- Bruce Shelley
Bruce Campbell Shelley is a
computer game designer who helped design "Sid Meier's Civilization " and "Railroad Tycoon " withMicroProse and the 1997 hitreal-time strategy game "Age of Empires " withEnsemble Studios . He now serves in an advisor role at Ensemble and recently stepped down from the board of directors of theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences .Biography
Bruce Shelley was born in
Michigan , U.S. and grew up in Baltimore. He attendedSyracuse University and theState University of New York 's College of Forestry, earning a degree inforest biology . Shelley continued his education at theUniversity of Virginia . He had developed a fondness for strategyboard game s in school, playing "Risk" and "Stratego ".The first time he thought of making games for a living came in the 1970s, but he had a difficult time finding a job. In 1980, he and several of his Univ. of Virginia friends formed a
role-playing game company calledIron Crown Enterprises and acquired the license to make games based on "The Lord of the Rings ". It was his first job in the games industry. "Strategy & Tactics Magazine" became his first publisher in the early 1980s by printing a game he helped design that was based on theAmerican Civil War . He worked for Strategic Publication Inc (SPI) briefly in 1981.Shelley then worked for
Avalon Hill designing wargames andboard game s. He contributed to "1830", "Titan", and others. He later credited board game design with teaching him the value of prototyping and "designing by playing". Shelley left board games forcomputer game s after being impressed by "Sid Meier's Pirates! ", created by local developer MicroProse.At MicroProse, he was Sid Meier's assistant designer for "
Railroad Tycoon " (1990), "Covert Action" (1990), and "Civilization" (1991). Meier taught Shelley to think about game design more scientifically, that there are fundamental ideas that can carry over from game to game, and also confirmed his beliefs in prototyping and designing by playing. Shelley left MicroProse after five years with the company and became a freelance writer, having five strategy guides published.In February 1995, he joined an old friend named
Tony Goodman who had just started Ensemble Studios inDallas, Texas . As a designer, he helped create the successful "Age of Empires " (1997)real-time strategy game. He also worked on the game'sexpansion pack s and sequels, which went on to sell over 20 million copies by September of 2008. Shelley's role in Ensemble's games after the original "Age of Empires" was more advisory than hands-on."
PC Gamer " magazine named Shelley one of the 25 "Game Gods" in 1999 andGameSpy called him the 8th most influential person in gaming in 2002. Between 2000 and 2006 he served on the board of directors of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.As of 2005 he is a spokesman and part of Ensemble's management. He shares design ideas and research, but lives away from the company.References
* Carless, Simon. [http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20031126/carless_01.shtml "Interview: Bruce Shelley - The Mythology Of Empires"] . [http://www.gamasutra.com/ Gamasutra] . November 26, 2003. Free registration required.
* [http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/march02/top30/127/index3.shtm "30 Most Influential People in Gaming: #8. Bruce Shelley, Ensemble Studios"] . [http://www.gamespy.com/ GameSpy] . March 2002.External links
* [http://www.ensemblestudios.com/ourteam/shelley.shtml Ensemble's profile of Bruce Shelley]
* [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId=13585/ Bruce Shelley's rap sheet at MobyGames]
* [http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/mag.dyn/Features/1484.html Gameplanet: "Bruce Shelley Interview"]
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