Will Harvey
Encyclopedia
Will Harvey is a Silicon Valley
entrepreneur
who, at the age of 15, achieved fame for writing Music Construction Set
, the first commercial sheet music processor for home computer
s. Harvey also founded two consumer virtual world
Internet companies: IMVU
, an instant messaging
company, and There, Inc., an MMOG
company.
at Stanford University
, where he earned his Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D.
During this period, he started two game development
companies and published several additional titles through Electronic Arts.
(MCS), published by Electronic Arts
(EA) and ported
to the platforms
of the era.
technology company that addressed the network latency
problems underlying virtual worlds and massively multiplayer games. Sandcastle was acquired by Adobe Systems
.
In 1998, Harvey went on to found There, Inc., which produced a virtual 3D world designed for online socializing.
In 2003, Harvey founded IMVU
, which combined the idea of avatars with instant messaging.
and There, all but his first game were published by Electronic Arts
. Games he was involved with include:
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who, at the age of 15, achieved fame for writing Music Construction Set
Music Construction Set
Music Construction Set is a music composition notation program. It was originally developed in 1984 for the Apple II, and quickly ported to other systems of the era. It was designed and developed by Will Harvey and published by Electronic Arts...
, the first commercial sheet music processor for home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
s. Harvey also founded two consumer virtual world
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
Internet companies: IMVU
IMVU
IMVU, Inc. is an online social entertainment destination in which members use 3D avatars to meet new people, chat, create, and play games created by Fydor Guthenschlag. IMVU has over 50 million registered users, 10 million unique visitors per month and three million monthly active users...
, an instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
company, and There, Inc., an MMOG
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
company.
Education
After high school, Harvey studied computer scienceComputer 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...
at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, where he earned his Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
During this period, he started two game development
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
companies and published several additional titles through Electronic Arts.
Lancaster
Harvey went to the Nueva School for middle school. The first game Harvey developed was 1982's Lancaster. The need for music in this game led to his development of 1984's heralded Music Construction SetMusic Construction Set
Music Construction Set is a music composition notation program. It was originally developed in 1984 for the Apple II, and quickly ported to other systems of the era. It was designed and developed by Will Harvey and published by Electronic Arts...
(MCS), published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
(EA) and ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to the platforms
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
of the era.
Other Companies
In 1995, Harvey founded Sandcastle, an InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
technology company that addressed the network latency
Lag
Lag is a common word meaning to fail to keep up or to fall behind. In real-time applications, the term is used when the application fails to respond in a timely fashion to inputs...
problems underlying virtual worlds and massively multiplayer games. Sandcastle was acquired by Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
.
In 1998, Harvey went on to found There, Inc., which produced a virtual 3D world designed for online socializing.
In 2003, Harvey founded IMVU
IMVU
IMVU, Inc. is an online social entertainment destination in which members use 3D avatars to meet new people, chat, create, and play games created by Fydor Guthenschlag. IMVU has over 50 million registered users, 10 million unique visitors per month and three million monthly active users...
, which combined the idea of avatars with instant messaging.
Games
Other than IMVUIMVU
IMVU, Inc. is an online social entertainment destination in which members use 3D avatars to meet new people, chat, create, and play games created by Fydor Guthenschlag. IMVU has over 50 million registered users, 10 million unique visitors per month and three million monthly active users...
and There, all but his first game were published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
. Games he was involved with include:
- The ImmortalThe Immortal (computer game)The Immortal is an isometric adventure game originally created for the Apple IIGS, which was ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, MS DOS based PCs, NES, and Mega Drive/Genesis...
(1990) - Will Harvey's Zany GolfZany GolfZany Golf, also known as Will Harvey's Zany Golf, is a video game with a fantasy take on miniature golf, developed by Sandcastle Productions and published by Electronic Arts. The game was originally developed in 1988 for the Apple IIGS and became the first Apple IIGS game to attract the mainstream...
(1988) - Marble MadnessMarble MadnessMarble Madness is an arcade video game designed by Mark Cerny, and published by Atari Games in 1984. It is a platform game in which the player must guide an onscreen marble through six courses, populated with obstacles and enemies, within a time limit. The player controls the marble by using a...
(1986) - Music Construction SetMusic Construction SetMusic Construction Set is a music composition notation program. It was originally developed in 1984 for the Apple II, and quickly ported to other systems of the era. It was designed and developed by Will Harvey and published by Electronic Arts...
(1984) - Lancaster (1982)
External links
- Interview with Harvey about There from GameSpotGameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
- Interview with Harvey from ACM QueueACM QueueACM Queue is a computer magazine published by the Association for Computing Machinery . Steve Bourne helped found the magazine when he was President of the ACM and he is now Chair of the Advisory Board. The magazine is produced by computing professionals and is intended for computing professionals...
- 1984 episode of The Computer Chronicles, includes a segment of Harvey demonstrating the Music Construction Set, alongside John ChowningJohn ChowningJohn M. Chowning is an American composer, musician, inventor, and professor best known for his work at Stanford University and his invention of FM synthesis while there.-Contribution:...
.