Bill Williams (game designer)

This article is about the game designer. For the actor, see Bill Williams (actor).

Bill Williams
Bill Williams
Born	1960
Died	1998 (aged 37–38)
Occupation	Game designer and programmer
Known for	Designer of Bart's Nightmare

Bill Williams (1960 - May 1998) was a game designer and programmer.

Summary

He was the author of the acclaimed Atari computer games Salmon Run, Necromancer, and Alley Cat, and the Amiga games Mind Walker, Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon, Pioneer Plague, and Knights of the Crystallion. Alley Cat was actually started by another programmer, John Harris , who abandoned the project and left him to finish it. Near the end of his game development career he wrote Monopoly for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Bart's Nightmare for Super NES. The last game was poorly received by critics and Williams was himself disappointed with the way the game turned out, calling it "Bill's Nightmare."

Williams' games are admired for their unique and imaginative design concepts, beautiful graphics, innovative sound and music, and skillful implementation. Pioneer Plague was notable as the first Amiga game to make full use of Hold-And-Modify mode for the in-game graphics.

A devoted Christian, Williams left game design to study at a seminary in Chicago in 1992, and he emerged two years later with a master's degree in theology. He died in 1998 of complications of cystic fibrosis, a condition aggravated by the polluted city air of Chicago.

While he is most remembered for his computer games, he also published a theological work, Naked Before God: The Return of a Broken Disciple (ISBN 0-8192-1878-2). There he wrote, "I have a demon called cystic fibrosis, a minor twisting in the blueprints of life, and it cannot be straightened. For that I am being punished mercilessly".

External links

• Biography
• MobyGames's rap sheet for Bill Williams
• Essay on Bill Williams' game development career which also explores his game Necromancer