htm ↩
"7th Level & Pulse to Merge & Commercialize New Generation of On-Line 2D & 3D Tools". 7th Level. November 17, 1997. Archived from the original on January 29, 1998. Retrieved August 11, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/19980129181724/http://www.7thlevel.com/newpages/index.html ↩
"Panasonic Interactive Media Company Becomes Exclusive North American Distributor of "Monty Python" Titles". Coming Soon Magazine. 1997-11-18. http://www.csoon.com/issue30/p_pana1.htm ↩
"7th Level Cancels Merger with Pulse Entertainment". Adage.com. 1998-04-22. https://adage.com/article/news/7th-level-cancels-merger-pulse-entertainment/5192/ ↩
"7th Level, Inc. and Street Technologies, Inc. Merge to Form 7th Street.com". PR Newswire. February 17, 1999. Archived from the original on June 6, 2025. Retrieved June 6, 2025 – via Gale Research. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA53891378&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-GPS&asid=5ecddeba ↩
"Tracer". Next Generation. No. 22. Imagine Media. October 1996. p. 185. https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-022/page/n185/mode/2up ↩