ORAL HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES

The Oral History of Video Games is a multi-year joint project of the IGDA Game Preservation SIG and the Interactive Media and Game Development program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute aimed at documenting the history of video games and the industry around them. Our goal is to interview inventors, developers and artists that were around at the birth of the industry. We want honest interviews with pioneers who can discuss how the industry got started.

Ralph Baer (2007)

The Father of Video Games, he is responsible for creating the industry.

Brian Moriarty (2008)

Infocom game developer and designer, eventually moved to LucasArts Entertainment Company.

Paul Neurath (2009)

Founder of Blue Sky Productions, known for producing games such as Ultima Underworld. Blue Sky Productions became Looking Glass Technologies, where Paul worked on Thief: The Dark Project.

Brian Sullivan (2009)

Designer at Ensemble Studios for Age of Empires. Co-Founded Iron Lore in 2001, where he is credited with games such as Titan Quest.

Mike Dornbrook (2010)

Created the Zork User Group and worked with Infocom as an author for The New Zork Times.

David Lebling (2011)

Infocom game developer, designer, and founding member, developed games such as Zork, Lurking Horror, and Suspect while at Infocom.

Gary Vincent (2011)

Curator of the American Classic Arcade Museum located in Laconia, New Hampshire.

Andrew Plotkin (2012)

IF game developer and creator of various utilities for the creation of IF games.

Stu Galley (2013)

Infocom game developer, founding member, secretary, and treasurer. He created the Witness, Seastalker, and Moonmist

Jennifer Lesser (2014)

Illustrator and 2D/3D character artist for Looking Glass, Harmonix, Hasbro, and more.

R.A. Salvatore (2014)

Author of many fantasy novels. Former writer at 38 Studios.

Jon Palace (2014)

Editor at Infocom. Acted as an early form of a game producer.

Brenda Romero (2015)

Influential speaker and designer for the Wizardry series and the board game series The Mechanic is the Message

John Romero (2015)

One of the fathers of the modern first-person shooter. Worked on Wolfenstein 3-D, Doom, and Quake.

Kent Quirk (2018)

Co-Founder of Boston Post Mortem and Founder of CogniToy Games

Nick Troy (2018)

QA Tester at Irrational Games for Bioshock Infinite and Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea

Lee Sheldon (2018)

Professional game writer and designer. Worked on Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Edge of Night, and Murder on the Orient Express.

Mike Breault (2021)

Professional narrative designer and writer. Worked on Red Faction Series, Pool of Radiance, and Elder Scrolls Online.