Brenda Brathwaite
Encyclopedia
Brenda Brathwaite is an American game designer and developer
in the video game industry.
, and a graduate of Clarkson University
, Brathwaite is best known for her work on the Wizardry
series of video role-playing games and, more recently, the non-digital series The Mechanic is the Message. She has worked in game development since 1981 and has credits on 22 game titles. Examples of her credits include the award-winning series Wizardry
for which Brenda provided game design, level design, system design, writing and scripting. She also wrote the manuals and documentation for some products in the series. Brenda provided writing and documentation for the award-winning Jagged Alliance series. Brenda also worked on other notable IPs including games such as Def Jam: Icon
, Playboy: The Mansion
, Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes, etcetera.
"Next Generation Magazine
" identified her as the woman with the longest continuous service in video game development.
In 2006, Brathwaite was named one of the 100 most influential women in the game industry by "Next Generation" magazine and her peers.
"Nerve
" magazine cited her as a "New Radical" — one of "the 50 artists, actors, authors, activists and icons who are making the world a more stimulating place".
Brenda Brathwaite began her career in 1981 at game maker Sir-tech Software
, Inc., on the Wizardry role-playing team.
She worked first as a tester, and moved up through the design and content creation ranks to lead designer for the award-winning series. While at Sir-tech, Brathwaite also worked on the Jagged Alliance and Realms of Arkania series.
She was employed with Sir-tech for 18 years before moving on to game maker Atari
where she worked on the Dungeons & Dragons series for consoles before joining Cyberlore Studios in 2003 to work on the Playboy: The Mansion game. Brenda's research for the game was ultimately published in a book, Sex in Video Games.
Brenda served as Chair of the Savannah College of Art and Design's Interactive Design and Game Development department until November 2009. She moved to San Francisco to consult as Creative Director for social media company Slide, Inc., and then became Creative Director of social gaming company Lolapps, Inc. in May 2010. She co-founded the social game company Loot Drop with John Romero
in November 2010, then left Lolapps and joined Loot Drop in February 2011.
Brenda Brathwaite is in a relationship with game developer John Romero
. Together, they worked on Ravenwood Fair
, with Romero as lead designer and Brathwaite as Creative Director and Game Designer.
.
In 2008, she was elected to the IGDA's Board of Directors.
She founded the International Game Developers Sex Special Interest group in 2005.
Since working on Playboy, she has studied adult and sexual content in video games and is regularly interviewed about the subject in the media.
She has written a book on the subject, Sex in Video Games
.
She is an anti-censorship
activist
and a proponent of parental rating
awareness.
, Austin Game Developers Conference
, and Montreal International Games Summit
.
Some of her lectures have been held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, The Guildhall
at Southern Methodist University
, and Clarkson University
.
In the spring of 2007, she was awarded the Presidential Fellowship at Savannah College of Art and Design to develop an exhibit and presentation titled, "What You Don’t Know About Video Games…".
In April 2008, Brathwaite became Chair of the Interactive Design and Game Development department at the Savannah College of Art and Design
. Brathwaite left SCAD in November 2009 to return to full-time commercial game development.
The Mechanic is the Message is composed of six separate non-digital games that experiment with the traditional notions of games.
Of the six, Train has received the most attention, and won the Vanguard Award at Indiecade
in October 2009 for "pushing the boundaries of game design and showing us what games can do." Train was also featured in the Wall Street Journal as well as on game industry sites including Gamasutra
where it received accolades for its ability to evoke meaning through gestures, the Escapist Magazine, Extra Credits, and on Kotaku
. Brathwaite delivered Train: How I Dumped Electricity and Learned to Love Design at the 2010 Gamesauce Conference.
Síochán leat (Gaelic for "peace be with you") chronicles the history of her children's heritage. Brathwaite made the game following The New World, a game she originally made to teach her daughter about the slave trade. Síochán leat was a follow up designed to teach Brathwaite's daughter about her Irish heritage and traces the family's history from the Cromwellian invasion of Ireland to their ancestor's eventual immigration into the West Indies on the paternal side and Canada on the maternal side. The game features a burlap pillow simulating an earthen mound covered by 26 pieces of grass, each representing a county in Ireland. In a talk given at the Austin Game Developers Conference in September 2009, Brathwaite noted that the burlap was filled with mementos of her upbringing and her heritage, including photographs of her great grandfather, Paddy Donovan, and one of her mother's rosaries. On her blog, Brathwaite notes that "the game is signed in many ways and is highly autobiographical. It is my history and it also reveals my feelings about its present state."
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
in the video game industry.
Life and career
Born in Ogdensburg, New YorkOgdensburg, New York
Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 11,128 at the 2010 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden....
