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Ian Paul Terry (born 11 February 1966) is an English computer game designer and artist. He was responsible for designing a variety of games from the early ZX Spectrum through to PC. He has co-designed successful games such as Rebelstar and Lords of Chaos , and was the lead designer in the creation of Magic and Mayhem .
Ian Terry began his career in 1984 [1] when he set up Target Games after he received a royalty cheque from a book publisher, who had just shipped the first print run of a supplementary rule book that he had written just after leaving school.
Ian drew his inspiration at this time from the video movie genre and began to design board games based on popular movies. The first of these came into fruition when he acquired the games rights to John Carpenter’s “Halloween” movie.
Work on Target games was prematurely halted in 1986 when legal and contractual problems with the Maxwell-owned Fleetway Publications forced a standstill with other developments, and a subsequent lack of funding. In an effort to move away from these problems, he sought entry into the emerging computer games market and was introduced to Julian Gollop, a local games programmer. Together, they redirected Target Games, making it a limited company, with efforts concentrated solely on computer games.
In 1987, Target Games was established. In this newly founded company, Ian and Julian Gollop designed Rebelstar and Laser Squad before working on the early design for Lords of Chaos.
Laser Squad formed the basis of what Mythos Games would later develop as UFO: Enemy Unknown (also known as X-Com), which later went on to become an international best-seller and a franchise in its own right.
Ian left Target Games in 1990 to set up Dimension Designs.
Established in 1991, Dimension Designs was a small, local co-operative made up of wargames enthusiasts who created scenery and accessories for miniature-based games. Ian Terry was given the opportunity of designing and creating for them a scenery system made entirely out of cards which would prove both economical and flexible for the end user. This formed the basis of what was called the “Microscape” system, which achieved worldwide sales.
During his time at Dimension Designs, Terry learned silicon mould making skills and miniature sculpture techniques, which subsequently enabled him to create master sculptures for various manufacturers on a freelance basis as a result.
Ian joined Bullfrog Productions in 1993. He acquired the job due to his previous design work, and his first task under this company was to assist in the output of graphics for Theme Park and Syndicate: American Revolt under Peter Molyneux.
During this time, Ian worked with four other artists, and contributed visuals from his own designs for Theme Park, as well as terrain for American Revolt (a Syndicate mission disc). Before leaving Bullfrog, Ian also supplied the initial graphics and animations that were required for Dungeon Keeper in its infancy, to showcase to the publishers (Electronic Arts).
In January 1994, Ian Terry created Trip Partners along with a senior programmer. With this company, he created Doods, a turn-based strategy sci-fi game, originally intended to showcase their talents. However, it soon became a full-time project once they acquired publisher involvement.
In April 1995, Ian Terry joined Mythos Games, which put him working alongside Julian Gollop once again in his already well-established company.
The first project Ian worked on was the design of the game Magic and Mayhem. This was by far his highest profile project, as it received a lot of funding. He was involved with the initial project proposal, through to the final delivery. Acting as Lead Artist and assisting in setting up a new team, he took on a much greater role. Severe financial limitations with the publisher (Virgin Interactive) on the month of release badly affected initial shipout, in spite of very positive press and universally high review scores. The product fared better under publication of Bethesda in America, and was a surprise hit in less recognisable territories, such as China and Italy.
Ian Terry then worked on X-COM: Apocalypse as a graphic designer. He designed the game interiors and environment, and after the game was finished, he left Mythos Games in May 1999.
After his work at Mythos Games, Ian Terry went on to become a freelance artist for a variety of companies, making games for the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS.
After 2004, he became a freelance artist for many non-game related projects, pursuing his own talent in sculpting, painting and writing. He is still doing this presently.
XCOM is a science fiction video game franchise featuring an elite international organization tasked with countering alien invasions of Earth. The series began with the strategy video game X-COM: UFO Defense created by Julian Gollop's Mythos Games and MicroProse in 1994. The original lineup by MicroProse included six published and at least two canceled games, as well as two novels. The X-COM series, in particular its original entry, achieved a sizable cult following and has influenced many other video games; including the creation of a number of clones, spiritual successors, and unofficial remakes.
Syndicate is a series of science fiction video games created by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts. There are two main titles: Syndicate (1993) and Syndicate Wars (1996), both of which are isometric real-time tactics games. An additional first-person shooter Syndicate title was released in 2012, and a spiritual successor to the series, entitled Satellite Reign, was released in 2015.
Bullfrog Productions Limited was a British video game developer based in Guildford, England. Founded in 1987 by Peter Molyneux and Les Edgar, the company gained recognition in 1989 for their third release, Populous, and is also well known for titles such as Theme Park, Magic Carpet, Syndicate and Dungeon Keeper. Bullfrog's name was derived from an ornament in the offices of Edgar's and Molyneux's other enterprise, Taurus Impact Systems, Bullfrog's precursor where Molyneux and Edgar were developing business software. Bullfrog Productions was founded as a separate entity after Commodore mistook Taurus for a similarly named company.
X-COM: Apocalypse is a 1997 science fiction tactical strategy game. It is the third game in the X-COM video game series. It was developed by Mythos Games, and published by MicroProse in 1997 for DOS and Microsoft Windows.
