Warren Spector | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Spector in 2023 | |
| Born | (1955-10-02)October 2, 1955 (age 70) |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University (B.S.) University of Texas at Austin (M.A.) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1983–present |
| Spouse | |
Warren Evan Spector (born October 2, 1955[1]) is an Americanrole-playing andvideo gamedesigner, director, writer, producer and production designer. He is known for creatingimmersive sim games, which give players a wide variety of choices in how to progress.[2] Consequences of those choices are then shown in the simulated game world in subsequent levels or missions. He is best known for the critically acclaimed video gameDeus Ex that embodies the choice and consequence philosophy while combining elements of thefirst-person shooter,role-playing, andadventure gamegenres.[3] In addition toDeus Ex, Spector is known for his work while employed byLooking Glass Studios, where he was involved in the creation of several acclaimed titles includingUltima Underworld,Ultima Underworld II,System Shock, andThief: The Dark Project. He is employed byOtherSide Entertainment, where he was part of the development team for the stalledSystem Shock 3.[4][5]
Spector grew up inManhattan, which he described as a sometimes hostile environment where "short, pudgy, Jewish kids didn't fare well".[1] He showed an intense devotion to whatever topic became his focus at any given time, from dinosaurs and airplanes as a small boy, to an interest in law by the sixth grade.[1] At age 13, Spector had decided he wanted to be a film critic, and by high school, his interests expanded to include cars and basketball.[1]
Spector and game designerGreg Costikyan were friends since high school.[6]
Spector attendedNorthwestern University in Illinois, still intending to become a film critic, stating that he "knew more about movies than a lot of my teachers".[1] Spector earned hisBS in Communications at Northwestern, and went on to earn hisMA in Radio-TV-Film at theUniversity of Texas at Austin in 1980.[1] His thesis was a critical history of Warner Bros. cartoons.[7]
All through college, Spector enjoyed gaming, and recalls that he "playedAvalon Hill games mainly, and a lot ofOGRE andG.E.V. games, andRivets fromMetagaming. It was all boardgames until I became friends with science-fiction writers who were intoD&D games, so I gave the game a try. I was hooked."[1] Spector taught several undergraduate classes at the University of Texas at Austin, on the history, theory, and criticism of film.[1]
In 1983, after a job at theHarry Ransom Center as an archivist in charge of theDavid O. Selznick collection ended after a few months, Spector recalls that he "was sitting around, wondering how I was going to pay the next month's rent, when I got a call from Chris Frink. He was a writer for a weekly entertainment magazine I used to edit in college. Anyway, he said that he was now editor ofSpace Gamer magazine and asked if I wanted a job. So, in the fall of 1983, I started as an editor."[1] Within a short time, Spector became the editor-in-chief for allSteve Jackson Games products, the company that owned and publishedSpace Gamer magazine. Spector began producingrole-playing games for the company, stating, "I supervised game development, typesetting, and the art and graphic departments."[1]Greg Costikyan developedToon (1984), based on an idea byJeff Dee; Costikyan only intended the game to be an article inFantasy Gamer magazine, but Spector liked the idea and expanded it into a complete role-playing system, publishing it as the first full role-playing game fromSteve Jackson Games.[8]: 104 Spector wrote the earlyParanoia game supplementSend in the Clones (1985) withAllen Varney.[8]: 189 Spector also worked on theGURPS role-playing game.[9] In March 1987 he was hired byTSR, initially working on games such asTop Secret/S.I. and theMarvel Super Heroes role-playing game.[1] He also worked onThe Bullwinkle and Rocky Party Roleplaying Game, and the second editionAD&D rules set, as well as board games, choose-your-own-adventure books, and novels.[9] Spector spent some time in TSR'sresearch and development department, helping launch, among other things,Spelljammer.[citation needed]
In 1989, Spector entered thevideo game industry and joinedOrigin, where he co-producedUltima VI andWing Commander and producedUltima Underworld andUltima Underworld II,Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle,System Shock,Wings of Glory,Bad Blood,Martian Dreams, and others.[9][10] He later became general manager ofLooking Glass Austin.[9] He worked briefly onDark Camelot, which later becameThief: The Dark Project.[citation needed] However, Spector left Looking Glass soon afterward, just beforeThief shipped, to pursue other interests.[11] According to Spector, his decision to dissolve the Austin branch was prompted by the company's ongoing financial struggles and the realization that "continued existence of the Austin Studio was going to jeopardise the existence of Looking Glass overall".[12]
