Paul Furio
Encyclopedia
Paul Joseph Furio is a veteran of the game development
industry and a former musician
. As a musician, he was the founder and creative force behind the band Static Engine, as well as the keyboardist for the band SMP
. In the video game development industry, he has produced games for the Xbox
, PC
, and downloadable web platforms.
Furio holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
. His minor was in Electronic
Arts
, with a tertiary concentration in Psychology
.
. He resides in Seattle
, Washington with his wife Mary.
, where he participated in several musicals, eventually playing the role of Tevye
in Fiddler on the Roof
. Inspired by bands such as Depeche Mode
and Nine Inch Nails
, Furio formed his own industrial rock
band, Static Engine, in 1994. He released several CDs, two professionally through the Seattle label ADSR Musicwerks, before going on musical hiatus. From 2001 through 2003, he was also the keyboardist and studio tech for the Seattle band SMP
, and went on to direct the first music video
for SMP in 2005. Furio's current music involvement is limited to studio engineering for the band SD6, and sporadic collaboration with other Seattle area electronic musicians.
Furio also co-founded (with Assemblage 23
frontman Tom Shear
) a short-lived contract video game audio production company named "Seattle Sound Solutions". This company created music and sound effects for three casual games, including Pizza Frenzy
, before shutting down.
. After graduation from Rensselaer, he spent over three years in the control systems industry, at a Massachusetts
company named Owl Control Systems, followed by a year at a small financial company named ITS Associates.
In 1999, he moved to Washington to enter the video game industry, applying his client/server experience to become a multiplayer/networking developer at Cavedog Entertainment
. From Cavedog, he spent time at several area game studios, finally settling in at Microsoft in 2004, first as a contractor, then as a full time employee from 2005 to 2009. He led the engineering team at the Playdom Seattle studio, from December 2009. After spending nearly a year as Technical Director at Novel, Inc.
, Furio now works at Amazon.com
.
Furio has designed and developed code for several video game titles, including:
Furio maintains a passion for Interactive fiction
, having authored two publicly released works, Splashdown (8th place winner of the 2004 Interactive Fiction Competition) and Artifice.
Furio was also a coworker of Wes Cumberland at the Seattle game development studio Escape Factory.
Game development
Game development is the software development process by which a video game is developed. Development is undertaken by a game developer, which may range from a single person to a large business. Mainstream games are normally funded by a publisher and take several years to develop. Indie games can...
industry and a former musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. As a musician, he was the founder and creative force behind the band Static Engine, as well as the keyboardist for the band SMP
Sounds of Mass Production
Sounds of Mass Production is a cyberpunk/rap/nu metal/Industrial music band from Seattle, WA . The band name is often referred to by the acronym SMP...
. In the video game development industry, he has produced games for the Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, and downloadable web platforms.
Furio holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
. His minor was in Electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
Arts
The arts
The arts are a vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. It is a broader term than "art", which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts. The arts encompass visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts – music, theatre, dance and...
, with a tertiary concentration in Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
.
Recent
Furio is currently a Software Development Manager at Amazon.comAmazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
. He resides in Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Washington with his wife Mary.
Music career
Furio's interest in musical performance began in High SchoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, where he participated in several musicals, eventually playing the role of Tevye
Tevye
Tevye the Dairyman is the protagonist of several of Sholem Aleichem's stories, originally written in Yiddish and first published in 1894. The character became best known from the fictional memoir Tevye and his Daughters , about a pious Jewish milkman in Tsarist Russia, and the troubles he has with...
in Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
. Inspired by bands such as Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
and Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, Furio formed his own industrial rock
Industrial rock
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...
band, Static Engine, in 1994. He released several CDs, two professionally through the Seattle label ADSR Musicwerks, before going on musical hiatus. From 2001 through 2003, he was also the keyboardist and studio tech for the Seattle band SMP
Sounds of Mass Production
Sounds of Mass Production is a cyberpunk/rap/nu metal/Industrial music band from Seattle, WA . The band name is often referred to by the acronym SMP...
, and went on to direct the first music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for SMP in 2005. Furio's current music involvement is limited to studio engineering for the band SD6, and sporadic collaboration with other Seattle area electronic musicians.
