The Many Career Paths Of Classic Game Designers

Author: by Staff

The relatively young medium of video games still has a fair number of classic designers with decades of experience, and Gamasutra's latest feature examines how some of their careers have gone since they first made their mark. For some, including Ultima's Richard Garriott, Civilization II's Brian Reynolds, Doom's John Romero and Wizardry's Brenda Brathwaite, that path has recently included a jump to the growing field of social games. Garriott in particular has been prominent in talking up the new social space, saying the games represent a "third grand era" in game history. Many classic designers, such as those at adventure game maker Sierra, have seen the companies and positions that made them famous decimated by damaging sales and acquisitions. Gamers' shifting tastes away from the adventure genre may have been just as damaging for these developers. Id's John Carmack has been one of the rare exceptions that has managed to stick it out with the company he started, continuing to focus on the first-person shooters that made him famous despite an acquisition from ZeniMax Media. The full feature goes into more detail on the later careers of these and many other classic developers.