Mark Rein (software executive)
Encyclopedia
Mark Rein is vice president of Epic Games
, creators of the Unreal Engine
and the Unreal
game franchise.
Rein is known to often give assessments of the progress of his company and gives a monthly update in the magazine Game Developer where he provides a short update on the state of the Unreal Engine. He also resides in Cary
, North Carolina, though he was raised in Canada
. He frequently posts on the Gears of War official forum, and he is regarded as a Comrade of Awesome.
Rein first got involved in the video game industry when he got in touch with John Romero
, who at that time worked for id Software
. Since Rein was a fan of the previous Commander Keen
games, Romero got him to playtest the then under development Commander Keen 4. Rein was then brought in to handle the business side of id as its "probationary president". He then negotiated a deal with FormGen
to publish a retail Commander Keen game. This business relationship with id lasted until Spear of Destiny (which again, he negotiated as a retail version of Wolfenstein 3D
). He was later let go from id during the development of Wolfenstein 3D, after a difference of opinion with the rest of the staff. His involvement in id did mean that he was briefly mentioned in the book Masters of Doom
.
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...
, creators of the Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine
The Unreal Engine is a game engine developed by Epic Games, first illustrated in the 1998 first-person shooter game Unreal. Although primarily developed for first-person shooters, it has been successfully used in a variety of other genres, including stealth, MMORPGs and RPGs...
and the Unreal
Unreal
Unreal is a first-person shooter video game developed by Epic MegaGames and Digital Extremes and published by GT Interactive in May 1998...
game franchise.
Rein is known to often give assessments of the progress of his company and gives a monthly update in the magazine Game Developer where he provides a short update on the state of the Unreal Engine. He also resides in Cary
Cary, North Carolina
Cary is a large town and suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located almost entirely in Wake County, it is the second largest municipality in that county and the third largest municipality in The Triangle after Raleigh and Durham...
, North Carolina, though he was raised in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He frequently posts on the Gears of War official forum, and he is regarded as a Comrade of Awesome.
Rein first got involved in the video game industry when he got in touch with John Romero
John Romero
Alfonso John Romero is a game designer, programmer, and developer in the video game industry. He is best known as a co-founder of id Software and was a designer for many of their games, including Wolfenstein 3D, Dangerous Dave, Doom and Quake...
, who at that time worked for id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
. Since Rein was a fan of the previous Commander Keen
Commander Keen
Commander Keen is a series of video games developed by id Software in the early 1990s. The series focuses on the adventures of Billy Blaze, an 8-year old boy who travels through space and assumes the identity "Commander Keen". The series was successful at replicating the side-scrolling action of...
games, Romero got him to playtest the then under development Commander Keen 4. Rein was then brought in to handle the business side of id as its "probationary president". He then negotiated a deal with FormGen
FormGen
FormGen Corporation was a shareware and computer game company that was founded in 1987 by Randy MacLean and James Perkins. The company was later bought out by GT Interactive in 1996....
to publish a retail Commander Keen game. This business relationship with id lasted until Spear of Destiny (which again, he negotiated as a retail version of Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D is a video game that is generally regarded by critics and gaming journalists as having both popularized the first-person shooter genre on the PC and created the basic archetype upon which all subsequent games of the same genre would be built. It was created by id Software and...
). He was later let go from id during the development of Wolfenstein 3D, after a difference of opinion with the rest of the staff. His involvement in id did mean that he was briefly mentioned in the book Masters of Doom
Masters of Doom
Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture is a book by David Kushner about id Software and its influence on popular culture, focusing chiefly on John D. Carmack and John Romero.-Content:...
.