About
GDRI :: Game Developer Research Institute, established on August 26, 2006, is a website dedicated to researching the companies and people that developed video games, especially the hidden world of contract development.
Learn more:
Contents
History
In 2005, SMS Power forums member CRV noticed the words "PROGRAMMED BY SIMS CO., LTD." shortly after booting up George Foreman's KO Boxing for the Sega Master System. This jumpstarted an investigative thread that eventually uncovered many other games developed by that company. Investigations into Aicom and games published by Pony Canyon soon followed.
As more development companies were discovered and more people became interested in helping, it no longer seemed practical to post only on message boards. One source for this information would be more convenient. Developer Table, a Japanese site with listings for a wide variety of game development companies, provided the inspiration. Because of its ease of use and ability to allow anyone to edit and contribute, a wiki appeared to be the best solution.
In August 2006, the wiki software was installed and work began immediately. Today, GDRI has hundreds of company entries, individual profiles, and interviews.
Research Methods
- Main article: About:Research Methods
Read more about how GDRI determines the developer of a game.
Using the site
Viewing company entries
All company entries follow the same basic format: background information and company logo (if available) at the top, game list in the middle, and links of interest at the bottom. However, there are variations when it comes to disclosing what research methods were used to build our game lists.
Variation 1
Most entries use this variation, which is a straightfoward list at the top of the page that looks like this:
- Research Methods: Code comparisons, interviews, online resources, shared staff
If you need a reminder of what each "research method" involves, click on Research Methods to read about them.
Variation 2
This variation is more specific and more time-consuming to put together, so it will only be used with a select few companies. Instead of one general list, each individual game will have listed the methods used to figure out the developer. For example:
- Battle Baseball (JP Publisher: Banpresto)
- Hidden data | Shared staff
If a method listed has a link, you can click it to find out more information. In the case of "Shared staff," you will be taken to a page containing the game's credits. Relevant staff will be highlighted in yellow.
Reading game lists
Games are listed by platform.
- PLATFORM NAME
- Game Name (role) (Publishers)
- Games in black are those games we have "confirmed," either through the weighing of evidence OR through direct confirmation via official website, game credits, or staff that worked on the game.
- Games in red are those games with suspected OR known but unquantifiable involvement of a developer.
- Other companies involved in development and any additional notes are written in small print.
Editing
You must be logged in to edit. Account creation is currently closed.
If you do not know how to edit a wiki page, please consult Wikipedia's Help section. We also recommend you click on "Edit" in an entry that has already been started and pay attention to the formatting.
REMEMBER: Anything you contribute to the site may be edited by others.
Contacting us
Any questions, comments, or other feedback can be sent via e-mail.
You can also reach us through Twitter.
Game developers
If you work/worked in the video game industry and have a story or information you would like to share, please contact us. Do, however, keep in mind the following conditions:
- If you name any specific game titles, we would like to be able to include them in our entries.
- We will keep anything "off the record" at your request, by which we mean we will not attribute a particular piece of information to you. We would rather you not share information with us that cannot be published on the site AT ALL. But if you must, we will abide by your request, but we cannot guarantee that other contributors will not be privy to this information.
These same conditions apply to interviews that we initiate.
Press/media
Members of the press/media may use the following logo:
Right-click and save. Do not hotlink directly to it.
Legal
Read our site terms and conditions, privacy policy, and more here.
