Fred Ford (programmer)
Robert Frederick Ford is a video game programmer and son of mathematician L. R. Ford Jr..
Ford is the co-creator, with Paul Reiche III, of the Star Control universe. Ford did the programming, while Reiche was responsible for the game design and fiction.[1] Ford was also the lead programmer on The Horde and Pandemonium.[2]
Ford began his career in the industry while in college, creating games exclusively for the Japanese market.[3] He would transition to working for graphics companies in Silicon Valley, but after a few years, realized he would be happier making games.[3] Reiche and Ford's first collaboration was Star Control, released for MS-DOS in 1990.[4][5] Decades later, it is remembered as one of the greatest games of all time. "[A]s a melee or strategic game, it helped define the idea that games can be malleable and dynamic and players can make an experience wholly their own."[6]
On February 12, 2011, it was revealed that Toys for Bob has been working on Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, with Ford acting as CTO and Lead Programmer.
In October 2017 Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III announced they would be working on a direct sequel to Star Control II called Ghosts of the Precursors.[7]
References
- ^ Star Control 2 Manual
- ^ Fred Ford's profile at MobyGames
- ^ a b Sean Dacanay, Marcus Niehaus (July 7, 2020). "Star Control Creators Paul Reiche & Fred Ford: Extended Interview". Ars Technica.
- ^ Rusel DeMaria (December 7, 2018). High Score! Expanded: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games 3rd Edition. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-429-77139-2.
- ^ "Celebrating 25 years of 'Toys for Bob'". abc10.com. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ Polygon Staff (November 29, 2017). "500 Best Games of All Time". Polygon.
- ^ dogarandkazon.squarespace.com Ghosts of the Precursors announcement
External link
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