Sandy Petersen

Last updated
Sandy Petersen
Sandy Petersen 01.jpg
Sandy Petersen at Lucca Comics & Games 2011
Born
Carl Sanford Joslyn Petersen

(1955-09-16) September 16, 1955 (age 68)
St. Louis, Missouri
Occupation Game designer
Years active1980 - present
Notable work Call of Cthulhu (1981)
Doom (1993)
Doom II (1994)
Quake (1996)

Carl Sanford Joslyn "Sandy" Petersen (born September 16, 1955) is an American game designer. He worked at Chaosium, contributing to the development of RuneQuest and creating the acclaimed and influential horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu. He later joined id Software where he worked on the development of the Doom franchise and Quake. As part of Ensemble Studios, Petersen subsequently contributed to the Age of Empires franchise.

Contents

Biography

Petersen was born in St. Louis, Missouri and developed a love for dinosaurs at age 3. He studied paleontology in college and later attended University of California, Berkeley, majoring in zoology. [1]

Work

Chaosium

He became a full-time staff member at Chaosium in 1980. [2] [3] His interest for role-playing games and H. P. Lovecraft were fused when he became principal author of Chaosium's game Call of Cthulhu , published 1981, [4] and many scenarios and background pieces thereafter. [5]

He authored several critically acclaimed RuneQuest supplements for Avalon Hill and Games Workshop. [5] Petersen served as co-designer for West End Games's Ghostbusters role-playing game. [5]

MicroProse

He worked some time for MicroProse, where he is credited for work on Sid Meier's Pirates! and Sword of the Samurai . [5] Between 1989 and 1992 he worked on the video games Darklands , Hyperspeed , and Lightspeed . He made some contributions to Civilization .[ citation needed ] Petersen was laid off in 1992 and was jobless for 5 months. He considered that period as one of the worst times of his life. [6]

id Software

Petersen was hired by id Software in August 1993. During his interview, John Romero introduced him to DoomEd and simply asked him to build a level. Romero was ultimately happy with the results, so Petersen was brought on to production for Doom . The level from Petersen's interview eventually became E2M6. [7] He was a fast level designer and produced all maps for the third episode of Doom, Inferno. Petersen designed 17 levels for Doom II , a little over half of the 32 total. An 18th, Dead Simple, was redesigned by American McGee before release. [8]

Petersen was then involved with The Ultimate Doom in 1995 as well as the R&D phase for Quake . At the time, Quake was based on an id staff D&D campaign. Petersen was enthusiastic about the project, though he had not been a player in the original campaign as it was before his arrival at the company. [9] With id Software's designers waiting for the Quake engine to be ready for its design team, the studio sent Petersen to work temporarily at Rogue Entertainment, which was licensing the Doom engine to develop Strife . [10] Romero also credits Petersen with coming up with the title for the Hexen expansion Deathkings of the Dark Citadel . When Quake was reformulated as a first-person shooter in late 1995, id removed Petersen from the Strife team to focus on the game. The revised Quake storyline is credited to Petersen, along with 7 levels. [11]

Ensemble Studios

He left id Software for Ensemble Studios in June 1997. [12] There, he worked as a game designer on several of their Age of Empires titles, including Rise of Rome , Age of Kings , and The Conquerors . [5] During this time, he was a frequent poster on the HeavenGames forums under the username ES_Sandyman. He ran a popular series of threads, "Ask Sandyman", where forum members could ask him about anything they wanted. [13]

Other works

Petersen was the executive producer for the 2011 film The Whisperer in Darkness which was nominated for awards at the Chicago International Film Festival and Warsaw International Film Festival. It was produced by H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society Motion Pictures in the style of a 1930s black and white horror film.[ citation needed ]

In April 2011 [14] he served as the publisher of horror magazine Arcane: Penny Dreadfuls for the 21st Century. [15]

Petersen took a professorship at The Guildhall at SMU in 2009 following the closure of Ensemble Studios, where he taught several courses on game design. [16]

Petersen worked at Barking Lizards Technologies as their creative director, after leaving The Guildhall, and worked on their iOS release Osiris Legends .[ citation needed ]

In mid-2013 Petersen led a successful Kickstarter campaign by his company, Green Eye Games, to produce the boardgame Cthulhu Wars. Over US$1,400,000 was raised achieving over 3,500% of the initial target. This success allowed the creation of more figures (60), map expansions and additional scenario options. [17] Green Eye Games also produced the unsuccessful kickstarter Cthulhu World Combat (iOS, Android, Windows, PSN, Xbox Live). [18] [19] [20]

In June 2015, it was announced that Petersen and Greg Stafford returned to Chaosium Inc. [21] Petersen retired from the board in 2019, but continues to do occasional freelance work for the company. [22]

Personal life

Petersen is a practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but sees no conflict between his faith and his design of games involving Satanic elements. While working on Doom, he said to John Romero, "I have no problems with the demons in the game. They're just cartoons. And, anyway, they're the bad guys." [23]

Sandy is married, has five children, and 15 grandchildren.

