Bob Bates

Last updated

Bob Bates
Bob Bates - Game Developers Conference 2010.jpg
Bates in March 2010
Born
Robert Bates

(1953-12-11) December 11, 1953 (age 69)
Greenbelt, Maryland, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Georgetown University (AB)
Occupation Game designer
Employer(s)Challenge, Inc., Infocom (publisher), Legend Entertainment, Zynga
Known forCo-founder of Challenge, Inc. and Legend Entertainment
Notable work
Spouse
Peggy Oriani
​
(m. 1978)​
Children2

Robert Bates (born December 11, 1953) is an American computer game designer. One of the early designers of interactive fiction games, he was co-founder of Challenge, Inc., which created games in the 1980s for the pioneering company Infocom. After Infocom's dissolution in 1989, Bates co-founded Legend Entertainment to continue publishing games in the Infocom tradition, but with added graphics. Notable games that he has designed, written, or produced include Unreal II (2003), Spider-Man 3 (2007), and Eric the Unready (1993), listed as Adventure Game of the Year by Computer Gaming World magazine and also included on the 1996 list of "150 best games of all time". In 1998 he wrote the award-winning game Quandaries for the U.S. Department of Justice. He has twice been the chairperson of the International Game Developers Association, which honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. Bates has written extensively about game design and development in works such as the 2001 book Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games, which is commonly used as a game design textbook in college courses. From 2011–2014, Bates was Chief Creative Officer for External Studios at Zynga. He continues to work as an independent consultant with various publishers in the games industry. [1] [2]

Contents

Career

Bates was born in 1953 in Greenbelt, Maryland, the fourth of eight children to Frances and James Bates. His father was a mathematician, who from 1963–1967 moved the family to Cheltenham, England. Upon returning to the United States, Bob attended DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, graduating in 1971, and then went on to Georgetown University, where he pursued a double major in philosophy and psychology, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1975. His first job after college was as tour guide for Washington Group Tours, a job he took since it allowed him free time between tours to pursue his writing efforts. In 1977 he met his future wife, Peggy Oriani, whom he married in January 1978, and then founded his own tour company, Potomac Tours. In 1982, with the approach of his 30th birthday, he sold the company to spend two years writing a novel, though did not finish. It was around this time that Bates' father gave his old TRS-80 computer to his son, to help with the novel-writing. With the computer, Bates received a copy of the interactive fiction game Zork , and immediately fell in love with the genre, seeing it as a way that he could pursue a writing career, making games. [3] In 1986, Bates and a friend, David Wilt, who he knew because they sang in the same choir, the Alexandria Harmonizers, started the company Challenge, Inc. to explore the possibilities of creating interactive fiction games. Needing an engine for these games, Bates reached out to the Zork publisher, Infocom, to see about licensing their fiction engine Z-machine. [4] Several weeks later, Infocom and Challenge had worked out a development deal, with Bates doing the design/writing, the coding being done by two contract programmers from Paragon Systems, and the publishing/marketing being done under the Infocom name. Bates envisioned a game series entitled "Immortal Legends", with his first two published game designs being the interactive fiction titles Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels (1988) and Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur (1989), on which he was both designer and writer. [5] A third game about Robin Hood was never finished because Infocom was dissolved by its parent company Activision in 1989. [4]

A few months after the end of Infocom, Bates and Mike Verdu (the head of Paragon Systems, which had since been acquired by American Systems Corp) founded Legend Entertainment to produce games in the Infocom tradition. [6] The company was backed by ASC, and located in their facility in Chantilly, Virginia. Games designed by Bates for Legend included Timequest , Eric the Unready , and John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles . He also contributed design and writing to other company games, including the Gateway series and the company's final game Unreal II: The Awakening . In 1998 Legend was acquired by GT Interactive, which itself was acquired by Infogrames, later renamed as Atari. In 2004, Legend was closed. [4] Bates then went on to do independent consulting until 2011 when he was hired by Mike Verdu, then at Zynga, to be Chief Creative Officer for External Developers, a job Bates held until early 2014, at which point he returned to independent consulting.

