Mark Nelson (video game designer)

Last updated

Mark E. Nelson is an American video game designer and humor writer best known for his work with Bethesda Game Studios and the game series The Elder Scrolls. In March 2007, he joined computer games company Big Huge Games to create a new role-playing game, joining industry veteran Brian Reynolds and long-time collaborator Ken Rolston. [1]

Contents

Mark has a bachelor's degree from Duke University and is a member of the Writers Guild of America. He has been a professional games designer since 1999.

In 2013, Nelson founded Nelson Game Design LLC, a game consulting company providing comprehensive design services.

From 2014 to 2016, Nelson served as design director at robotics company Sphero. [2] While there, he was responsible for the design of the successful BB-8 app-controlled droid released in 2015.

In July 2017, Nelson was named Chief R&D and Design Officer of Bit Fry Game Studios, Inc. [3]

Early career

Before entering the computer game field, Mark spent many years as both a writer and editor. He designed multimedia training for Raytheon, edited environmental impact statements for the United States Department of Energy, and was an editor of The Washington Wit, a Washington, DC-based humor magazine.

Videogame Industry

Nelson joined Bethesda Game Studios as a designer on The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind . He then led the design on its expansions, The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal and The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon . Nelson went on to work as a designer on award-winning games The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion , and Fallout 3 . He was the lead designer on 2007's The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles . [4]

Mark joined Big Huge Games in 2007 and served as lead narrative designer on their RPG project, cancelled when the studio was sold in 2009.

Nelson went on to be the lead designer and creative director of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning , [5] a single player RPG designed by Big Huge Games, a Baltimore subsidiary of 38 Studios. The game was created for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC platforms and is set in the world of Amalur.

In July 2007, Nelson became the design director for Zynga East, a Baltimore-based social game studio, which produced the titles FrontierVille and CityVille 2 . [6]

In February 2013, Nelson left Zynga when the Zynga East studio was shut down. [7]

Games

Related Research Articles

The Elder Scrolls is a series of action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on free-form gameplay in an open world. Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim all won Game of the Year awards from multiple outlets. The series has sold more than 58 million copies worldwide.

<i>The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal</i> 2002 video game

The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal is an expansion for the role-playing game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind by Bethesda Softworks, released on November 6, 2002. The expansion takes place in the city of Mournhold, the capital of Morrowind, and further explores the story of the characters of the "Living Gods", the Tribunal. Developed immediately after the release of Morrowind, the expansion was designed to be a self-contained and complementary experience to gameplay, with the addition of minor gameplay features including alterations to the game's journal and map system. Tribunal was released to positive reviews, with critics praising the game's minor quality of life improvements, greater difficulty, and focused, contained setting, whilst critiquing the linear and short nature of the expansion and technical issues. Bethesda Softworks staff expressed the design of Tribunal was influential to the direction of future expansions in the Elder Scrolls franchise, particularly The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon, released the following year.

<i>The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon</i> 2003 video game

The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon is the second and final expansion pack for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, developed by Bethesda Game Studios. It was originally released as an expansion set for Microsoft Windows and is included within the Morrowind: Game of the Year edition for Xbox.

<i>The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind</i> 2002 video game

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is an open-world action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the third installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following 1996's The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, and was released in 2002 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox. The main story takes place on Vvardenfell, an island in the Dunmer province of Morrowind, part of the continent of Tamriel. The central quests concern the demigod Dagoth Ur, housed within the volcanic Red Mountain, who seeks to gain power and break Morrowind free from Imperial reign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Huge Games</span> American video game developer

Big Huge Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Timonium, Maryland since 2000, known first for real-time strategy games such as Rise of Nations, later for the console RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and more recently for mobile games such as DomiNations and Arcane Showdown. Throughout most of its history the company has been associated with its best-known founder, Brian Reynolds, whose prior career already included work as lead designer of Civilization II and Alpha Centauri, and co-founder of Firaxis Games. The studio's ownership has changed hands several times over the years, and it became briefly defunct in May 2012, but it was revived by Reynolds along with several original alumni and new partners. The company is presently owned by Nexon, and actively runs its mobile titles DomiNations and Arcane Showdown, while continuing to develop new games.