Credits

Video games

YearTitleDeveloperNotes
1989 Sid Meier's Pirates! MicroProse Atari ST version
1990 Lightspeed
1991 Civilization (1991)
Hyperspeed
1992 Darklands
1993 Doom id Software
1994 Doom II: Hell on Earth
1995 The Ultimate Doom
1996 Quake
Hexen: Beyond Heretic Raven Software Sega Saturn version
Final Doom TeamTNT
1997 Quake II id SoftwareUncredited
Age of Empires Ensemble Studios
1998 Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome
1999 Age of Empires II
2000 Age of Empires II: The Conquerors
2005 Age of Empires III
2006 Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs
2009 Halo Wars
2011Osiris LegendsBarking Lizard Studios

Role-playing games

Board games

Films

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Basic Role-Playing</i> Tabletop role-playing game system

Basic Role-Playing (BRP) is a tabletop role-playing game which originated in the RuneQuest fantasy role-playing game. Chaosium released the BRP standalone booklet in 1980 in the boxed set release of the second edition of RuneQuest. Greg Stafford and Lynn Willis are credited as the authors. Chaosium used the percentile skill-based system as the basis for most of their games, including Call of Cthulhu, Stormbringer, and Elfquest.

<i>Call of Cthulhu</i> (role-playing game) Tabletop horror role-playing game

Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos. The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium; it was first released in 1981 and is in its seventh edition, with licensed foreign language editions available as well. Its game system is based on Chaosium's Basic Role-Playing (BRP) with additions for the horror genre. These include special rules for sanity and luck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaosium</span> Game publisher

Chaosium Inc. is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include Call of Cthulhu, based on the horror fiction stories of H. P. Lovecraft, RuneQuest Glorantha, Pendragon, based on Thomas Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur, and 7th Sea, "swashbuckling and sorcery" set in a fantasy 17th century Europe.

<i>Doom</i> (1993 video game) First-person shooter

Doom is a first-person shooter game developed and published by id Software. Released on December 10, 1993, for DOS, it is the first installment in the Doom franchise. The player assumes the role of a space marine, later unofficially referred to as Doomguy, fighting through hordes of undead humans and invading demons. The game begins on the moons of Mars and finishes in hell, with the player traversing each level to find its exit or defeat its final boss. It is an early example of 3D graphics in video games, and has enemies and objects as 2D images, a technique sometimes referred to as 2.5D graphics.

id Software American video game developer

id Software LLC is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack.

<i>Quake</i> (video game) 1996 video game

Quake is a first-person shooter game developed by id Software and published by GT Interactive. The first game in the Quake series, it was originally released for MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, and Linux in 1996, followed by Mac OS and Sega Saturn in 1997 and Nintendo 64 in 1998.

<i>RuneQuest</i> Fantasy tabletop role-playing game

RuneQuest is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally designed by Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Steve Henderson, and Warren James, and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. It was first published in 1978 by The Chaosium. Beginning in 1984, publication passed between a number of companies, including Avalon Hill, Mongoose Publishing, and The Design Mechanism, before finally returning to Chaosium in 2016. RuneQuest is notable for its system, designed around percentile dice and an early implementation of skill rules, which became the basis for numerous other games. There have been several editions of the game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Romero</span> American video game designer (born 1967)

Alfonso John Romero is an American director, designer, programmer and developer in the video game industry. He is a co-founder of id Software and designed their early games, including Wolfenstein 3D (1992), Doom (1993), Doom II (1994), Hexen (1995) and Quake (1996). His designs and development tools, along with programming techniques developed by id Software's lead programmer, John Carmack, popularized the first-person shooter (FPS) genre. Romero is also credited with coining the multiplayer term "deathmatch".

<i>Doom II</i> 1994 video game

Doom II, also known as Doom II: Hell on Earth, is a first-person shooter game in the Doom franchise developed by id Software. It was released for MS-DOS in 1994 and Mac OS in 1995. Unlike the original Doom, which was initially only available through shareware and mail order, Doom II was sold in stores.

Tom Hall is an American game designer best known for his work with id Software on titles such as Doom, Wolfenstein 3D and Commander Keen. He has also been the co-founder of Ion Storm, together with his friend and colleague John Romero. During his years in the company, Hall designed and produced Anachronox and was also actively involved in the development of Deus Ex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American McGee</span> American video game designer (born 1972)

American James McGee is a retired American video game designer. He is best known as the designer of American McGee's Alice, its sequel Alice: Madness Returns, and his works on various video games from id Software.

