Feargus Urquhart[Ext 1] is the founder and current Chief Executive Officer of Obsidian Entertainment.
Background
In 1991, Urquhart joined Interplay Entertainment for a summer job as a play tester for the company's quality assurance.[Ext 2] This allowed him to both play games and to pursue his interest in making them. He eventually got hired on a full-time contract as Assistant Producer in 1993, and got promoted to Associate Producer in 1994, Producer in 1995, and Division Director of Interplay's RPG division in 1996.[Ext 2] When the division got re-branded as Black Isle Studios in 1998,[Ext 3] his title changed to President of the studio, without much changing for him in day-to-day operations.[Ext 2]
Urquhart contributed to Fallout, in particular toward the functionality of the Hub and a quest.[Ext 2] He was also responsible for assigning additional staff for work on assets, shortly before the game's release date.[Ext 4] He is especially proud of the effect the game had on other role playing games, his contributions to it that worked, and those that failed, but from which he learned from.[Ext 2]
In 1998, Urquhart and Matt Norton directed Fallout 2, after Tim Cain, Jason D. Anderson, and Leonard Boyarsky left Interplay to form Troika Games.[Ext 5] The trio left due to different visions on how to make games,[Ext 6] and Urquhart recalls the development of Fallout 2 being "rocky for the first six months,"[Ext 7] and having a "hiccup in the production cycle."[Ext 8] He was involved in the design of Vault City.[1] In retrospect, he regrets two choices on design elements for the game, namely going "too crazy" on inside jokes and real world references, and having talking deathclaws.[Ext 2]
Urquhart also worked on Van Buren,[Ext 9][Ext 10] but ultimately left Interplay in April 2003,[Ext 11] stating that the company losing the Dungeons & Dragons license was one of his main reasons for leaving.[Ext 12]
On June 12, 2003, Urquhart co-founded Obsidian Entertainment, together with his former colleagues Chris Avellone, Chris Jones, Darren L. Monahan and Chris Parker.
Employment history
| From | To | Company | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 2003 | Interplay Entertainment / Black Isle Studios | Division director / President |
| 2003 | Present | Obsidian Entertainment | CEO |
Credits
Fallout series
| Year | Title | Credited |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Fallout | Division Director |
| 1998 | Fallout 2 | Producer Lead Designer SPECIAL game system design Division Director |
| 2010 | Fallout: New Vegas | CEO & President |
| - | Van Buren | Design |
Other work (excerpt)
| Year | Title | Credited |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Castles II: Siege and Conquest | Additional Designer |
| 1998 | Baldur's Gate | Director |
| 1999 | Planescape: Torment | Production |
| 2000 | Icewind Dale | Production Division Director |
| 2006 | Neverwinter Nights 2 | CEO & President Executive Producer |
| 2014 | Pillars of Eternity | CEO & President Kickstarter Team |
| 2019 | The Outer Worlds | CEO & President |
References
External
- ↑ Interview on Duck and Cover
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Interview on GameBanshee.com
- ↑ "Who is Black Isle Studios?" FAQ on Lionheart Chronicles
- ↑ GDC 2012 - Classic Game Postmortem: Fallout @14:53
- ↑ Chris Avellone on Twitter
- ↑ Fallout Creator Speaks His Mind on Gamespot.com
- ↑ Matt Chat 255: Feargus Urquhart on Baldur's Gate, Shattered Steel, and Fallout @18:15
- ↑ Tales from the Vault on IGN.com
- ↑ Q&A: Feargus Urquhart, Part One on Gamespot.com
- ↑ Legendary RPG Developer Feargus Urquhart - IGN Unfiltered 15 @14:15
- ↑ Q&A: Feargus Urquhart, Part Two on Gamespot.com
- ↑ Matt Chat 256: Feargus Urquhart on the Fall of Black Isle @16:20