Michael Cranford
Michael Cranford is a game designer, game programmer and software engineer.
He was a professor for eight years at Biola University in La Mirada, California, gaining his Master of Divinity degree from Biola and a master's degree in Social Ethics from the University of Southern California. He studied architecture at the University of California at Berkeley and he holds a degree in philosophy from the University of California, and has completed a Ph.D. in Religion and Social Ethics from the University of Southern California, with a focus on ethics and technology.
His current work focuses on web application development, natural language interfaces and artificial intelligence. Cranford is best known as a game designer and game programmer. He was the designer and programmer of 1985's The Bard's Tale[1] and 1986's The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight role-playing video games published by Interplay Productions. He also programmed the Apple version of Donkey Kong, the Commodore 64 version of Super Zaxxon, as well as Maze Master (a spiritual predecessor of The Bard's Tale). His last video game was Centauri Alliance for Brøderbund in 1990. He left the video game industry to pursue graduate studies, and thus was not involved in the creation of 1988's The Bard's Tale III.
His publications include:
- “Drug Testing and the Obligation to Prevent Harm,” in Laura P. Hartman and Joe DesJardines (eds.), Business Ethics: Decision-Making for Personal Integrity and Social Responsibility (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2007), 301-307.
- “Drug Testing and the Right to Privacy: Arguing the Ethics of Workplace Drug Testing,” Journal of Business Ethics 17 (December 1998): 1805-1815. (Reprinted in Beauchamp & Bowie, eds., Ethical Theory and Business [6th & 7th editions.; New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001], 294-302.)
- “The Social Trajectory of Virtual Reality: Substantive Ethics in a World Without Constraints,” Technology in Society 18 (1996): 79-92.
- “Abraham in Romans 4: The Father of All Who Believe,” New Testament Studies 41 (Cambridge University Press, 1995), 71-88.
- “The Possibility of Perfect Obedience: Paul and an Implied Premise in Galatians 3:10 and 5:3,” Novum Testamentum 36 (Netherlands: E.J. Brill Publishers, 1994), 242-58.
- “Election and Ethnicity: Paul's View of Israel in Romans 9.1-13,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 50 (University of Sheffield, England, 1993), 27-41.
References
- ↑ Tresca, Michael J. (2010-11-16). The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games. McFarland. pp. 139–. ISBN 9780786458950. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
External links
- Michael Cranford's profile at MobyGames
- The Bard's Tale Compendium - more information about Michael Cranford's popular game series