Career Jason D. Anderson

1 career

1.1 interplay entertainment (march 1994 – july 1997)
1.2 troika games (april 1998 – april 2005)
1.3 post-troika hiatus (2004 – 2007)
1.4 interplay entertainment (october 2007 – february 2009)
1.5 inxile entertainment (march 2009 – december 2010)
1.6 turtle rock studios (2011–present)

career
interplay entertainment (march 1994 – july 1997)

anderson got first contract working on uscf chess , subsequently offered full-time position @ interplay entertainment. first job clean-up artist on stonekeep, ship. in 1993 assigned gurps-related project being developed tim cain; yet named fallout. within short time, rose lead position , became key member of fallout team. role in making game started out supplying cain art test out graphics engine building. though anderson hired artist, allowed take on several roles in development process. attended design meetings , designed way art implemented fallout engine.

the small team size contributed diversity of tasks. anderson created large part of opening cinematic, modeled , animated around half of creatures, including female humans , mutants. built interface, created many of landscape tiles , wall sets. finally, did significant design work well, concerning story , quests. anderson’s wife contributed development of game, creating death screen , doing several animations (including two-headed brahmin , mr. handy) , in-game movies shown when water levels lowering, dipped in vats/turn mutant movie , exploding mutant vats movie . 1 of anderson’s fondest memory fallout s development coming ending game in conjunction leonard boyarsky. figured fit tone of game, including xenophobic nature of vault dwellers, if main character rejected former people. cain skeptical @ first, given unorthodox nature compared other rpgs empowering player , becoming hero. gave in idea.

fallout shipped in october 1997 , became commercial success, selling around 600,000 copies. therefore, interplay began initial design work sequel. however, initial team, notably cain, anderson , boyarsky, felt many design decisions being taken without consent such should work on project. anderson recalls disagreement interplay concerning next team members should be. owing fact fallout had received little attention internally interplay during development gave designers extensive freedom craft game way wanted to. however, began change in final months before shipped. cain says unhappy @ how development worked @ interplay while developing fallout. people neither played games nor games, making crucial decisions marketing game, features , shipping date. consequently, cain became increasingly discontent new working environment @ interplay. in july 1997, 3 months before fallout ship, had decided did not want work on sequel. before thanksgiving year, told feargus urquhart of plans of quitting company, afraid increased interference different units of interplay hamper creative freedom of working on game. cain ended working on fallout 2 few more months, , given role of lead designer , producer. boyarsky , anderson wrote main story line game. however, problems persisted. according cain, marketing , sales took counterproductive decisions pertaining inter alia game box design without consulting him. wish become division manager marketing department met resistance urquhart, saw infringement on own authority , responsibilities. cain recalls spending time arguing people , trying defend game devolving lesser product . boyarsky , anderson both unwilling work on sequel fallout without him.

screenshot boneyard: jda did many landscape tiles , wall sets in fallout

in mid-january 1998, cain decided leave interplay. anderson , boyarsky submitted resignation day after. having left interplay, cain, anderson , boyarsky met day after discuss next moves. none of them had approached other gaming company inquire job. originally, never planned make own company none of them businessmen knew enjoyed working together. in following weeks contacted local companies such blizzard entertainment , virgin interactive, more interested in hiring them work on ongoing projects, rather let them work on own idea. subsequently, figured game made if formed own company, switched tactics , began approaching companies contract , not employment . when troika games founded.

troika games (april 1998 – april 2005)

troika games incorporated on 1 april 1998 tim cain, jason anderson , leonard boyarsky, 3 having title of joint ceo . according anderson, each had unique specialty: cain being talented programmer, leonard talented artist while anderson created solutions merging art , programming . name ‘troika’ coined feargus urquhart, referring ability work , complement each other s skills. anderson described workplace @ troika having casual environment , working hours, frequent social activities such barbecues , trips movie theater. also, troika offered competitive remuneration packages including retirement plans.

fallout creators tim cain, leonard boyarsky , jason anderson

anderson carried out plethora of tasks @ troika. while doing considerable work on 2 of company’s 3 released titles (arcanum: of steamworks , magick obscura , vampire: masquerade – bloodlines), handled managerial tasks related running company. these included creating design documents future games, managing projects, interactions publishers , directing artists.

