Paul Barnett (video game designer)

Last updated
Paul Barnett
Paul Barnett.jpg
Paul Barnett
Born
Paul Barnett

(1970-01-15) 15 January 1970 (age 54)
Nationality British
Known for Game designer
Notable work Warhammer Online
Website www.MySpace.com/thatbarnettbloke

Paul Barnett is an English game designer who is a Global Product Director at Wargaming, working on their game World of Tanks . Before that he worked at Electronic Arts' Office of the Chief Creative Officer and was the General Manager of Mythic Entertainment, a subsidiary of EA. [1] [2] Barnett had a lead role in developing EA's Warhammer Online MMO in Europe. [3]

Contents

Career

In his 20s, Barnett started developing a text-based game, Legends of Terris, which he finished after three years. At the time, it was the largest text-based game in Europe. [1] After this, Barnett worked on other games, including Legends of Cosrin and Kingdom of Heroes. Legends of Terris was launched on AOL in the UK in 1995, and in the US in 1996. AOL described the game as "[their] first real interactive game." [4]

He helped with the design of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning under the direction of CEO Mark Jacobs and producer Jeff Hickman. [5]

Speaking engagements

In February 2008, Barnett gave a talk at the European LIFT 08 conference. This talk was the highest watched video of the show, gaining over 50,000 views within 48 hours. [6] His talks also received coverage in business media. [7] BusinessWeek writer Matt Vella described it as "one of the most non-geek accessible I've ever heard" and praised its accomplishment of "smartly analogiz[ing] the games industry to both films and Las Vegas without being heavy-handed." [7]

Barnett was invited to Penny Arcade Expo East 2010 to speak on a panel regarding the MMORPG industry and its future. The panel included other industry members such as Curt Schilling of 38 Studios, Bob Ferrari of Sanrio Digital, and Craig Alexander of Turbine, Inc.

Barnett was also invited to record a special BombCast with the crew from GiantBomb, where he lists his Top 10 Games of 2010 [8] Barnett has been a guest on multiple casual conversation podcasts with Giant Bomb's co-founder Jeff Gerstmann, typically recorded when Barnett is visiting San Francisco.

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References

  1. 1 2 Long, Amanda (27 May 2011). "First Person Singular: Paul Barnett, creative director of a video-game company". Washington Post. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  2. Matt Martin (16 September 2008). "Mythic: EA "know nothing about launching MMOs in Europe"". GamesIndustry.biz. Eurogamer Network Ltd. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  3. Phil Elliott (27 March 2009). "New online platforms are "another golden age"". GamesIndustry.biz. Eurogamer Network Ltd. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  4. Terris Goes Online With AOL
  5. Oli Welsh (16 September 2008). "Warhammer Online's Paul Barnett". EuroGamer.net. Eurogamer Network Ltd. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  6. LIFT star videos
  7. 1 2 19 Minutes 45 Seconds Worth Sitting Still For
  8. Paul Barnett's Top 10 Games of 2010.

Additional sources

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Paul Barnett at Wikimedia Commons