IRVINE, CALIF. (October 22, 1996) -- ENGAGE Games Online continues to expand its powerful roster of content partners, announcing today an exclusive agreement with Celeris to distribute Virtual Pool Online. The online version of the successful retail release will be one of the initial offerings on the online multi-player games and entertainment service, which debuts on the Internet next month.
Virtual Pool Online was designed by physicists and mathematicians to be the most realistic pool simulation game ever created. It offers full simulation of all pool actions including; friction, speed, collision and roll and true computational ball tracking. Using a mouse to interface directly to the cue provides realistic control and the ability to walk around the table, zoom in for a closer look and finally to line up the perfect shot. Featuring superb 3DVX graphics, four game choices and professional tips, Virtual Pool Online is the ultimate in 3D pool simulation games. Virtual Pool Online is a billiards game so real that it can actually improve one's real pool playing abilities.
"The addition of Virtual Pool Online is a perfect compliment to our lineup of online games and entertainment," said Jeff Leibowitz, president of ENGAGE. "We're also excited about the opportunity to work with the talented programmers and artists at Celeris and look forward to a long and profitable relationship."
"We're very excited about joining with ENGAGE to debut the Celeris game site and our Virtual Pool Hall online," said Steve Chaplin, president of Celeris. "With Engage we have the best resource for delivering all the competitive excitement of pool tournaments, plus pool's unique social atmosphere, to the online gaming world."
The Virtual Pool Online environment consists of two levels of three-dimensional entertainment areas. A lobby serves as Virtual Pool Online's home page and conversation pit, or players can go directly to game rooms, and even create their own, for a challenging game of Virtual Pool Online.
Playing Virtual Pool Online is simple. All capabilities are easily accessed by a combination of hot keys, pull down menus and text-based dialog boxes. Virtual Pool Online is part of the vast online game community that will be offered on ENGAGE when the service launches in open beta on the Internet next month. Online users can access ENGAGE games and other entertainment content through a consistent and intuitive Windows 95-based graphically rich, animated 2-D or 3-D interface, regardless of whether they access ENGAGE from the major online services or from various World Wide Web sites on the Internet.
ENGAGE features an impressive array of high-end multi-player games as well as some less intense fare for non-gamer members of the family. Almost all of ENGAGE's titles are worldwide exclusives including such best sellers as Descent Online, Castles II, the US Chess Federation, and AD&D: Descent to Undermountain from Interplay Productions; Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness from Blizzard Entertainment; Total Control Football from Philips Media; Rolemaster: Magestorm and Splatterball from Interworld Productions. Also available on ENGAGE are high-profile, broad-appeal entertainment content such as casino games from Caesars Palace Virtual Casino, comedy via The Improvisation Online and comprehensive music content from the new cyber-version of the new Billboard Live! music clubs. ENGAGE will offer as many as 10 games by the end of 1996 and then plans to add one additional game each month.
Celeris, Inc. is a team of software programmers dedicated to developing innovative entertainment software. FlixMix was the first release from the entertainment software division and reflects many years of experience in real-time graphics software development. FlixMix was a semifinalist in the 1993 Software Publishers Association Codie Awards. Celeris followed the success of FlixMix with the development of Virtual Pool, licensed and published by Interplay. Virtual Pool has captured numerous awards and industry acknowledgement for it's technical breakthroughs in simulation performance. Celeris is located in Chatsworth, California and was founded in 1987 by Stephen Chaplin, a respected developer of anti-submarine warfare and graphic display packages. Initially developing software for the aerospace and defense industries, Celeris has added entertainment software development to its capabilities.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The ENGAGE website address is http://www.gamesonline.com.
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