arcanum first game troika games. initial design of game conceived cain, anderson , boyarsky after leaving interplay. while reflecting on game make next, decided wanted turn @ making rpg set in fantasy setting. post-apocalyptic setting of fallout had been conscious design-choice distance fantasy-titles might , magic series , other games based on dungeons , dragons. however, did not want make ‘typical’ fantasy game set in 14th century, case games in genre. arcanum: of steamworks , magick obscura set in 18th century, imaging happen in world magic co-existed industrial revolution. indeed, desire mix magic , technology given start. drafted ideas how each race in world affected technology, boyarsky stating orcs used slaves of capitalist machinery . cain remembers ideas came swiftly, , happy outline of game. cain, anderson , boyarsky worked on initial design of arcanum 5 months until landed contract sierra entertainment, let them expand team 12 people.

because arcanum made modest sized team (later increased 14 people), anderson took on number of different responsibilities. these included art, movies, design, dialogue, scripting, music , sound effects. added came business-related tasks wrote business plans, managed budgeting, wrote proposals, pitched games publishers, co-negotiated contracts , created , maintained schedules. decision keep team small decision cost team many nights , weekends, remembers boyarsky. recalls company in near constant state of ‘crunch mode’ (working beyond normal 40-hour work week), , staff felt under pressure.

according boyarsky, troika s original goal had been work exclusively 1 publisher, kind of external rpg dev team. way, thought maintain staple flow of contracts. sierra entertainment first choice of publisher, kept team busy while unsure making arcanum sequel. when sierra faced economic problems, partnership troika cut short.

having concluded dealings sierra entertainment, troika got contract atari work on temple of elemental evil in 2001. cain spearheaded project, released in 2003 favorable reviews.

anderson , boyarsky focus on game set in vampire: masquerade universe. boyarsky expressed desire build game in new setting, challenge . project began when boyarsky , anderson invited seattle see latest build of source engine. subsequently, had discussions scott lynch of valve corporation using source game engine create brand new, groundbreaking first-person rpg. troika first external team allowed using source engine. activision (who had founded partnership valve corporation), suggested them make game using vampire: masquerade setting, had license. troika began research world of darkness , vampire system before agreeing great fit.

anderson’s responsibilities on vampire: masquerade – bloodlines included game design, level design , creation, sound effects, , design , implementation of interface , artwork. liked game world compared last 2 games (fallout , arcanum)and happy able make game vampires. however, not familiar vampire: masquerade table-top games, , had research understand setting , translate video-game experience. anderson relied on player experiences colleagues , online forums, understand drew players game. first, learned main point liked vampire s focus on character interaction stats, items, , powers taking backseat. main elements players’ experiences changing intricacies of world , vampiric society. second, anderson had reproduce pen-and-paper experience satisfy fans of setting , give newcomers accurate introduction. generally, character attributes vampire implemented video-game format, while others (such ‘knowledge of law ) had left out. also, dice rolls , randomness removed not have fit in first-person setting. disciplines confusing , challenging implement. thus, deviation board game made streamline disciplines game. furthermore, anderson designed ‘haunted mansion’ level of game, famous being eerily atmospheric , well-paced. boyarsky recalls several people took turns trying make work, wasn’t until jason took on began shine .

the development of bloodlines challenging troika. first, compared relative freedom enjoyed during development of arcanum, vampire s design choices had more checks , balances both white wolf , activision wanted validate decisions. second, deteriorating working relationship activision , constant deadlines had damaged morale of development staff. cain recalls embargo being placed on game. in fact, troika not allowed work on several months before release date, activision kept gold version master until release date. patches , fixes troika worked on, not allowed included in game. included improvements made source engine such advancements in physics, modelling , facial animation bloodlines did not have. embargo hurt morale of team, had finished game not shipped, changed, or talked about. furthermore, activision wanted ship possible, resulting in many features being cut , forcing troika staff work long hours. anderson later stated vast majority of bloodline s development time spent in crunch-mode . while bloodlines received favorable reviews , praise rpg fans, numerous bug , imperfections flagrant. anderson reflected publishers not willing give troika team necessary time polish games, pulling unfinished product hands. furthermore, cain adds never imagined activision ship vampire on same day half-life 2. finds postponing launch day have given team time polish game using stable engine, avoiding direct competition popular half-life 2.

