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Ken Lightner is a game designer with experience in multiple fields. His primary area of expertise is in computer games.
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Ken Lightner is a game designer with experience in multiple fields. His primary area of expertise is in computer games.
Ken Lightner is the founder of Holistic Design. [1] Lightner co-designed a tabletop miniatures spaceship combat game with Chris Wiese called Noble Armada (1998), designed to be compatible with the role-playing game Fading Suns . [1] Lightner was head of programming for video games at Holistic, while Andrew Greenberg directed development for video games. [1] Lightner created additional game lines specifically for publication using the d20 System, including modern world military adventures such as Afghanistan (2002). [1] Among his more notable successes with Holistic include Battles of Destiny, Hammer of the Gods, Final Liberation, Machiavelli the Prince, Merchant Prince II, Emperor of the Fading Suns , and Mall Tycoon . He also worked heavily on a computer game called Noble Armada that never materialized. He has worked as a third-party developer for very large companies such as Mindscape, Take Two Interactive, Red Storm, MicroProse, and Segasoft. Mall Tycoon was arguably his largest game, which sold extremely well. The Merchant Prince series was highly critically acclaimed.
He was the line developer for their Real-Life Roleplaying series covering d20 Afghanistan, d20 Columbia, d20 Somalia and the d20 FBI. He also contributed heavily towards the flagship rpg product Holistic Design produced Fadings Suns, being the principal author of the military supplement Legions of the Empire. He also worked in conjunction with Chris Wiese to design the miniature based game Carnage and Noble Armada (upon which the aforementioned Computer Game was based). He also contributed fiction to the Book of All Flesh by Eden Studios.
Holistic shut down all of its production on role-playing game lines in 2003, and Lightner later co-founded the computer game company Blue Heat Games. [1] This new company specializes in cell phone games, and some of his credits with them include MLB Baseball 2004, NHL Hockey and Sega Snowboarding. He has also had a short story published in an anthology produced by Eden Studios, Inc.
Fading Suns is a science fiction space opera role-playing game published by Holistic Design. The setting was also used for a PC game, a live action role-playing game, and for a space combat miniature game.
Jeff Grubb is an author of novels, short stories, and comics, as well as a computer and role-playing game designer in the fantasy genre. Grubb worked on the Dragonlance campaign setting under Tracy Hickman, and the Forgotten Realms setting with Ed Greenwood. His written works include The Finder's Stone Trilogy, the Spelljammer and Jakandor campaign settings, and contributions to Dragonlance and the computer game Guild Wars Nightfall (2006).
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and tabletop role-playing games published in 2002. For video games, see 2002 in video gaming.
Andrew Greenberg is a game designer of tabletop role-playing games and role-playing video games.
Emperor of the Fading Suns is a turn-based strategy 4X video game developed by Holistic Design, based on their in-house role-playing game setting Fading Suns. It was released for Microsoft Windows in January 1997.
Bill Bridges is an American role-playing game developer and fantasy author. He designed the role-playing games Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, and Promethean: The Created. He additionally worked on a video game based on his Fading Suns role-playing game Emperor of the Fading Suns. He is currently a developer at Holistic Design.
Holistic Design, Inc. (HDI), is an American game company.
James Daniel Lowder is an American author, anthologist, and editor, working regularly within the fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror genres, and on tabletop role-playing games and critical works exploring popular culture.
Mongoose Publishing is a British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, publishing material since 2001. Its licenses include products based on the science fiction properties Traveller, Judge Dredd, and Paranoia, as well as fantasy titles.
Mall Tycoon is a business simulation game, released in 2002 for Windows 95/98/ME. It was developed by Holistic Designs and published by Take-Two Interactive. It has two sequels: Mall Tycoon 2 and Mall Tycoon 3.
Chris Wiese is a role-playing game designer.
Brian "Chainsaw" Campbell is a Greater Seattle area game developer, author and editor who is credited for working in the role-playing game industry as far back as 1993. Brian's notable work includes Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, Changeling: The Dreaming, Ratkin, and other World of Darkness products for White Wolf, the d20 versions of Call of Cthulhu and Star Wars for Wizards of the Coast, indie games such as Spaceship Zero for Green Ronin and Fading Suns for Holistic Design, Inc., and a foray into board games that included Betrayal at House on the Hill from Avalon Hill.
Eden Studios, Inc. was an American role-playing game publisher founded in 1996 by George Vasilakos, M. Alexander Jurkat, and Ed Healy. Eden Studios is best known for Conspiracy X, the Buffyverse role-playing games, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, CJ Carella's WitchCraft and most recently for the City of Heroes Roleplaying Game, an unreleased adaptation of Cryptic Studios' MMORPG City of Heroes.
Shane Lacy Hensley is an author, game designer, and CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment Group and is a resident of Gilbert, Arizona.
Andy Schatz is a video game designer based in San Diego. He began developing video games at a young age and graduated from Amherst College. After graduation, he worked for various video game development companies, including TKO Software, before founding his own independent video game development studio Pocketwatch Games in 2004. Attempting to expand his company, Schatz tried enrolling into business school; all applications were rejected. As a result, he began working on games he was passionate about. Schatz has released four video games under Pocketwatch Games: Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa, Venture Arctic, Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine, and Tooth and Tail. Monaco 2 is currently in development. His design philosophy revolves around taking inspiration from already existing media, such as films, and transforming it into a video game.
Ross Watson is a designer of computer, miniature and role-playing games and a writer in various genres. Watson worked on the Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay line as the Lead Developer for Dark Heresy, was the lead designer for Rogue Trader and Deathwatch, and was part of the design team for Black Crusade. He was the lead developer for both Aaron Allston's Strike Force and Savage Worlds Rifts. His written works include the Accursed and Weird War I settings for Savage Worlds, contributions to the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG, and the video games Darksiders II, Warhammer 40,000: Regicide, and Battlefleet Gothic: Armada. Watson has designed rules and scenarios for miniature game lines, such as Dust Warfare, and he has written for several card games, including Warhammer: Invasion, Empire Engine, and the Lost Legacy series.
Noble Armada is a board game published by Holistic Design in 1998.