UFO: Enemy Unknown, also known as X-COM: UFO Defense in North America and as X-COM: Enemy Unknown, is a 1994 science fiction strategy video game developed by Mythos Games and MicroProse. It was published by MicroProse for DOS and Amiga computers, the Amiga CD32 console, and the PlayStation. Originally planned by Julian Gollop as a sequel to Mythos Games' 1988 Laser Squad, the game mixes real-time management simulation with turn-based tactics. The player takes the role of commander of X-COM – an international paramilitary and scientific organization secretly defending Earth from an alien invasion. Through the game, the player is tasked with issuing orders to individual X-COM troops in a series of turn-based tactical missions. At strategic scale, the player directs the research and development of new technologies, builds and expands X-COM's bases, manages the organization's finances and personnel, and monitors and responds to UFO activity.
Steve Jackson is a British game designer, writer, game reviewer and co-founder of UK game publisher Games Workshop.
Syndicate is an isometric real-time tactical and strategic game from Bullfrog Productions created in 1993, and released for a variety of platforms beginning with the PC and Commodore Amiga. It is the first title in the Syndicate series. Set in a dystopian future in which corporations have replaced governments, Syndicate puts the player in control of a corporation vying for global dominance.
Chaos: The Battle of Wizards is a turn-based tactics video game released for the ZX Spectrum in 1985. It was written by Julian Gollop and originally published by Games Workshop. Based on Gollop's 1982 design for a board game / card game hybrid, Chaos received a positive reception and went on to influence various games, including Darwinia and King's Bounty, and spawned a sequel, Lords of Chaos, in 1990.
Lords of Chaos is a turn-based tactics tactical role-playing game published by Blade Software in 1990. It is the sequel to Chaos and an ancestor of the popular X-COM series of games, also written by Julian Gollop. In Lords of Chaos each player controls a wizard who can cast various magic spells. The spells have various effects, for example summoning other creatures, or damaging opposing creatures and wizards. The game can be played against a computer-controlled opponent or by up to four human players.
Laser Squad is a turn-based tactics video game, originally released for the ZX Spectrum and later for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Amiga, Sharp MZ-800 and Atari ST and PC computers between 1988 and 1992. It was designed by Julian Gollop and his team at Target Games and published by Blade Software, expanding on the ideas applied in their earlier Rebelstar series. Laser Squad originally came with five mission scenarios, with an expansion pack released for the 8-bit versions, containing a further two scenarios.
Julian Gollop is a British video game designer and producer specialising in strategy games, who has founded and led Mythos Games, Codo Technologies and Snapshot Games. He is known best as the "man who gave birth to the X-COM franchise."
The Rebelstar games are a series of turn-based tactics video games designed by Julian Gollop. Rebelstar Raiders was published in 1984 by Red Shift for the ZX Spectrum. It was reworked in machine code as Rebelstar, published by Firebird in 1986. A sequel, Rebelstar II, was published in 1988 by Silverbird. Rebelstar, but not its sequel, was also adapted for the Amstrad CPC home computer.
Rebelstar: Tactical Command is a turn-based tactics video game developed by Codo Technologies and published by Namco and Atari Europe for the Game Boy Advance in 2005. It's the fourth game in the Rebelstar series. The game was created by Julian Gollop, who previously designed X-COM: UFO Defense, Laser Squad and the original Rebelstar games.
Kazuma Kaneko is a Japanese video game artist and designer for Japanese video game company Atlus. Kaneko is best known for his work in the Megami Tensei series of video games, acting as a character designer across multiple games. Kaneko is often referred to as the "Demon Artist" due to his artistic ability to represent otherworldly and demonic forms. During his professional career, Kaneko has also done freelance work for videogame companies Capcom and Konami, designing Dante and Vergil's Devil Trigger forms in the video game Devil May Cry 3, as well as designing the characters Inhert and Lloyd in Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner.
Russell Shaw is a BAFTA nominated British composer and sound designer. He is known for his work in many video games, particularly those designed by Peter Molyneux.
Red Shift was a video game publisher active between 1983 and 1985. They were well known for their strategy games and had a close working relationship with Julian Gollop and Games Workshop.
Magic & Mayhem is a fantasy/mythology-themed real-time strategy game designed by Julian Gollop and developed by Mythos Games. It was published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment in late 1998, and by Bethesda soon after in 1999. Although the game received generally positive criticisms, it met a quiet public reception.
The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge is an unreleased video game for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2 by Mythos Games. Developed by the team which produced X-COM: UFO Defense, including lead designer Julian Gollop, the game was planned to be "a remake of the first X-COM with 3D graphics," as the first of four games planned in the new series. Cancelled in 2001, the unfinished game was later bought and partially turned into UFO: Aftermath by Altar Interactive, which was in turn itself followed by two sequels. Some elements of the game are also present in Gollop's own Phoenix Point.
Mythos Games was a British video game developer company founded by Julian Gollop and Nick Gollop in 1988 as Target Games. It is best known for its 1994 strategy game X-COM: UFO Defense, which went on to become the first installment in the later XCOM series. Following the closing of Mythos Games in 2001, the brothers founded Codo Technologies.
Snapshot Games is a Bulgarian video game developer headquartered in Sofia. Snapshot Games was founded in 2013 by Julian Gollop and David Kaye. Gollop is recognized for creating the X-COM video game franchise in the 1990s with X-COM: UFO Defense and X-COM: Apocalypse. Gollop also is the CEO of Snapshot Games. In addition to Gollop, the company includes about eight developers who are industry veterans with years of previous experience working for Ubisoft Sofia, Crytek Black Sea, and other Bulgaria studios.