Adrian Carmack is an American video game artist and one of four co-founders of id Software, along with Tom Hall, John Romero, and John Carmack. The founders met while working at Softdisk's Gamer's Edge division and started id in 1991. Adrian Carmack's primary role at the company was as an artist, including work on Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Hexen: Beyond Heretic, Quake, Quake II and Quake III Arena. He is credited as the creator of Doom's grotesque, gory art style as well as the term "gibs". During the development of Doom, Adrian built clay models of the baron of hell, the Doomguy, and the cyberdemon before Gregor Punchatz was hired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Stafford (game designer)</span> American game designer (1948–2018)

Francis Gregory Stafford was an American game designer, publisher, and practitioner of shamanism.

Doom, a first-person shooter game by id Software, was released in December 1993 and is considered one of the most significant and influential video games in history. Development began in November 1992, with programmers John Carmack and John Romero, artists Adrian Carmack and Kevin Cloud, and designer Tom Hall. Late in development, Hall was replaced by Sandy Petersen and programmer Dave Taylor joined. The music and sound effects were created by Bobby Prince.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Willits</span> Video game designer

Tim Willits is the former studio director, co-owner, and level designer of id Software. As of August 2019, Willits is the chief creative officer at Saber Interactive. He became a Director of 3D Realms with Saber Interactive’s acquisition of the company.

Lynn Willis was a wargame and role-playing game designer, best known for his work with Metagaming Concepts, Game Designers' Workshop (GDW), and Chaosium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennell Jaquays</span> American artist and game designer (1956–2024)

Jennell Allyn Jaquays was an American game designer, video game artist, and illustrator of tabletop role-playing games (RPGs). Her notable works include the Dungeons & Dragons modules Dark Tower and Caverns of Thracia for Judges Guild; the development and design of conversions on games such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong for Coleco's home arcade video game system; and more recent design work, including the Age of Empires series, Quake II, and Quake III Arena. One of her best known works as a fantasy artist is the cover illustration for TSR's Dragon Mountain adventure.

<i>Blackroom</i> (video game) Canceled first-person shooter

Blackroom was a planned first-person shooter game from the independent studio Night Work Games, created by former id Software developers John Romero and Adrian Carmack. It was planned to be crowdfunded on the Kickstarter platform, but the crowdfunding campaign was cancelled in April 2016. The game was set to launch during the winter quarter of 2018. In 2023, it was confirmed to be cancelled.

<i>The Asylum & Other Tales</i> Tabletop horror role-playing game adventure anthology

The Asylum & Other Tales is an anthology of seven adventures published by Chaosium in 1983 for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu.

<i>Cthulhu Companion</i> Tabletop horror role-playing game supplement

Cthulhu Companion is a supplement published by Chaosium in 1983 for Call of Cthulhu.

References

  1. ↑ Petersen, Sandy. "Yithian Evolution". YouTube. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. p. 86. ISBN   978-1-907702-58-7.
  3. ↑ "Meet the Team".
  4. ↑ Petersen, Sandy (September 1993). "Eye of the Monitor". Dragon (197): 57–62.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Petersen, Sandy (2007). "Up Front". In Lowder, James (ed.). Hobby Games: The 100 Best . Green Ronin Publishing. pp. 341–344. ISBN   978-1-932442-96-0.
  6. ↑ Petersen, Sandy. "Tales from the Dark Days of Id Software". YouTube. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  7. ↑ Romero, John (2023). DOOM Guy: Life in First Person. Abrams Press. pp. 146–174. ISBN   978-1419758119.
  8. ↑ Romero, John (2023). DOOM Guy: Life in First Person. Abrams Press. pp. 185–197. ISBN   978-1419758119.
  9. ↑ Romero, John (2023). DOOM Guy: Life in First Person. Abrams Press. pp. 213–235. ISBN   978-1419758119.
  10. ↑ Romero, John (2023). DOOM Guy: Life in First Person. Abrams Press. pp. 236–247. ISBN   978-1419758119.
  11. ↑ Romero, John (2023). DOOM Guy: Life in First Person. Abrams Press. pp. 248–274. ISBN   978-1419758119.
  12. ↑ Feldman, Curt (July 9, 1997). "Ensemble's Second Title Picks Up Speed". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 3, 1998. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Ask Sandyman – Age of Kings Heaven".
  14. ↑ Shumate, Nathan; Petersen, Sandy; Crook, Jeff; Pollock, Justin (April 2011). Arcane: Penny Dreadfuls for the 21st Century. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN   978-1461059608.
  15. ↑ Arcane: Penny Dreadfuls for the 21st Century.
  16. ↑ The Guildhall at SMU Faculty, Guildhall @ SMU Faculty Biographies.
  17. ↑ "Cthulhu Wars".
  18. ↑ Barking Lizards Management Team.
  19. ↑ "Cthulhu World Combat by Sandy Petersen — Kickstarter".
  20. ↑ http://www.cthulhuworldcombat.com Archived 2012-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ Stafford, Greg (2015-06-02). "GREG STAFFORD & SANDY PETERSEN REJOIN CHAOSIUM INC" . Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  22. ↑ Chaosium. "The Chaosium Team" . Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  23. ↑ Kushner, David (2003). Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture . p. 144.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.