Furio also co-founded (with Assemblage 23
Assemblage 23
Assemblage 23 is an electronic act from the United States, currently based in Seattle. It was founded in 1988 by Tom Shear who writes the music and lyrics and does the recording himself.-1980s–1990s :...
frontman Tom Shear
Tom Shear
Tom Shear is an American musician and music producer, and is the sole member of the electronic act Assemblage 23.He was born on November 12, 1971 in State College, Pennsylvania, where he lived until he was about age six. After that, he lived in New Jersey for two years and then in New Hampshire for...
) a short-lived contract video game audio production company named "Seattle Sound Solutions". This company created music and sound effects for three casual games, including Pizza Frenzy
Pizza Frenzy
Pizza Frenzy is an arcade-style pizza delivery game written by Sprout Games and published by PopCap Games. A trial Windows version of the game can be downloaded and played for an hour, with full capabilities unlockable for a fee.- Gameplay :...
, before shutting down.
Software Development Career
Furio began his software development career as an intern at ReutersReuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
. After graduation from Rensselaer, he spent over three years in the control systems industry, at a Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
company named Owl Control Systems, followed by a year at a small financial company named ITS Associates.
In 1999, he moved to Washington to enter the video game industry, applying his client/server experience to become a multiplayer/networking developer at Cavedog Entertainment
Cavedog Entertainment
Cavedog Entertainment, or Cavedog, was a video game developer based in Bothell, Washington. Cavedog gained the attention of gamers and the gaming press alike with the 1997 release of Total Annihilation , winning many accolades such as multiple Game of the Year honors or being one of The Greatest...
. From Cavedog, he spent time at several area game studios, finally settling in at Microsoft in 2004, first as a contractor, then as a full time employee from 2005 to 2009. He led the engineering team at the Playdom Seattle studio, from December 2009. After spending nearly a year as Technical Director at Novel, Inc.
Novel, Inc.
Novel, Inc. is a video game studio and enterprise simulation developer, based in Kirkland, Washington, United States. Novel is known for being both a traditional video game developer and bridging the gaming and business world with enterprise simulations....
, Furio now works at Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
.
Furio has designed and developed code for several video game titles, including:
- Social City, on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- XBox LiveXbox LiveXbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
1 vs 100 - MSN GamesMSN GamesMSN Games is an online games site devoted primarily to casual games, both stand-alone and multi-player online games. Games are available in free on-line versions, trial versions, and full feature pay-to-play versions...
Flowerz - MSN GamesMSN GamesMSN Games is an online games site devoted primarily to casual games, both stand-alone and multi-player online games. Games are available in free on-line versions, trial versions, and full feature pay-to-play versions...
Hop-It! - MSN GamesMSN GamesMSN Games is an online games site devoted primarily to casual games, both stand-alone and multi-player online games. Games are available in free on-line versions, trial versions, and full feature pay-to-play versions...
Bicycle Texas Hold'Em PokerPokerPoker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker... - Forza MotorsportForza MotorsportForza Motorsport's received rave reviews from such media outlets as 1UP.com, IGN, Eurogamer and more.The game was also featured in the June 2004 issue of Popular Science.- External links :*...
- Shadow Ops: Red MercuryShadow Ops: Red MercuryShadow Ops: Red Mercury is a 2004 video game that is available on the Xbox and Microsoft Windows platforms. It was released on the Xbox for the United States on June 15, 2004 and released on June 18, 2004 for parts of the world using the PAL system...
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's StoneHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in North America, is an Electronic Arts multi-platform action-adventure video game developed by KnowWonder, Warthog, Griptonite, Argonaut, Eurocom and Westlake Interactive...
- Hot Wheels Slot Racer
- Williams F1 Team - Team Driver
- Total Annihilation: KingdomsTotal Annihilation: KingdomsTotal Annihilation: Kingdoms or TA:K is a medieval fantasy real time strategy game created and released by Cavedog Entertainment on June 25, 1999...
Furio maintains a passion for Interactive fiction
Interactive fiction
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as video games. In common usage, the term refers to text...
, having authored two publicly released works, Splashdown (8th place winner of the 2004 Interactive Fiction Competition) and Artifice.
Furio was also a coworker of Wes Cumberland at the Seattle game development studio Escape Factory.