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47-457: Warren Evan Spector (born October 2, 1955) is an American role-playing and video game designer , director, writer, producer and production designer. He is known for creating immersive sim games, which give players a wide variety of choices in how to progress. 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 game Deus Ex that embodies

94-513: A game master (GM) decides on the game system and setting to be used, while acting as a facilitator or referee. Each of the other players takes on the role of a single character in the fiction. Several varieties of RPG also exist in electronic media, such as multiplayer text-based Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs) and their graphics-based successors, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Role-playing games also include single-player role-playing video games in which players control

141-459: A GM describes the game world and its inhabitants. The other players describe the intended actions of their characters, and the GM describes the outcomes. Some outcomes are determined by the game system, and some are chosen by the GM. This is the format in which role-playing games were first popularized. In contrast, many indie role-playing games experiment with different structures of play, such as sharing

188-517: A GM role through a visual interface called a GM toolkit , albeit with abilities limited by the available technology. Another standard concept in RPGs is the player character, a character in the fictional world of the game whose actions the player controls. Typically each player controls a separate player character, sometimes more, each of whom acts as a protagonist in the story. In contrast to player characters, non-player characters (NPCs) are controlled by

235-453: A character, or team of characters, who undertake(s) quests. Role-playing video games may include player capabilities that advance over time using statistical mechanics. These electronic games sometimes share settings and rules with tabletop RPGs, but emphasize character advancement more than collaborative storytelling. Some RPG-related game forms, such as trading/collectible card games (CCGs) and wargames , may or may not be included under

282-605: A document possibly affecting 9-1-1 systems onto Steve Jackson Games's public bulletin board system and/or another board known as Phoenix which he also administered; and, furthermore, that GURPS Cyberpunk would help others commit computer crimes. During their investigation, the Secret Service also read (and deleted) private emails on one of the computers. Though the materials were later returned in June, Steve Jackson Games filed suit in federal court, winning at trial. The raid led to

329-411: 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 of Space Gamer magazine and asked if I wanted a job. So, in the fall of 1983, I started as an editor." Within a short time, Spector became

376-411: A form of interactive and collaborative storytelling . Events, characters, and narrative structure give a sense of a narrative experience, and the game need not have a strongly-defined storyline. Interactivity is the crucial difference between role-playing games and traditional fiction. Whereas a viewer of a television show is a passive observer, a player in a role-playing game makes choices that affect

423-462: A game that has "classic Hollywood cartoons" featuring "cartoon mice, cats and wabbits". On July 13, 2007, it was announced that Disney Interactive had acquired Junction Point Studios. His first project with Disney Interactive was a project involving Disney characters, titled Epic Mickey . The game is steampunk-themed and designed exclusively for the Wii ; the game was released in 2010. In January 2013, it

470-556: A loosely defined genre of computer and console games with origins in role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons , on which they base much of their terminology, settings, and game mechanics. This translation changes the experience of the game, providing a visual representation of the world but emphasizing statistical character development over collaborative, interactive storytelling. Online text-based role-playing games involve many players using some type of text-based interface and an Internet connection to play an RPG. Games played in

517-583: A lot of my teachers". Spector earned his BS in Communications at Northwestern, and went on to earn his MA in Radio-TV-Film at the University of Texas at Austin in 1980. His thesis was a critical history of Warner Bros. cartoons. All through college, Spector enjoyed gaming, and recalls that he "played Avalon Hill games mainly, and a lot of OGRE and G.E.V. games, and Rivets from Metagaming . It

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564-601: A narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making regarding character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines . There are several forms of role-playing games. The original form, sometimes called the tabletop role-playing game (TRPG or TTRPG), is conducted through discussion, whereas in live action role-playing (LARP), players physically perform their characters' actions. Both forms feature collaborative storytelling . In both TTRPGs and LARPs, often an arranger called

