Glenn Corpes

Last updated

Glenn Corpes
Occupation Video game developer
Known for
Notable work Populous

Glenn Corpes is an independent video game developer. [1] He is best known for his work at Bullfrog Productions on titles including Populous (of which he was a co-creator), Magic Carpet , and Dungeon Keeper . [1] He left Bullfrog in 1999 to form Lost Toys, which developed two games including Battle Engine Aquila . He has since focused on mobile game development and has created Ground Effect for iOS and Topia World Builder for iOS and Android. His latest projects are Fat Owl With A JetPack, and powARdup. [1] [2] His work has influenced games such as Minecraft . [1]

Career

Prior to joining Bullfrog, Corpes had been a computer operator, and then a Telex machine OS programmer. [3] He joined Bullfrog after being made redundant from the Telex job, [3] as chief graphics artist. [4] He was a co-designer of Populous , [5] and also designed its graphics. [4] [6] Corpes also created the 3D landscape, which Peter Molyneux and Les Edgar were intrigued by. [6] He also wrote functions enabling CGA, EGA, and VGA support, [7] and programmed the Atari ST version. [4]

In 1991, Corpes came up with the idea for Magic Carpet , and created its circular map. [8] He also refined its engine many times, and developed editors and landscape generators to facilitate its use. [9] Corpes wrote the engine of Dungeon Keeper (which was taken from Magic Carpet), [10] [1] which became an inspiration for Minecraft . [1] Corpes has held various positions at Bullfrog, [5] [11] including head of technology, [12] and head of research and development. [11]

In 1999, Corpes left Bullfrog and founded Lost Toys with Jeremy Longley and Darren Thomas. [13] [14] [1] The company developed two titles: Moho (also known as Ball Breaker) and Battle Engine Aquila before closing in October 2003. [1] [15] Lost Toys had been developing a third title, Stunt Car Racer Pro. [16] Corpes stated that Battle Engine Aquila is "the best thing I ever worked on". [1] Corpes afterwards formed Weirdwood, which focused on online-distributed games. [7] At some point, he worked for Kuju Entertainment and Electronic Arts. [1] [17] He also worked with 22cans for a year and did "a bit of work" on Curiosity – What's Inside the Cube? . [1] In May 2001, Edge described Corpes as "one of the most gifted coders working in the game industry". [18]

Corpes developed Ground Effect, a racing game featuring "ground effect vehicles (a cross between hovercraft and aeroplanes) released for iOS in 2009. [1] [11] He collaborated with Crescent Moon to develop Topia World Builder, a world simulation game. [19] [20] It was released on iOS in October 2012, [20] and its also available on Android. [1] Corpes is developing Fat Owl With A Jetpack, a "Lunar Lander-style game" for iOS. [19] Corpes has said "it's taken way too long!". [1] Corpes self-published powARdup, developed with his son, Jack Corpes and released in October 2017. [2] It is an augmented reality "futuristic collect-and-avoid arcade game". [2] Corpes has been working on the team of 3D design software Vector Suite since 2019 heading up R&D activities for surface generation technology for both AR/VR and non-VR creation. [21]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "In The Chair With Glenn Corpes". Retro Gamer . No. 160. Bournemouth: Imagine Publishing. October 2016. pp. 92–97. ISSN   1742-3155.
  2. 1 2 3 Jon Jordan (18 October 2017). "Twists and turns: How Glenn Corpes accidentally built the "fastest AR action game"". Pocket Gamer.biz. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Glenn Corpes Bullfrog". PC Gamer . No. 57. Bath: Future plc. June 1998. p. 38. ISSN   1470-1693.
  4. 1 2 3 "Work In Progress Bullfrog". The One . No. 12. EMAP. September 1989. pp. 24–28. ISSN   0955-4084 . Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Bullfrog Productions: A History Of The Legendary UK Developer". NowGamer. 22 February 2012. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  6. 1 2 "The Making Of: Populous". Edge. 8 May 2009. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  7. 1 2 "The Making Of: Populous". NowGamer. 27 January 2009. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  8. ↑ "Behind the scenes of Magic Carpet". GamesTM . Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  9. ↑ "Now that's MAGIC!". PC Gamer . Vol. 1, no. 9. Bath: Future plc. August 1994. pp. 42–50. ISSN   1470-1693.
  10. ↑ "The Making Of: Dungeon Keeper". Retro Gamer . No. 143. Bournemouth: Imagine Publishing. pp. 64–69. ISSN   1742-3155.
  11. 1 2 3 Spanner Spencer (12 October 2009). "Ground Effect racing toward the iPhone from former EA R&D guru". Pocket Gamer . Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  12. ↑ Jon Jordan (22 August 2011). "Populous man Glenn Corpes' iOS world manipulation, animal herding game Topia is shaping up impressively". Pocket Gamer . Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  13. ↑ "An Audience With Lost Toys". Audience. Edge. No. 71. Bath: Future plc. May 1999. pp. 107–111. ISSN   1350-1593.
  14. ↑ "The World According To Lost Toys". PC Zone . No. 88. London: Dennis Publishing. April 2000. pp. 158–161. ISSN   0967-8220.
  15. ↑ Rob Fahey (2 October 2003). "More UK development woe as Lost Toys shuts its doors". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  16. ↑ "Lost Toys to develop Stunt Car Racer Pro". Games Xtreme. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  17. ↑ Jon Jordan (22 October 2009). "One-man band: Glenn Corpes on how old skool tricks kept Ground Effect under 10MB". Pocket Gamer.biz. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  18. ↑ "FAQ Glenn Corpes". Edge. No. 97. Bath: Future plc. May 2001. p. 124. ISSN   1350-1593.
  19. 1 2 Jared Nelson (29 August 2016). "'Fat Owl With A Jetpack' is a Fast-Paced 'Lunar Lander'-like from the Maker of 'Ground Effect' and 'Topia World Builder'". TouchArcade . Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  20. 1 2 Samit Sarkar (9 October 2012). "Topia World Builder coming to iOS from Populous developer". Polygon. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  21. ↑ McLaren Automotive (Mar 22, 2018). How McLaren Automotive uses virtual reality to design its sportscars and supercars. YouTube.
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