In 2017, Bates launched a Kickstarter for his game Thaumistry: In Charm’s Way , [7] which was successfully funded having raised $35,238 from 1,053 backers. [8]

Recognition

Bates presenting at the 2015 Game Developers Conference Bob bates 2015 gdc.jpg
Bates presenting at the 2015 Game Developers Conference

In the course of his career since 1986, Bates has written, designed, produced, or overseen more than 45 games, [5] with over six million units sold. According to Bates' website, the games have collectively won over 70 industry awards, including two Adventure Game of the Year awards. [9]

He has twice been Chairperson of the International Game Developers Association in 2005 and 2009, and has served on the advisory board of GDC Europe. [10]

Awards

Writing

Games

Related Research Articles

Infocom was an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced a business application, a relational database called Cornerstone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interactive fiction</span> Nonlinear narratives set by audience decisions

Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the form of interactive narratives or interactive narrations. These works can also be understood as a form of video game, either in the form of an adventure game or role-playing game. In common usage, the term refers to text adventures, a type of adventure game where the entire interface can be "text-only", however, graphic text adventures still fall under the text adventure category if the main way to interact with the game is by typing text. Some users of the term distinguish between interactive fiction, known as "Puzzle-free", that focuses on narrative, and "text adventures" that focus on puzzles.

<i>Zork</i> 1977 video game

Zork is a text-based adventure game first released in 1977 by developers Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling for the PDP-10 mainframe computer. The original developers and others, as the company Infocom, expanded and split the game into three titles—Zork I: The Great Underground Empire, Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz, and Zork III: The Dungeon Master—which were released commercially for a range of personal computers beginning in 1980. In Zork, the player explores the abandoned Great Underground Empire in search of treasure. The player moves between the game's hundreds of locations and interacts with objects by typing commands in natural language that the game interprets. The program acts as a narrator, describing the player's location and the results of the player's commands. It has been described as the most famous piece of interactive fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Meretzky</span> American video game developer

Steven Eric Meretzky is an American video game developer. He is best known for creating Infocom games in the early 1980s, including collaborating with author Douglas Adams on the interactive fiction version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, one of the first games to be certified "platinum" by the Software Publishers Association. Later, he created the Spellcasting trilogy, the flagship adventure series of Legend Entertainment. He has been involved in almost every aspect of game development, from design to production to quality assurance and box design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game Developers Choice Awards</span> Annual award for games and developers

The Game Developers Choice Awards are awards annually presented at the Game Developers Conference for outstanding game developers and games. Introduced in 2001, the Game Developers Choice Awards were preceded by the Spotlight Awards, which were presented from 1997 to 1999. Since then, the ceremony for the Independent Games Festival is held just prior to the Choice Awards ceremony.

Legend Entertainment Company was an American developer and publisher of computer games, best known for creating adventure titles throughout the 1990s. The company was founded by Bob Bates and Mike Verdu, both veterans of the interactive fiction studio Infocom that shut down in 1989. Legend's first two games, Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All the Girls and Timequest, had strong sales that sustained the company. Legend also profited from negotiating licenses to popular book series, allowing them to create notable game adaptations such as Companions of Xanth and Gateway. Legend also earned a reputation for comedic adventures, with numerous awards for Eric the Unready in 1993. As the technology of the game industry changed, Legend continued to expand its game engine to take advantage of higher graphical fidelity, mouse support, and the increased media storage of the compact disc.

<i>A Mind Forever Voyaging</i> 1985 video game

A Mind Forever Voyaging (AMFV) is a 1985 interactive fiction game designed and implemented by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom. The game was intended as a polemical critique of Ronald Reagan's politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game Developers Conference</span> Annual video game developer conference

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tutorials, lectures, and roundtables by industry professionals on game-related topics covering programming, design, audio, production, business and management, and visual arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Game Developers Association</span> US nonprofit professional association

The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is a nonprofit professional association whose stated mission is to "support and empower game developers around the world in achieving fulfilling and sustainable careers."

<i>Planetfall</i> 1983 video game

Planetfall is a science fiction themed interactive fiction computer game written by Steve Meretzky, and the eighth title published by Infocom in 1983. The original release included versions for Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, TRS-80, and IBM PC compatibles. The Atari ST and Commodore 64 versions were released in 1985. A version for CP/M was also released. Although Planetfall was Meretzky's first title, it proved one of his most popular works and a best-seller for Infocom; it was one of five top-selling titles to be re-released in Solid Gold versions including in-game hints. Planetfall uses the Z-machine originally developed for the Zork franchise and was added as a bonus to the "Zork Anthology".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raph Koster</span> American video game designer and entrepreneur

Raphael "Raph" Koster is an American entrepreneur, game designer, and author of A Theory of Fun for Game Design. Koster is widely recognized for his work as the lead designer of Ultima Online and the creative director behind Star Wars Galaxies. From 2006 until 2013 he worked as the founder and president of Metaplace producing a Facebook game platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boffo Games</span>

Boffo Games was a video game developer founded in 1994 by Steve Meretzky, Mike Dornbrook, and Leo DaCosta. The logo was designed by Gayle Syska, formerly of Infocom. Boffo produced two games, Hodj 'n' Podj and The Space Bar, before closing its doors in 1997. Hodj 'n' Podj was originally designed for Media Vision but it divested all of its multimedia interests following a securities-fraud scandal and the title was purchased by Virgin Interactive. The Space Bar was originally to be published by Rocket Science Games (RSG) but SegaSoft bought out RSG and became the game's publisher.

