Richard Rouse III
Encyclopedia
Richard Rouse III is an American
video game designer and writer best known as the designer of The Suffering games and the author of Game Design: Theory & Practice
.
magazines like Inside Mac Games and Mac Games Digest while attending the University of Chicago
. This eventually led to the creation of his own company, Paranoid Productions, which produced two Macintosh games, the story-centric fantasy RPG Odyssey: The Legend of Nemesis and the military first-person shooter and strategy hybrid Damage Incorporated
. Both were based on games by Bungie Software (Minotaur
and Marathon 2
, respectively), whose founders were university friends of his. Rouse went on to work at Leaping Lizard Software where he was lead designer on the 1998 3D remake of Centipede
.
From there he moved to Surreal Software
where he worked on a canceled western game called Gunslinger and subsequently contributed to Drakan: The Ancients' Gates
. After that he was lead designer and writer on the action horror game The Suffering
and creative director and writer on its sequel, The Suffering: Ties That Bind
.
Currently he is the Director of Game Design at Midway
. Rouse has written about game design, most notably in his book Game Design: Theory & Practice, first released in 2001 and revised in 2004, and also for magazines including Game Developer, Develop, and Siggraph Computer Graphics
, and has spoken at the Game Developer's Conference and E3.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
video game designer and writer best known as the designer of The Suffering games and the author of Game Design: Theory & Practice
Game Design: Theory and Practice
Game Design: Theory and Practice is a book on game design by Richard Rouse III, published by Wordware Publishing in 2002. A revised and expanded version was published in 2005.-Overview:...
.
Life and career
Rouse started out as a writer at Macintosh gamingMac gaming
Mac gaming refers to use of video games on Macintosh personal computers. In the 1990s, Apple computers did not attract the same level of video game development as Windows computers due to the high popularity of Windows and, for 3D gaming, Microsoft's DirectX technology...
magazines like Inside Mac Games and Mac Games Digest while attending the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. This eventually led to the creation of his own company, Paranoid Productions, which produced two Macintosh games, the story-centric fantasy RPG Odyssey: The Legend of Nemesis and the military first-person shooter and strategy hybrid Damage Incorporated
Damage Incorporated
Damage Incorporated is a computer game for Mac and Windows made by Paranoid Productions in 1997 that uses the Marathon 2 engine. The player commands a squad of four marines in counter-terrorism operations...
. Both were based on games by Bungie Software (Minotaur
Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete
Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete is a 1992 Macintosh computer game produced by the founders of Bungie Studios, Jason Jones and Alex Seropian. It is a sharply detailed dungeon crawler similar to many other computer role-playing games and adventure games...
and Marathon 2
Marathon 2: Durandal
Marathon 2: Durandal is the first sequel in the Marathon series of science fiction first-person shooter computer games from Bungie Software. It was released on November 24, 1995. The game is mostly set on the fictional planet of Lh'owon, homeworld of the S'pht, and once again the player takes the...
, respectively), whose founders were university friends of his. Rouse went on to work at Leaping Lizard Software where he was lead designer on the 1998 3D remake of Centipede
Centipede (1998 video game)
Centipede is a remake of the 1980 arcade game of the same name, produced by Atari and designed by Ed Logg and Dona Bailey. This version has multiple in-game innovations, with improved gameplay and graphics. It retains the original idea of shooting the entire centipede repeatedly...
.
From there he moved to Surreal Software
Surreal Software
Surreal Software is a video game developer based in Kirkland, Washington, USA, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Surreal Software, best known for The Suffering and Drakan series, employed over 130 designers, artists and programmers. Surreal was acquired by Warner Bros....
where he worked on a canceled western game called Gunslinger and subsequently contributed to Drakan: The Ancients' Gates
Drakan: The Ancients' Gates
Drakan: The Ancients' Gates is an action-adventure PlayStation 2 game with RPG elements by Surreal Software. It is the sequel to the 1999 PC game Drakan: Order of the Flame....
. After that he was lead designer and writer on the action horror game The Suffering
The Suffering (video game)
The Suffering is a video game developed by Surreal Software and published by Midway Games, released in 2004 for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and PC. The game featured monster designs by Stan Winston.-Story:...
and creative director and writer on its sequel, The Suffering: Ties That Bind
The Suffering: Ties That Bind
The Suffering: Ties That Bind is a video game developed by Surreal Software and published by Midway Games, released in 2005 for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 game consoles as well as the PC. The Xbox version of the game is not supported by the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility feature.It is the...
.
Currently he is the Director of Game Design at Midway
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
. Rouse has written about game design, most notably in his book Game Design: Theory & Practice, first released in 2001 and revised in 2004, and also for magazines including Game Developer, Develop, and Siggraph Computer Graphics
Computer Graphics (Publication)
Computer Graphics is a publication of ACM SIGGRAPH. It has published the yearly proceedings of the annual SIGGRAPH conferences, as well as a variety of papers on a quarterly basis. Since 2003, all printed materials from the annual conference are included in an issue of ACM Transactions on Graphics ....
, and has spoken at the Game Developer's Conference and E3.
Games
- Odyssey: The Legend of Nemesis (1996)
- Damage IncorporatedDamage IncorporatedDamage Incorporated is a computer game for Mac and Windows made by Paranoid Productions in 1997 that uses the Marathon 2 engine. The player commands a squad of four marines in counter-terrorism operations...
(1997) - Centipede (remake) (1998)
- Drakan: The Ancients' GatesDrakan: The Ancients' GatesDrakan: The Ancients' Gates is an action-adventure PlayStation 2 game with RPG elements by Surreal Software. It is the sequel to the 1999 PC game Drakan: Order of the Flame....
(contributions) (2002) - The Suffering (2004)
- The Suffering: Ties That BindThe Suffering: Ties That BindThe Suffering: Ties That Bind is a video game developed by Surreal Software and published by Midway Games, released in 2005 for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 game consoles as well as the PC. The Xbox version of the game is not supported by the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility feature.It is the...
(2005)
Books
- Game Design: Theory & PracticeGame Design: Theory and PracticeGame Design: Theory and Practice is a book on game design by Richard Rouse III, published by Wordware Publishing in 2002. A revised and expanded version was published in 2005.-Overview:...
(2001, revised 2004)