611-411: A real-time way include MUDs , MUSHes , and other varieties of MU* . Games played in a turn-based fashion include play-by-mail games and play-by-post games . Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) combine the large-scale social interaction and persistent world of MUDs with graphic interfaces. Most MMORPGs do not actively promote in-character role-playing, however, players can use

658-745: A role-playing game will generate specific characters and an ongoing plot. A consistent system of rules and a more or less realistic campaign setting in games aids suspension of disbelief . The level of realism in games ranges from just enough internal consistency to set up a believable story or credible challenge up to full-blown simulations of real-world processes. Tabletop role-playing games may also be used in therapy settings to help individuals develop behavioral, social, and even language skills. Beneficiaries commonly include young people with neurodevelopmental conditions, such as Autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit hyperactive disorder ( ADHD ), and dyslexia . Role-playing games are played in

705-463: A small boy, to an interest in law by the sixth grade. 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. Spector and game designer Greg Costikyan were friends since high school. Spector attended Northwestern University in Illinois, still intending to become a film critic, stating that he "knew more about movies than

752-462: A studio formed by Paul 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 of System Shock 3 and Underworld Ascendant , the spiritual successor to Ultima Underworld which both Spector and Neurath worked on in the early 1990s. Though Spector had completed only two-and-a-half years of

799-595: A three-year commitment to the University of Texas, he jumped at the chance to work on System 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 on Epic Mickey , even though he states that game had still been based on his past design philosophy used in the development of System Shock and Deus Ex . OtherSide Entertainment announced in November 2022 that Spector

846-482: A wide variety of formats, ranging from discussing character interaction in tabletop form, physically acting out characters in LARP to playing characters virtually in digital media. There is also a great variety of systems of rules and game settings . Games that emphasize plot and character interaction over game mechanics and combat sometimes prefer the name storytelling game . These types of games tend to reduce or eliminate

893-517: Is employed by OtherSide Entertainment , where he was part of the development team for the stalled System Shock 3 . He is currently working on a new immersive sim based on an original intellectual property. Spector grew up in Manhattan , which he described as a sometimes hostile environment where "short, pudgy, Jewish kids didn't fare well". He showed an intense devotion to whatever topic became his focus at any given time, from dinosaurs and airplanes as

940-497: Is the Munchkin card game, followed by the role-playing system GURPS . Gaming magazines produced by Steve Jackson Games have included: In Uplink , a 2001 computer hacking simulation game by British software company Introversion Software , there is a company named Steve Jackson Games. While this company may occasionally offer hacking contracts to the player, its main feature is a Public Access Server which, if accessed, displays

987-409: Is the role of a gamemaster, a participant who has special duties to present the fictional setting, arbitrate the results of character actions, and maintain the narrative flow. In tabletop and live-action RPGs the GM performs these duties in person. In video RPGs, many of the functions of a GM are fulfilled by the game engine . However, some multi-player video RPGs also allow for a participant to take on

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1034-497: Is working on a multiplayer game with immersive sim elements entitled Argos: Riders on the Storm. Spector met Caroline Skelley in 1984 at a comic book store in Austin, Texas , where she was employed. After Skelley got a job at Steve 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

1081-672: The Marvel Super Heroes role-playing game. The two reside in Austin, Texas. Caroline is a fantasy writer. On 2016, Spector won the Honorific Award at the Fun & Serious Game Festival . Role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game , or abbreviated as RPG ) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting . Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within

1128-465: The retronyms tabletop role-playing game or pen and paper role-playing game are sometimes used, though neither a table nor pen and paper are strictly necessary. A LARP is played more like improvisational theatre . Participants act out their characters' actions instead of describing them, and the real environment is used to represent the imaginary setting of the game world. Players are often costumed as their characters and use appropriate props, and

1175-528: 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". 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 from John Romero to join him at Ion Storm ; Romero persuaded Spector by offering him

1222-582: The book Principia Discordia , the sacred text of the Discordian religion. On March 1, 1990, the Secret Service raided the offices of Steve Jackson Games, seizing three computers, two laser printers, dozens of floppy disks, and the master copy of GURPS Cyberpunk ; a genre toolkit for cyberpunk games, written by Loyd Blankenship , an employee at the time. The Secret Service believed that Blankenship had illegally accessed Bell South systems, and uploaded