, and a graduate of Clarkson University
Clarkson University
-The Clarkson School:The Clarkson School, a special division of Clarkson University, was founded in 1978 as a unique educational opportunity. The School offers students an early entrance opportunity into college, replacing the typical senior year of high school with a year of college...
, Brathwaite is best known for her work on the Wizardry
Wizardry
Wizardry is a series of computer role-playing games, developed by Sir-Tech, which were highly influential in the development of modern console and computer role playing games. The original Wizardry was a significant influence to early console RPGs, such as Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy. ...
series of video role-playing games and, more recently, the non-digital series The Mechanic is the Message. She has worked in game development since 1981 and has credits on 22 game titles. Examples of her credits include the award-winning series Wizardry
Wizardry
Wizardry is a series of computer role-playing games, developed by Sir-Tech, which were highly influential in the development of modern console and computer role playing games. The original Wizardry was a significant influence to early console RPGs, such as Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy. ...
for which Brenda provided game design, level design, system design, writing and scripting. She also wrote the manuals and documentation for some products in the series. Brenda provided writing and documentation for the award-winning Jagged Alliance series. Brenda also worked on other notable IPs including games such as Def Jam: Icon
Def Jam: Icon
Def Jam: Icon is a fighting game, and is the third in Electronic Arts's Def Jam-licensed hip hop video game series. The game was developed by EA Chicago, developers of Fight Night Round 3 and is the first Def Jam game not to be developed by AKI Corporation. Unlike the previous games in the series,...
, Playboy: The Mansion
Playboy: The Mansion
Playboy: The Mansion is a business simulation video game for the PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows and Xbox consoles, developed by Cyberlore Studios, published by Groove Games and ARUSH Entertainment and licensed by Playboy Enterprises....
, Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes, etcetera.
"Next Generation Magazine
Next Generation Magazine
Next Generation Magazine was a video game magazine that was made by Imagine Media publishing company . It was affiliated to and shared editorial with the UK's Edge magazine. Next Generation ran from January 1995 until January 2002. It was published by Jonathan Simpson-Bint and edited by Neil West...
" identified her as the woman with the longest continuous service in video game development.
In 2006, Brathwaite was named one of the 100 most influential women in the game industry by "Next Generation" magazine and her peers.
"Nerve
Nerve (magazine)
Nerve is a free magazine published by Catalyst Media in Liverpool, North West England. Combining features on social issues with artist profiles, it runs to 32 pages and is published about three times a year...
" magazine cited her as a "New Radical" — one of "the 50 artists, actors, authors, activists and icons who are making the world a more stimulating place".
Brenda Brathwaite began her career in 1981 at game maker Sir-tech Software
Sir-Tech
Sir-Tech Software, Inc. was a United States-based video game developer and publisher founded by Robert Woodhead and Norman Sirotek. While the original company closed its doors in 2001, its Canadian counterpart Sir-Tech Canada continued to operate up until late 2003.Sir-Tech is best known for the...
, Inc., on the Wizardry role-playing team.
She worked first as a tester, and moved up through the design and content creation ranks to lead designer for the award-winning series. While at Sir-tech, Brathwaite also worked on the Jagged Alliance and Realms of Arkania series.
She was employed with Sir-tech for 18 years before moving on to game maker Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
where she worked on the Dungeons & Dragons series for consoles before joining Cyberlore Studios in 2003 to work on the Playboy: The Mansion game. Brenda's research for the game was ultimately published in a book, Sex in Video Games.
Brenda served as Chair of the Savannah College of Art and Design's Interactive Design and Game Development department until November 2009. She moved to San Francisco to consult as Creative Director for social media company Slide, Inc., and then became Creative Director of social gaming company Lolapps, Inc. in May 2010. She co-founded the social game company Loot Drop with John Romero
John Romero
Alfonso John Romero is a game designer, programmer, and developer in the video game industry. He is best known as a co-founder of id Software and was a designer for many of their games, including Wolfenstein 3D, Dangerous Dave, Doom and Quake...
in November 2010, then left Lolapps and joined Loot Drop in February 2011.
Brenda Brathwaite is in a relationship with game developer John Romero
John Romero
Alfonso John Romero is a game designer, programmer, and developer in the video game industry. He is best known as a co-founder of id Software and was a designer for many of their games, including Wolfenstein 3D, Dangerous Dave, Doom and Quake...
. Together, they worked on Ravenwood Fair
Ravenwood Fair
Ravenwood Fair is a social network game on Facebook designed by John Romero and developed by Lolapps. Ravenwood Fair was launched on the Facebook platform October 19, 2010.-Overview:...
, with Romero as lead designer and Brathwaite as Creative Director and Game Designer.