<i>The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion</i> 2006 video game

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is an open-world action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios, and published by Bethesda Softworks and 2K. It is the fourth installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following 2002's The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, and was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in 2006, followed by PlayStation 3 in 2007. Taking place within the fictional province of Cyrodiil, the game's main story focuses on the player character's efforts to thwart a fanatical cult known as the Mythic Dawn that plans to open portal gates to a demonic realm known as Oblivion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Howard</span> American video game designer, director, and producer

Todd Andrew Howard is an American video game designer, director, and producer. He serves as director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the development of the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Rolston</span> American game designer

Ken Rolston is an American computer game and role-playing game designer best known for his work with West End Games and on the computer game series The Elder Scrolls. In February 2007, he elected to join the staff of computer games company Big Huge Games to create a new role-playing game.

<i>The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles</i> Expansion to the video game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles is the second expansion pack for the role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Announced on January 18, 2007, the expansion was developed, published, and released over the Xbox Live Marketplace by Bethesda Softworks; its retail release was co-published with 2K Games. It was released for Microsoft Windows in a boxed retail edition on March 26, 2007, while the Xbox 360 version was released digitally on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Shivering Isles takes place on the eponymous isles ruled by the Daedric Prince of Madness, Sheogorath. The player becomes Sheogorath's protégé, and together they try to defeat the Daedric Lord of Order, Jyggalag, thus preventing the isles from being destroyed; this main quest can be ignored for as long as the player wishes to interact with the new world.

Development of <i>The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion</i> Development of 2006 video game

The development of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion began in 2002, immediately after its predecessor, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, was published. Rumors of a sequel to Morrowind started circulating in June 2004; the sequel's title was identified on September 10, 2004, the date of its official announcement. Oblivion was developed by Bethesda Game Studios, and the initial Xbox 360 and personal computer (PC) releases were co-published by Bethesda and Take-Two Interactive's subsidiary, 2K Games. According to interviews with Bethesda staff, the publisher-developer relationship—one of the few independent relations in the industry—worked well, and Bethesda was not subject to excessive corporate guidance. Initially scheduled for a November 22, 2005, release, in tandem with the Xbox 360's launch, Oblivion was delayed to a March 21, 2006, release for Windows PCs and the Xbox 360.

<i>Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning</i> 2012 video game

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a 2012 action role-playing game developed by Big Huge Games, and published by 38 Studios and Electronic Arts for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Two expansion packs were released that same year. Reckoning follows the story of the Fateless One, a resurrected person freed from the Fate Weave which binds all of Amalur's people. The Fateless One ends up fighting the rogue Fae Gadflow and his god Tirnoch, who seek to destroy the mortal races. Gameplay has the Fateless One exploring the open world of Amalur, completing quests and fighting a variety of enemies both in the open world and in dungeons. The playstyle is customized through a combination of weapons types, skill trees, and passive enhancements dubbed Destinies.

Emil Pagliarulo is an American video game designer. Emil Pagliarulo is working as a video game designer at Bethesda Game Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creation Engine</span> Video game engine

Creation Engine is a 3D video game engine created by Bethesda Game Studios based on the Gamebryo engine. The Creation Engine has been used to create role-playing video games such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76. A new iteration of the engine, Creation Engine 2, was used to create Starfield.

<i>The Elder Scrolls Online</i> 2014 video game

The Elder Scrolls Online, abbreviated ESO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by ZeniMax Online Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released for Windows and macOS in April 2014. It is a part of the Elder Scrolls series.

<i>The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dragonborn</i> Video game add-on

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dragonborn is the third and final add-on for the action role-playing open world video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It was developed by Bethesda Game Studios and released by Bethesda Softworks on the Xbox Live Marketplace on December 4, 2012. The Microsoft Windows version was released on February 5, 2013, and the PlayStation 3 version was released on February 12, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Nesmith</span> American game designer

Bruce Nesmith is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. He was Creative Director at TSR, working on a variety of games including Dungeons & Dragons, and is a senior game designer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has worked on AAA titles such as Fallout 3, Fallout 4 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and was lead designer on Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

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

OpenMW is a free and open-source game engine recreation that reimplements the one powering Bethesda Softworks' 2002 open-world role-playing game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

The Elder Scrolls is a series of video games. The term may also refer to:

References

  1. "Linkedin Profile". LinkedIn. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  2. "What the people who made Morrowind are up to now". January 4, 2017.
  3. "Nelson Game Design".
  4. "The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles Preview". Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  5. "The Reckoning is Coming".
  6. Lien, Tracey (November 1, 2012). "Taking a chance on CityVille 2". Polygon.
  7. Holt, Kris (February 16, 2021). "Zynga East shuttered, studios in Texas and New York consolidated". Engadget.