bloodlines released on 16 november 2004 , has become of cult classic among rpgs, still being updated day. nevertheless, initial sales figures weak, failing ensure financial stability company. continued present game ideas publishers, anderson’s favorite being dreadlands, [mmog] set in mythical mid 19th century eastern europe . worked on game set in post-apocalyptic setting reminiscent of fallout, engine demonstration released. however, troika faced difficulty finding new publisher deals, haunted track record of great ideas lackluster implementation. consequently, troika shut down business operations in 2005. reminiscent on fate of troika, anderson said troika s games considered b-titles, publishers shun away from. adds, unfortunately, although our games had depth , vision, never able release game had been thoroughly tested , rid of bugs .

leonard boyarsky has since joined obsidian entertainment on april 1, 2016, , working on unannounced rpg tim cain. made fans hope anderson might join company well, reuniting troika team. in interview rpgcodex september 2016, boyarsky said 3 still friends , meet several times per year. remains positive towards bringing team again, although have find new ways of working together, given differing experiences have had on years.

post-troika hiatus (2004 – 2007)

after troika shut down, anderson took vacation wife , family. decided needed break entertainment industry, in order spend more time together. 2004 had been difficult year, several family issues on top of demise of troika. anderson, skilled in many facts of construction, spent few months repairing house, remodeling kitchen , baths, removing sound room , replacing balcony. after selling house, settled down in phoenix, arizona , got active in real estate business. wife acquired real estate license , couple bought old house, anderson spent around 3 months fixing. anderson home-schooled daughters during period.

while contemplating return game industry, anderson contemplated working @ new studios of former troika partners (boyarsky , cain subsequently found jobs @ blizzard entertainment , carbine studios, respectively). however, anderson did not along boyarsky’s project leader @ blizzard, , never got around applying @ carbine. moreover, reflects on 7 years spend boyarsky , cain closely...related marriage , coupled stressful publisher relations, frequent deadlines , constant fear studio have close doors. when guys forced doing so, started seeing either other less frequently. however, anderson work them again someday .

spending time away game development allowed anderson reflect on aspects liked , did not career game designer. also, had opportunity enjoy playing games, regaining enthusiasm had upon first entering industry.

interplay entertainment (october 2007 – february 2009)

in november 2007, announced interplay entertainment had resumed development activities , hired anderson lead first project . anderson worked on project v13 fellow fallout creator chris taylor. although never officially stated, project worked on believed fallout-related mmo. interplay retained rights such title after selling fallout rights bethesda softworks. however, bethesda later disputed right in legal case, further stalled development. anderson had been in talks hervé caen (brian fargo s successor after titus software s acquisition of interplay entertainment in 2001) project year, , felt 1 of few projects entice him video-game industry. creative director, anderson responsible putting team , overseeing progress on game. nevertheless, although enjoyed working on project, anderson later decided leave interplay accept offer inxile entertainment presented him more stable opportunity .

inxile entertainment (march 2009 – december 2010)

anderson hired creative director @ inxile entertainment. role design work , elaborate story wasteland 2. before funding project via kickstarter, brian fargo attempted generate publisher interest , secure backing having anderson (fallout lead designer), mike stackpole (lead designer on first wasteland) , guy helped produce them both on heels of massive success fallout 3. fargo surprised @ how little publisher interest there was. subsequently, anderson left company before wasteland 2 launched on kickstarter. however, fargo has stated anderson’s work doing time inxile kept . kickstarter campaign directly mentions anderson’s work on storyline, retained final game.

turtle rock studios (2011–present)

anderson subsequently joined turtle rock studios in 2011. shipped successful first-person shooter evolve in 2015. anderson’s exact role in project unknown, although credited level design on company’s forum. has stated there no titles @ company, equal.