Josh Sawyer
Joshua Eric Sawyer | |
|---|---|
 Josh Sawyer presenting Icewind Dale II | |
| Born | October 18, 1975 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Game designer |
| Known for | Role-playing video games |
Joshua Eric "J.E." Sawyer (born October 18, 1975[citation needed]) is an American video game designer, known for his role in the role-playing video game genre.
Early life and education
Josh Sawyer grew up in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, the son of Linda Sawyer and sculptor Gerald P. Sawyer.[1] He is of German ancestry.[2] He earned a BA degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. In addition to being a history major, Sawyer participated in the theatre (including mounting a production of Assassins). After Lawrence, Sawyer moved to California.
Career
Starting as a web designer at Black Isle Studios, he quickly worked his way up the ladder to an associate designer position and then lead designer on Icewind Dale II.[3][4]
While at Black Isle he was known for coming up with the "Ex-Presidents" project naming system. When Interplay closed down Black Isle Studios many team members ended up at Obsidian Entertainment, which would eventually come to include J.E. Sawyer.
In November 2003 it was reported by Tor Thorsen of GameSpot that he had abruptly quit his role as lead designer of Fallout 3 to pursue other projects.
On July 19, 2005 GameSpot announced that he had left Midway's Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows, and was already employed by Obsidian Entertainment to work on Neverwinter Nights 2. He was preceded in that move by memorable game designer John Romero, who left work on the Gauntlet remake in June 2005. He was the project director and lead designer on the canceled[5] Aliens RPG.[6]
He was the project director and lead designer of Fallout: New Vegas. It was the longest shipped project he has been involved in from start to finish (about 18 months).[7] In December 2011 Sawyer publicly released a New Vegas mod designed for his own personal use adding a large variety of small tweaks to the game ranging from rebalancing the karma of certain characters to slowing down the level up speed.[8] As of November 2012 this mod is currently up to version 5.1 which was released in September 2012.[9]
Notable game credits
- Project Eternity (2014), Obsidian Entertainment[citation needed]
- Alpha Protocol (2010), Obsidian Entertainment
- Fallout: New Vegas (2010), Obsidian Entertainment
- Neverwinter Nights 2 (2006), Obsidian Entertainment
- Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader (2003), Interplay
- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (2002), Interplay
- Icewind Dale II (2002), Interplay
- Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (2001), Interplay
- Icewind Dale (2000), Interplay
References
- ^ Daily Jefferson County Union. January 14th, 2011. Liedtke, Carolyn. "Sawyer sculpts success throughout Wisconsin". p. 3.
- ^ http://www.formspring.me/JESawyer/q/358874015017758829
- ^ Ooi, Will (September 25, 2011). "An Interview with JE Sawyer - game developer, biker, and cat lover". Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
- ^ (July 2005). "The Arcade Classic Is Back, and It'd Better Be Good", Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (94): 38.
- ^ Faylor, Chris. "Aliens RPG Cancelled, Says Ex-Obsidian Staffer". Shacknews.
- ^ SEGA Signs Obsidian Entertainment To Develop Alien Title For Next-generation Systems
- ^ GameStar: Knights of the Roleplaying Table. Josh Sawyer.
- ^ "J.E. Sawyer releases his own Fallout: New Vegas mod". December 29, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
{{cite web}}:|first=missing|last=(help) - ^ "JSawyer.esp - v5.1".
External links
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