IGDA and activism
Brathwaite is an active member of the International Game Developers AssociationInternational Game Developers Association
International Game Developers Association is the professional society for over 10,000 video and computer game developers worldwide.It is incorporated in the United States as a non-profit organization....
.
In 2008, she was elected to the IGDA's Board of Directors.
She founded the International Game Developers Sex Special Interest group in 2005.
Since working on Playboy, she has studied adult and sexual content in video games and is regularly interviewed about the subject in the media.
She has written a book on the subject, Sex in Video Games
Sex in Video Games
Sex in Video Games is a nonfiction book by Brenda Brathwaite about the history of human sexual behavior in computer and video games.-External links:*...
.
She is an anti-censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
and a proponent of parental rating
Video game content rating system
A video game content rating system is a system used for the classification of video games into suitability-related groups. Most of these systems are associated with and/or sponsored by a government, and are sometimes part of the local motion picture rating system...
awareness.
Academics
She is a regular speaker at universities and conferences including the Game Developers ConferenceGame Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
, Austin Game Developers Conference
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
, and Montreal International Games Summit
Montreal International Games Summit
The Montreal International Games Summit , also known as le Sommet International du jeu de Montréal , is a conference on video games. The first edition was held in 2004 and usually takes place in November at le Palais des Congrès de Montréal....
.
Some of her lectures have been held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, The Guildhall
The Guildhall at SMU
The Guildhall at SMU is a video game university located at the Southern Methodist University Plano campus. Students learn how to create a game, from the basics to a total conversion. Graduates present their work at a semiannual exhibition...
at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
, and Clarkson University
Clarkson University
-The Clarkson School:The Clarkson School, a special division of Clarkson University, was founded in 1978 as a unique educational opportunity. The School offers students an early entrance opportunity into college, replacing the typical senior year of high school with a year of college...
.
In the spring of 2007, she was awarded the Presidential Fellowship at Savannah College of Art and Design to develop an exhibit and presentation titled, "What You Don’t Know About Video Games…".
In April 2008, Brathwaite became Chair of the Interactive Design and Game Development department at the Savannah College of Art and Design
Savannah College of Art and Design
SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, is a private, accredited and degree-granting university with locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France.-History:...
. Brathwaite left SCAD in November 2009 to return to full-time commercial game development.
Mechanic is the Message
In February 2008, Brathwaite began work on a series of non-digital games known collectively as "The Mechanic is the Message." According to the series abstract,
"The Mechanic is the Message captures and expresses difficult experiences through the medium of a game. Much like photographs, paintings, literature and music are capable of transmitting the full range of the human experience from one human to another, so too can games. Due to their interactivity, the installation suggests that games are capable of a higher form of communication, one which actively engages the participant and makes them a part of the experience rather than a passive observer."
The Mechanic is the Message is composed of six separate non-digital games that experiment with the traditional notions of games.
- The New World, 2008
- Síochán leat (aka "The Irish Game"), 2009
- Train, 2009
- Mexican Kitchen Workers – in prototype
- Cité Soleil - in concepting
- One Falls for Each of Us – n concepting
Of the six, Train has received the most attention, and won the Vanguard Award at Indiecade
Indiecade
Indiecade or IndieCade is an international juried festival of independent video games. IndieCade is known as "the video game industry's Sundance". At IndieCade independent video game developers are selected to screen and promote their work at the annual IndieCade festival and showcase events...
in October 2009 for "pushing the boundaries of game design and showing us what games can do." Train was also featured in the Wall Street Journal as well as on game industry sites including Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
where it received accolades for its ability to evoke meaning through gestures, the Escapist Magazine, Extra Credits, and on Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
. Brathwaite delivered Train: How I Dumped Electricity and Learned to Love Design at the 2010 Gamesauce Conference.
Síochán leat (Gaelic for "peace be with you") chronicles the history of her children's heritage. Brathwaite made the game following The New World, a game she originally made to teach her daughter about the slave trade. Síochán leat was a follow up designed to teach Brathwaite's daughter about her Irish heritage and traces the family's history from the Cromwellian invasion of Ireland to their ancestor's eventual immigration into the West Indies on the paternal side and Canada on the maternal side. The game features a burlap pillow simulating an earthen mound covered by 26 pieces of grass, each representing a county in Ireland. In a talk given at the Austin Game Developers Conference in September 2009, Brathwaite noted that the burlap was filled with mementos of her upbringing and her heritage, including photographs of her great grandfather, Paddy Donovan, and one of her mother's rosaries. On her blog, Brathwaite notes that "the game is signed in many ways and is highly autobiographical. It is my history and it also reveals my feelings about its present state."