1269-463: The chance to make the game of his dreams with no creative interference and a big marketing budget. Spector later agreed. In 1997 he founded Ion Storm's Austin development studio, and his "dream project" later became the award-winning action/RPG called Deus Ex . As Ion Storm studio director, he oversaw development of Deus Ex: Invisible War (2003) and Thief: Deadly Shadows (2004). In 2004, Spector left Ion Storm to "pursue personal interests outside

1316-416: The choice and consequence philosophy while combining elements of the first-person shooter , role-playing , and adventure game genres . In addition to Deus Ex, Spector is known for his work while employed by Looking Glass Studios , where he was involved in the creation of several acclaimed titles including Ultima Underworld , Ultima Underworld II , System Shock , and Thief: The Dark Project . He

1363-458: The company". Ion Storm was closed by owners Eidos Interactive in February 2005. In 2005, it was announced that he had established a new studio Junction Point Studios . Somewhere between the end of 2005 and mid-2007, Junction Point Studios and Warren worked on an additional Episode for Half-Life 2 that was ultimately cancelled by Valve . A job advertisement for the studio called for artists for

1410-436: The definition of role-playing games. Although some amount of role-playing activity may be present in such games, it is not the primary focus. The term role-playing game is also sometimes used to describe other games involving roleplay simulation , such as exercises used in teaching, training, academic research, or therepeutic settings. Both authors and major publishers of tabletop role-playing games consider them to be

1457-503: The editor-in-chief for all Steve Jackson Games products, the company that owned and published Space Gamer magazine. Spector began producing role-playing games for the company, stating, "I supervised game development, typesetting, and the art and graphic departments." Greg Costikyan developed Toon (1984), based on an idea by Jeff Dee ; Costikyan only intended the game to be an article in Fantasy Gamer magazine, but Spector liked

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1504-660: The following information: Steve Jackson Games Public Access Server This computer system has been seized by the United States Secret Service in the interests of National Security. This jokingly refers to the 1990 raid by the US Secret Service . As noted in the Ultimate Uplink Guide, this was "put into the game because of the Secret Service Raid on the company, for supposedly making

1551-616: The formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation , which was founded in July 1990. In April–May 2012, Steve Jackson Games ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for a new "Designer's Edition" of Ogre . The final game was planned to weigh 14 pounds or more, partly because the high level of extra funding achieved in the Kickstarter enabled significant game additions. Steve Jackson Games' main product line, in terms of sales,

1598-593: The gamemaster or game engine, or by people assisting the gamemaster. Non-player characters fill out the population of the fictional setting and can act as antagonists, bystanders, or allies of the player characters. [REDACTED] Media related to Role-playing games at Wikimedia Commons Steve Jackson Games Founded in 1980, six years after the creation of Dungeons & Dragons , SJ Games created several role-playing and strategy games with science fiction themes . SJ Games' early titles were microgames initially sold in 4×7 inch ziploc bags, and later in

1645-520: The games' communication functions to role-play so long as other players cooperate. The majority of players in MMORPGs do not engage in role-playing in this sense. Computer-assisted gaming can be used to add elements of computer gaming to in-person tabletop role-playing, where computers are used for record-keeping and sometimes to resolve combat, while the participants generally make decisions concerning character interaction. One common feature of many RPGs

1692-612: The idea and expanded it into a complete role-playing system, publishing it as the first full role-playing game from Steve Jackson Games . Spector wrote the early Paranoia game supplement Send in the Clones (1985) with Allen Varney . Spector also worked on the GURPS role-playing game. In March 1987 he was hired by TSR , initially working on games such as Top Secret/S.I. and the Marvel Super Heroes role-playing game. He also worked on The Bullwinkle and Rocky Party Roleplaying Game , and