<i>The Space Bar</i> 1998 video game

The Space Bar is a 1997 graphic adventure game developed by Boffo Games and published by Rocket Science Games and SegaSoft. A comic science fiction story, it follows detective Alias Node as he searches for a shapeshifting killer inside The Thirsty Tentacle, a fantastical bar on the planet Armpit VI. The player assumes the role of Alias and uses his Empathy Telepathy power to live out the memories of eight of the bar's patrons, including an immobile plant, an insect with compound eyes and a blind alien who navigates by sound. Gameplay is nonlinear and under a time limit: the player may solve puzzles and gather clues in any order, but must win before the killer escapes the bar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stieg Hedlund</span> American video game designer

Stieg Hedlund is a computer and video game designer, artist, and writer. He has worked on more than thirty games in the video game industry. He is best known for his work in action RPGs, and has also worked on games on real-time strategy, tactical shooter, beat-'em-up and action-adventure games.

<i>Hodj n Podj</i> 1995 video game

Hodj 'n' Podj is a 1995 computer board game and minigame compilation developed by Boffo Games and published by Media Vision and Virgin Interactive. It was designed by Steve Meretzky, previously known for adventure games such as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Hodj 'n' Podj features 19 minigames based on peg solitaire, Pac-Man, Battleship and other games. These may be played separately or within an overarching fairy tale story, which follows the suitors Hodj and Podj in their attempts to rescue two princesses.

<i>Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All the Girls</i> 1990 video game

Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All the Girls is a 1990 adventure game. It was the first installment of the Spellcasting series created by Steve Meretzky during his time at Legend Entertainment. All three games in the series tell the story of young Ernie Eaglebeak, a student at the prestigious Sorcerer University, as he progresses through his studies, learning the arcanes of magic, taking part in student life, and meeting beautiful women.

<i>Spellcasting 301: Spring Break</i> 1992 video game

The text adventure game Spellcasting 301: Spring Break is the third and last installment of the Spellcasting series created by Steve Meretzky during his time at Legend Entertainment. All three games in the series tell the story of young Ernie Eaglebeak, a student at the prestigious Sorcerer University, progressing through his studies, learning the arcanes of magic, taking part in student life, occasionally saving the world as he knows it, and having his way with any beautiful women he can get his hands on.

Spellcasting is a series of three interactive fiction games designed by Steve Meretzky during his time with Legend Entertainment. The games feature the character Ernie Eaglebeak, a student at the prestigious Sorcerer University. Spellcasting 101 is the first game created by Legend Entertainment, a hybrid graphical and text adventure format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Erhardt</span>

Christopher Erhardt was the Head of School - US Campuses for the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) from the time the school opened until his death. From 1998-2007 he was the Associate Dean as well as V.P.-Production at DigiPen Institute of Technology in the United States.

Michael Verdu is an American manager and producer and author of computer games.

References

  1. ↑ "IGDA@GDC" (PDF). IGDA Perspectives. April 2010. p. 4.
  2. ↑ Caulfield, Joshua (April 2010). "GDC notes and our next wave" (PDF). IGDA Perspectives. p. 22.
  3. ↑ Jong, Philip (February 12, 2001). "Interview with Bob Bates at Adventure Classic Gaming". Adventure Classic Gaming. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Infocom Authors - Bob Bates". infocom-if.org. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Peterson, Steve (April 10, 2012). "Bob Bates: Being at Zynga 'like drinking from a firehose'". gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  6. ↑ Jong, Philip (February 12, 2001). "Bob Bates". Adventure Classic Gaming. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
  7. ↑ Short, Emily (February 1, 2017). "IF Only: Thaumistry and Southern Monsters on Kickstarter". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  8. ↑ Bates, Bob (February 22, 2017). "We're On Our Way! Campaign Complete!". Kickstarter . Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  9. ↑ "2009 GDC Europe Announces Advisory Board". Game Developers Conference. April 8, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Bob Bates and Tim Langdell depart the IGDA". Edge. September 1, 2009. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
  11. ↑ "IGDA @ GDC 2010 Wrap Up". International Game Developers Association. 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  12. ↑ Totillo, Stephen (July 30, 2012). "Second thoughts about gaming's most hated company". Kotaku . Retrieved September 7, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.