Erik Wolpaw
Encyclopedia
Erik Wolpaw is an American videogame writer. Erik along with Chet Faliszek
were the two writers behind the now-defunct Old Man Murray
video game commentary web site. As of 2011, he works for Valve Software in Seattle. The Old Man Murray
web site had a huge influence on gaming writing and gaming journalism and has been referenced in many computer games.
As a high-school student Wolpaw wrote two type-in program
games for the Atari 8-bit family
that Antic
published in 1983 and 1984. He wrote dialogue for Portal, which is set in the same universe as Valve's Half-Life
, released in late 2007 together with Half-Life 2: Episode Two
and Team Fortress 2
. He was also part of the team that wrote Portal 2, together with Chet Faliszek
and Jay Pinkerton
. In 2006, Wolpaw won the Game Developers Choice Award
for Best Writing for his story and dialogue contributions to Psychonauts
while working for Double Fine Productions
.
Chet Faliszek
Chet Faliszek is an American videogame writer and one of the main writers for the Valve Corporation, along with Erik Wolpaw and Marc Laidlaw. He has worked together with his co-writers in order to create the storylines for the Half-Life and Portal series, along with having personally written the...
were the two writers behind the now-defunct Old Man Murray
Old Man Murray
Old Man Murray was a UGO Networks computer game commentary and reviews site, known for its highly irreverent and satiric tone. It was written and edited by Chet Faliszek and Erik Wolpaw. Old Man Murray was critical of games that received strong reviews elsewhere, most notably the King's Quest...
video game commentary web site. As of 2011, he works for Valve Software in Seattle. The Old Man Murray
Old Man Murray
Old Man Murray was a UGO Networks computer game commentary and reviews site, known for its highly irreverent and satiric tone. It was written and edited by Chet Faliszek and Erik Wolpaw. Old Man Murray was critical of games that received strong reviews elsewhere, most notably the King's Quest...
web site had a huge influence on gaming writing and gaming journalism and has been referenced in many computer games.
As a high-school student Wolpaw wrote two type-in program
Type-in program
A type-in program, or just type-in, is a computer program listing printed in a computer magazine or book, meant to be typed in by the reader in order to run the program on a computer....
games for the Atari 8-bit family
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
that Antic
ANTIC (magazine)
Antic was the name of a home computer magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit computer line . Its ISSN is 0113-1141. It took its name from the ANTIC chip, which produced the Atari line's graphics. The first issue was published in April 1982. While it began as a bimonthly magazine, within a year it had...
published in 1983 and 1984. He wrote dialogue for Portal, which is set in the same universe as Valve's Half-Life
Half-Life (series)
The Half-Life series of video games share a science fiction alternate history. Nearly all of the games are first-person shooters on the GoldSource or Source engines, and most are linear, narrative, single-player titles....
, released in late 2007 together with Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Half-Life 2: Episode Two is the second episode in a series of sequels to the 2004 first-person shooter video game Half-Life 2. It was developed by Valve Corporation in tandem with Episode One, the first game in the series, and released in Q4 2007 via Valve's Steam content distribution platform...
and Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to the original mod Team Fortress based on the Quake engine, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on October 10, 2007 for Windows...
. He was also part of the team that wrote Portal 2, together with Chet Faliszek
Chet Faliszek
Chet Faliszek is an American videogame writer and one of the main writers for the Valve Corporation, along with Erik Wolpaw and Marc Laidlaw. He has worked together with his co-writers in order to create the storylines for the Half-Life and Portal series, along with having personally written the...
and Jay Pinkerton
Jay Pinkerton
Jay Pinkerton is a nationally published humorist and a former editor of both CRACKED.com and Cracked magazine.Prior to joining Cracked, Pinkerton served as the managing editor of NationalLampoon.com, the website of the national comedy and film brand...
. In 2006, Wolpaw won the Game Developers Choice Award
Game Developers Choice Awards
The Game Developers Choice Awards are annually presented by the Game Developers Conference for outstanding game developers and games.Introduced in 2001, the Game Developers Choice Awards were preceded by the Spotlight Awards, which were presented from 1997 to 1999.The 2009 award presentation was...
for Best Writing for his story and dialogue contributions to Psychonauts
Psychonauts
Psychonauts is a platform video game created by Tim Schafer, developed by Double Fine Productions and published by Majesco. The game was released on April 19, 2005, for the Xbox, April 26 for Microsoft Windows and June 21 for PlayStation 2. It was released on Steam on Oct 11, 2006, as an "Xbox...
while working for Double Fine Productions
Double Fine Productions
Double Fine Productions is an American video game developer founded in July 2000 by Tim Schafer after his departure from LucasArts. He started Double Fine with Programmers David Dixon and Jonathan Menzies in what was once a clog shop in San Francisco...
.
External links
- The Armchair Empire - Interview with Erik Wolpaw, from June 20, 2001
- Erik Wolpaw on Mobygames
- Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Interview with Erik Wolpaw, from October 31, 2007
- NYU Game Center Lecture, on Portal 2, from May 10, 2011