1739-498: The late 1990s due to competition from online MMO RPGs, role-playing video games , and collectible card games. However, TTRPGs experienced a resurgence in popularity between the mid-2010s and early 2020s due to actual play web series and online play through videoconferencing during the COVID-19 lockdowns . The tabletop format is often referred to simply as a role-playing game . To distinguish this form of RPG from other formats,

1786-438: The number of players in a LARP is usually larger than in a tabletop role-playing game, and the players may be interacting in separate physical spaces, there is typically less of an emphasis on tightly maintaining a narrative or directly entertaining the players, and game sessions are often managed in a more distributed manner. Tabletop role-playing games have been translated into a variety of electronic formats. As early as 1974,

1833-460: The responsibility for creating setting details and NPCs among all players. The first commercially available RPG, Dungeons & Dragons ( D&D ), was inspired by fantasy literature and the wargaming hobby and was published in 1974. The popularity of D&D led to the birth of the tabletop role-playing game industry, which publishes games with many different themes, rules, and styles of play. The popularity of tabletop games decreased in

1880-517: The same year as the release of Dungeons & Dragons, unlicensed versions of it were developed on mainframe university systems under titles such as dnd and Dungeon . These early computer RPGs influenced all of electronic gaming, as well as spawning the role-playing video game genre. Some authors divide digital role-playing games into two intertwined groups: single-player games using RPG-style mechanics, and multiplayer games incorporating social interaction. Single-player role-playing video games form

1927-900: The second edition AD&D rules set, as well as board games, choose-your-own-adventure books, and novels. Spector spent some time in TSR's research and development department, helping launch, among other things, Spelljammer . In 1989, Spector entered the video game industry and joined Origin , where he co-produced Ultima VI and Wing Commander and produced Ultima Underworld and Ultima Underworld II , Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle , System Shock , Wings of Glory , Bad Blood , Martian Dreams , and others. He later became general manager of Looking Glass Austin . He worked briefly on Dark Camelot , which later became Thief: The Dark Project . However, Spector left Looking Glass soon afterward, just before Thief shipped, to pursue other interests. According to Spector, his decision to dissolve

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1974-462: The similarly sized Pocket Box . Games such as Ogre , Car Wars , Illuminati , and G.E.V (an Ogre spin-off) were popular during SJ Games' early years. Game designers such as Loren Wiseman and Jonathan Leistiko have worked for Steve Jackson Games. Today SJ Games publishes a variety of games, such as card games , board games , strategy games , and in different genres, such as fantasy , sci-fi , and gothic horror . They also published

2021-408: The story. Such role-playing games extend an older tradition of storytelling games where a small party of friends collaborate to create a story. While simple forms of role-playing exist in traditional children's games of make believe , role-playing games add a level of sophistication and persistence to this basic idea with additions such as game facilitators and rules of interaction. Participants in

2068-420: The use of dice and other randomizing elements. Some games are played with characters created before the game by the GM, rather than those created by the players. This type of game is typically played at gaming conventions , or in standalone games that do not form part of a campaign. Tabletop (TTRPG) and pen-and-paper (PnP) RPGs are conducted through discussion in a small social gathering. In traditional TTRPGs,

2115-423: The venue may be decorated to resemble the fictional setting. Some live-action role-playing games use rock paper scissors or comparison of attributes to resolve conflicts symbolically, while other LARPs use physical combat with simulated arms such as airsoft guns or foam weapons . LARPs vary in size from a handful of players to several thousand, and in duration from a couple of hours to several days. Because

2162-510: Was all boardgames until I became friends with science-fiction writers who were into D&D games, so I gave the game a try. I was hooked." Spector taught several undergraduate classes at the University of Texas at Austin, on the history, theory, and criticism of film. In 1983, after a job at the Harry Ransom Center as an archivist in charge of the David O. Selznick collection ended after

2209-528: Was announced that Warren Spector had left Disney Interactive following the closure of Junction Point Studios . 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. In February 2016, Spector announced he had joined OtherSide Entertainment ,

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