Simon Phipps | |
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Born | 1966 England |
Occupation | Game designer |
Simon Phipps is a British self-taught game programmer and video game designer. [1] He began making games in 1982 when he wrote his first published video game, StarForce Lander [2] (a version of Lunar Lander ) he wrote while he was at school. He spent a few months writing business software before he was approached to provide some freelance artwork for Sheffield-based Gremlin Graphics. [2] [3] At his interview, he was offered a full-time position.
In 1988, he was one of the founders of Core Design, [3] where he would work on many of their titles until leaving in 1996.
Phipps then worked on Acclaim Entertainment's hit Shadow Man , alongside game designer Guy Miller. [4] Phipps worked for Acclaim Teesside, but about 9 months into making the game ShadowMan: 2econd Coming , he left for Electronic Arts (EA) where he worked alongside Guy Miller on the Harry Potter games [3] for five years.
In 2006, he moved to EA's studio Criterion Games working on a number of unpublished titles as well as contributing to their website and video podcast. In early 2009 he left EA and joined Eurocom.
Simon has been a regular guest of the Nottingham Video Games Expo (NottsVGE) which was established in 2022 and has so far been held across two different venues across Nottingham.
In 2024, Simon was part of the Nottingham Video Games Expo on the 20th and 21 July, which was held at The Belgrave Rooms. Simon exhibited unique game design art, plus delivered a talk across the weekend of the expo about his work in the gaming industry. Over previous years, Simon has been part of the Nottingham Video Game Expo delivering talks and Q&A.
Origin Systems, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. It was founded on March 3, 1983, by Richard Garriott and his brother Robert. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres of video games, such as the Ultima and Wing Commander series. The company was purchased by Electronic Arts in 1992.
Frogger is a 1981 arcade action game developed by Konami and published by Sega. In North America, it was distributed by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct five frogs to their homes by dodging traffic on a busy road, then crossing a river by jumping on floating logs and alligators.
Theme Park is a construction and management simulation video game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1994. The player designs and operates an amusement park, with the goal of making money and creating theme parks worldwide. The game is the first instalment in Bullfrog's Theme series and their Designer Series.
James Hannigan is a BAFTA Award winning composer and producer. His credits include entries in the Harry Potter, Command & Conquer, Dead Space, RuneScape, Evil Genius,EA Sports and Theme Park video game series, among numerous others. He has also scored full-cast adaptations of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, the Audie Award winning Alien dramas (2016–2019), BBC Radio 4's adaptations of Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens and Neverwhere.
Road Rash is a motorcycle racing video game series by Electronic Arts in which the player participates in violent, illegal street races. The series started on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and was released on various other systems over the years. The game's title is based on the slang term for the severe friction burns that can occur in a motorcycle fall where skin comes into contact with the ground at high speed.
Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in the 1980s, their primary market was the 8-bit range of computers such as the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64. The company was acquired by French video game publisher Infogrames in 1999 and was renamed Infogrames Studios in 2000. Infogrames Studios closed down in 2003.
Last Action Hero is a series of action video games based on the 1993 film of the same name. Versions were released for the NES, Super NES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear, and MS-DOS. Versions were also planned for the Sega CD and Master System, but ultimately were not released.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a 2001 video game developed by Argonaut Games and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation. Based on the 1997 novel of the same name, the player controls Harry Potter, who must navigate his first year in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and eventually confront the villainous Lord Voldemort. The game received mixed reviews, with critics saying that the game's license would be the only thing to draw in fans. The PlayStation version sold 8 million copies by May 2003, which would become Argonaut's best-selling game and one of the best-selling PlayStation video games of all time.
The UEFA European Championship has its own video games licensed from European football's governing body, UEFA. Eight games have been released so far, with the first game released in 1992. Originally held by TecMagik, it was then held by Gremlin Interactive in 1996, EA Sports from 2000 until 2012. Konami had the rights for 2016 and 2020. EA Sports have again had the rights since 2024.
Wolfchild is a platform game originally released for the Amiga and the Atari ST by Core Design in 1992. It was later released for the SNES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega CD, Master System, and Game Gear.
Full Fat is an independent British video game developer. The company was founded in 1996. The company's specialty has been developing games for hand-held devices including Nintendo's Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP), and lately mobile devices. Other platforms include Sega's Dreamcast, Nintendo's Wii, and Microsoft Windows. Originally based in Leamington Spa, England, the company moved to Coventry in 2001 and Warwick in 2011.
Demolition Man is a pair of action video games based on the film of the same name. Acclaim Entertainment published the 16-bit version, which features run and gun gameplay, for the Super NES, Sega Genesis and Sega CD. Virgin Interactive released a completely different game for the 3DO that combined several distinct gameplay styles. In both games, the player controls John Spartan, the main character from the film, as he attempts to find and defeat his nemesis, Simon Phoenix.
Shadow Man: 2econd Coming is an action-adventure video game developed by Acclaim Studios Teesside and published by Acclaim Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It is a sequel to the 1999 video game Shadow Man and, like the previous game, is based on the Shadowman comic book series published by Valiant Comics.
Blockade is an arcade video game developed by Lane Hauck for Gremlin and released in November 1976. It is a two-player game where each player controls the direction of an arrow on the screen which creates a trail behind it. The object is to avoid any walls surrounding the playfield or trails created by each player for a select amount of turns. Blockade spawned many clones which came to be known as snake games.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 action-adventure game. It is based on the 2007 film of the same name. The game was released for mobile devices, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, Game Boy Advance, and Mac OS X.
Daniel Bilson is an American writer, director, and producer of movies, television, video games, and comic books. Together with his frequent collaborator, Paul De Meo, he is best known as the writer for the film The Rocketeer (1991) and creator, writer, producer and director for the television series Viper, The Sentinel (1996) and The Flash (1990). He has written multiple issues of the comic book The Flash, as well as scripts for multiple video games, including James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (2003). Da 5 Bloods (2020), based on a screenplay written by Bilson & De Meo, was released following De Meo's death.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 action-adventure game. It is based on the film of the same name. The game was released on 30 June 2009 for mobile devices, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, and Mac OS X.
EA Bright Light was a British video game developer founded in 1995 by Electronic Arts. The studio was primarily known for its work on licensed franchises such as the video game adaptation of the Harry Potter series. As of 2019, a subsidiary known as EA UK exists, albeit being a publishing operation.
Emily Newton Dunn is an English television presenter and video game designer and producer.
Switchblade is a 1989 side-scrolling action-platform run and gun video game originally developed by Core Design and published by Gremlin Graphics in Europe for the Atari ST home computers. The first installment in the eponymous two-part series, the game is set in a dystopian future where players assume the role of Hiro from the Blade Knights as he embarks on a journey to defeat Havok, the main antagonist who broke free from his imprisonment after the sacred Fireblade was shattered into several pieces. Its gameplay consists of run and gun action mixed with platforming and exploration elements, with a main single-button configuration.