Antic Software
| Company type | Software company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer software |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founder | James Capparell, Gary Yost |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Atari 8-bit and Atari ST software including games, utilities, CAD-3D |
Antic Software functioned as a software company associated with Antic, a magazine dedicated to Atari 8-bit computers. Originally distributed as a supplement to the magazine, Antic Software offered a selection of Atari 8-bit titles, including games, utilities, and applications that were originally part of the discontinued Atari Program Exchange. Over time, the offerings expanded to include newly submitted software and collections of public domain programs, all provided on self-explanatory disks. With the introduction of the Atari ST, the product range grew to encompass software for both Atari 8-bit and Atari ST platforms, featuring prominent releases such as CAD-3D. The magazine’s software insert experienced multiple renamings, eventually becoming known as The Catalog.
In May 1986, Gigi Bisson, assistant editor at Antic, remarked that "[Antic Software] kept the magazine afloat during the lean year," referring to the challenging period following the financial downfall of Atari, Inc.
History
Following the closure of the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1984 by Atari CEO James J. Morgan, Antic publisher James Capparell was convinced by Gary Yost to establish Antic Software. Yost enlisted numerous former APX developers to re-release their software under the Antic Software label. Midway through 1984, the APX collection was rebranded as APX Classics from Antic. By 1985, the software insert within the magazine was renamed Antic Arcade, despite offering more than just games. In 1986, this insert was retitled The Catalog, shifting its focus toward software for the Atari ST.
Atari 8-bit computers
- Chop Suey (1985), a fighting genre game
- Colourspace, a light synthesizer created by Jeff Minter
- Dandy Dungeon, an updated version of the APX title Dandy
- HomeCard, a filing system developed by Preppie! creator Russ Wetmore alongside Sparky Starks
- Mars Mission II, sequel to Caverns of Mars; also offered was Phobos, a related product
- RAMbrandt, an image editing application
Atari ST
- CAD-3D, a 3D modeling tool and forerunner to 3D Studio MAX
- Spectrum 512, a painting program that supported up to 512 colors per image compared to the typical 16
Legacy
Gary Yost later founded The Yost Group, which developed and licensed influential software titles to Autodesk, including Autodesk Animator, Autodesk Animator Pro, and Autodesk 3D Studio (subsequently known as Autodesk 3DS MAX). Importantly, CAD-3D served as the direct foundation for what became 3D Studio.