In 1996, Spector was about to sign a contract with EA to do an unannounced project (which was revealed to be a "Command & Conquer Role-Playing Game") when he got a call fromJohn Romero to join him atIon Storm; Romero persuaded Spector by offering him the chance to make the game of his dreams with no creative interference and a big marketing budget.[12] Spector later agreed.[13] In 1997 he founded Ion Storm's Austin development studio, and his "dream project" later became the award-winning action/RPG calledDeus Ex.[9][10] As Ion Storm studio director, he oversaw development ofDeus Ex: Invisible War (2003) andThief: Deadly Shadows (2004).[9] In 2004, Spector left Ion Storm to "pursue personal interests outside the company".[14] Ion Storm was closed by ownersEidos Interactive in February 2005.[15]
In 2005 he establishedJunction Point Studios.[19] Somewhere between the end of 2005 and mid-2007, Junction Point Studios and Spector worked ona third episode forHalf-Life 2; this was ultimately cancelled byValve.[20] In July 2007,Disney Interactive acquired Junction Point Studios.[21] His first project with Disney Interactive was a project involving Disney characters, titledEpic Mickey. The game is steampunk-themed and designed exclusively for theWii;[22] the game was released in 2010.[23]
Disney closed Junction Point Studios in January 2013, and Spector left the company.[24]
After leaving Disney Interactive, Spector worked with the University of Texas at Austin to build a new post-baccalaureate game development program – the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy. He worked with UT staff to create a curriculum and plan out courses and labs.[25]
In February 2016, Spector announced he had joinedOtherSide Entertainment, a studio formed byPaul Neurath in 2014 and includes several previous Looking Glass developers, as their Studio Director, after having been in an advisory role from its inception. He will be helping the studio with their current development ofSystem Shock 3 andUnderworld Ascendant, the spiritual successor toUltima Underworld which both Spector and Neurath worked on in the early 1990s.[4] Though Spector had completed only two-and-a-half years of a three-year commitment to the University of Texas, he jumped at the chance to work onSystem Shock when Neurath approached him with the offer. He also believed the opportunity would help garner good favor from players that had been disappointed by his choice to work onEpic Mickey, even though he states that game had still been based on his past design philosophy used in the development ofSystem Shock andDeus Ex.[26] OtherSide Entertainment announced in November 2022 that Spector is working on a multiplayer game with immersive sim elements entitledArgos: Riders on the Storm, based on an original intellectual property.[27][5]
Spector metCaroline Skelley in 1984 at a comic book store inAustin, Texas, where she was employed. After Skelley got a job atSteve Jackson Games, she and Spector began a relationship. They were married on April 11, 1987. The couple sometimes worked together, such as on game supplements for theMarvel Super Heroes role-playing game.[1] The two reside in Austin, Texas. Caroline is a fantasy writer.
| Year | Title | Role | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Ultima VI: The False Prophet | Producer/writer | Origin Systems |
| Wing Commander | Producer | ||
| Wing Commander: The Secret Missions | |||
| Bad Blood | |||
| 1991 | Ultima: Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams | ||
| 1992 | Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss | ||
| 1993 | Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds | ||
| Ultima VII, Part Two: Serpent Isle | |||
| Ultima VII, Part Two: The Silver Seed | Origin Systems Electronic Arts | ||
| 1994 | Wing Commander: Privateer – Righteous Fire | Origin Systems | |
| System Shock | |||
| 1995 | Wings of Glory | Electronic Arts | |
| CyberMage: Darklight Awakening | |||
| Crusader: No Remorse | |||
| 2000 | Deus Ex | Director/Producer | Eidos Interactive |
| 2003 | Deus Ex: Invisible War | Studio Director | |
| 2004 | Thief: Deadly Shadows | Studio Director | |
| 2010 | Epic Mickey | Creative Director | Disney Interactive Studios |
| 2012 | Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two | VP | |
| 2018 | Underworld Ascendant | Creative consultant | 505 Games |
| TBA | System Shock 3 | TBA | TBA |
| Argos: Riders on the Storm | |||
| Thick as Thieves[28] | Megabit Publishing[29] |
On 2016, Spector won the Honorific Award at theFun & Serious Game Festival.[32]
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