Glen Schofield
Glen A. Schofield is the general manager and co-founder of Sledgehammer Games.[1] He was formerly the vice president and general manager at EA Visceral Games and the creator and executive producer of the third-person shooter Dead Space. Trained as an artist, Schofield has developed some 50 games, from children's titles to action, that have grossed more than $3 billion in revenues.[2][3][4]
Career
Schofield trained in both fine arts and business, earning a BFA from Pratt Institute and an MBA from Golden Gate University. His career began as an artist and art director with the New Jersey video game company Absolute Entertainment. He then relocated to Seattle to join the West Coast's burgeoning video games industry.[5] His professional influences included Asteroids, Moon Patrol, Gunstar Heroes, Disruptor and the Contra series, followed later by Resident Evil, Gears of War, and the franchise he would eventually contribute to, Modern Warfare.[2]
As a vice president at Crystal Dynamics, Schofield headed development on two of the studio's franchises: Gex and Legacy of Kain. Moving to EA Redwood Studios as general manager of the company's Visceral Games, he collaborated with Bret Robbins, including the popular Lord of the Rings video series and 007: From Russia with Love.[5]
Schofield's reputation grew with the 2008 title Dead Space, which the magazine Edge called "a work of passionate sci-fi horror that became the one of most commercially successful new properties of the year."[6] Schofield has said that the film Event Horizon inspired him to create a game that fused the genres of Science fiction and Horror. The game's theme of humans in space losing perspective to their place in the universe is influenced by the works of Arthur C. Clarke, after whom the game character Isaac Clarke was named. [7][7]
Schofield, executive producer on the project, worked with Michael Condrey, senior development director. The game launched a franchise of sequels, comics, novels and films, and went on to win more than 80 industry awards, including the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Action Game of the Year and two awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. During his time at EA Redwood Studios, the studio was ranked 17th in the top 50 Game Developers List of 2009 by Game Developer Research.[8] Edge named him one of the Hot 100 Game Developers of 2009.[4][6]
In 2009, Schofield and Condrey created Sledgehammer Games, with Schofield as general manager and Condrey as chief operating officer. They retained those roles when, that November, Activision acquired the company as a wholly owned development studio operating on an independent model.[9]
Schofield was also a storyboard director and created over 100 characters for the animated series The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers.
Games
| Title | Publisher | Released | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbie: Barbie GameGirl | 1991 | art director/lead artist | |
| Swamp Thing | 1991 | art director/lead artist | |
| The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man | Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. | 1992 | art director/lead artist |
| The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends | 1992 | ||
| Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | 1992 | artist | |
| Super Battletank | 1993 | artist | |
| Penn and Teller Smoke and Mirrors | unpublished | art Director/lead artist | |
| The Ren & Stimpy Show: Buckeroo$! | THQ Inc. | 1993 | art director/lead artist |
| Goofy's Hysterical History Tour | Absolute Entertainment, Inc. | 1993 | art Director/lead artist) |
| The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends | Absolute Entertainment, Inc. | 1993 | art director/lead artist |
| Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit | Absolute Entertainment, Inc. | 1994 | art director/lead artist |
| Street Fighter: The Movie | Capcom | 1995 | artist |
| Major Damage | unpublished | creator/producer | |
| Werewolf | unpublished | art director/producer | |
| Gex 3D: Enter the Gecko | Eidos, Inc. | 1997 | game director |
| Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver | Eidos Interactive, Inc. | 1999 | special thanks |
| Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko | Crave Entertainment, Inc. | 1999 | game director |
| Akuji: The Heartless | Eidos, Inc. | 1999 | game director |
| Walt Disney World Quest Magical Racing Tour | Eidos, Inc. | 2000 | game director |
| Mad Dash Racing | Eidos Interactive, Inc. | 2001 | creator/game director |
| Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 | Eidos Interactive, Inc. | 2001 | special thanks |
| Knockout Kings 2003 | Electronic Arts, Inc. | 2002 | executive producer |
| Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain | Eidos Interactive, Inc. | 2002 | game director |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Electronic Arts Ltd. | 2003 | game director |
| From Russia with Love | Electronic Arts, Inc. | 2005 | producer/GM |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age | Electronic Arts, Inc. | 2004 | co-op director |
| Whiplash | 2003 | director/GM | |
| Dead Space | Electronic Arts, Inc. | 2008 | co-director/producer |
| The Godfather II | Electronic Arts, Inc | 2009 | producer/GM |
| Dead Space: Extraction | Electronic Arts, Inc | 2009 | co-director/producer |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops | Activision Publishing, Inc. | 2010 | special thanks |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 | Activision Publishing, Inc. | 2011 | co-director/producer |
| Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | Activision Publishing, Inc. | 2014 | co-director/producer |
Personal life
Schofield grew up in New Jersey and, with the encouragement of his parents, began drawing and taking art lessons at an early age. He is married with three children, paints in his spare time, and is a habitual exerciser, both cardiovascular and weight training, averaging once a day while on deadline, twice that when not.[2][10]
References
- ↑ "Executive Team". Inside the Studio. Sledgehammer Games. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- 1 2 3 Figaro, Brittany (August 4, 2011). "True Gamer of the Week: Glen Schofield". GamerFitNation. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ "Rising Star Award: Glen Schofield". Profiles. Golden Gate University. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
- 1 2 Flemming, Ryan (February 16, 2013). "Inside Sledgehammer Games and the Biggest Gamble You Never Knew About". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
- 1 2 Rogers, Bruce (February 21, 2013). "Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey's Sledgehammer Games: Growing the Call of Duty Franchise". Forbes. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
- 1 2 "The Hot 100 Game Developers of 2009". Edge. March 3, 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- 1 2 Staff, Joystiq (January 22, 2013). "Hit List Q&A: Glen Schofield, co-founder of Sledgehammer Games". Engadget. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ↑ "Top 50 Developers 2009". report. Game Developer Research. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ "Activision Hires Glen A. Schofield and Michael Condrey to Lead Sledgehammer Games". IGN. November 18, 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ "About Me". Glen A. Schofield: Fine Art. Personal website. Retrieved 28 November 2012.