Brian Reynolds
Encyclopedia
Brian Reynolds is a well known videogame designer who now designs online social games (e.g. on Facebook). Reynolds has designed at Zynga
, Big Huge Games
, Firaxis Games
, and Microprose
. He presently works as chief game designer at Zynga
and has been chairman of the International Game Developers Association
. He has played a major part in designing a number of multi-million selling games including Civilization II
, Rise of Nations
, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
, and FrontierVille
.
to SoftSide
magazine, its August 1981 cover feature. He was a gamer in high school, and a SysOp
on Randolph School
's (Huntsville, Alabama
) PDP-11
mainframe computer
. A 1990 graduate of the University of the South, Reynolds briefly pursued graduate studies in Philosophy
at the University of California, Berkeley
. This influence is evident in the emphasis on philosophy encountered in one of his more famous computer games, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.
where he worked as lead programmer for a number of graphic adventure games
. These included Rex Nebular
in 1992
and Return of the Phantom
and Dragonsphere
in 1993
.
It was at Microprose where Reynolds first worked with Sid Meier
and the two collaborated on a strategy title by the name of Sid Meier's Colonization
which was released in 1994
. Reynolds went on to become lead designer on his next title where he worked with Douglas Kaufman to create a sequel to Sid Meier's Civilization
. Civilization II
was released in 1996
and sold multi-million copies. This success gave Reynolds a great deal of credibility within the games industry and was the stepping stone to him becoming a founding partner in Firaxis Games
.
Reynolds' first task at Firaxis games was his contribution to Sid Meier's Gettysburg in 1997
, followed by the creation and design of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
in 1998
. Alpha Centauri was also popular, becoming his second multi-million selling title. In 2000
Reynolds left Firaxis games and sold his share in the company to become CEO
of Big Huge Games
.
On June 30, 2009, Zynga
announced that Brian Reynolds was leaving Big Huge Games
to lead the formation of Zynga East, and serve the role of Chief Game Designer.
Brian Reynolds' first major break was the design of Sid Meier's Civilization II. Meier had created Civilization but had moved on to other projects. MicroProse wanted to make a sequel and asked Reynolds to design it. MicroProse put Meier on retainer for consultational advice and for the use of his name, but Meier only had peripheral involvement in the design of this game. The sequel game, hence, was primarily designed by Reynolds and bore the subtitle "A Brian Reynolds Design" in the introductory graphics screen.
Rise of Nations
was Reynolds' first game at Big Huge Games. Later came Rise of Legends
, a real-time strategy game, published
by Microsoft
.
Reynolds and Klaus Teuber
collaborated to develop the Xbox Live Arcade
game Catan
.
Reynolds led the development of FrontierVille
on Facebook
.
teacher in Greenwich, Connecticut
, at a live action role-playing
event in Washington, D.C.
The two were married in August 1994 and due to Colonization being released in less than a month, had only a week long honeymoon
. They have two sons, Robert and Caleb, and a greyhound, Trixie.
Charles Kibler, a game designer at BreakAway Games
, is Reynolds' uncle.
Zynga
Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace....
, Big Huge Games
Big Huge Games
Big Huge Games is a video game developer located in Timonium, Maryland. The company was founded in February 2000 by four veteran game industry developers: Tim Train, David Inscore, Jason Coleman and Brian Reynolds...
, Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games is a computer game developer. It was founded in 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds upon leaving MicroProse. The company focuses on strategy games and is based in Sparks, Maryland in the United States....
, and Microprose
MicroProse
MicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
. He presently works as chief game designer at Zynga
Zynga
Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace....
and has been chairman of the International Game Developers Association
International 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....
. He has played a major part in designing a number of multi-million selling games including Civilization II
Civilization II
Sid Meier's Civilization II is a turn-based strategy computer game designed by Brian Reynolds, Douglas Caspian-Kaufman and Jeff Briggs. Although it is a sequel to Sid Meier's Civilization, neither Sid Meier nor Bruce Shelley was involved in its development.Civilization II was first released in...
, Rise of Nations
Rise of Nations
Rise of Nations is a real-time strategy computer game, developed by Big Huge Games and published by Microsoft on May 20, 2003. The development of the game was led by veteran Brian Reynolds, of Civilization II and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Concepts taken from turn-based strategy games have been...
, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is the critically acclaimed science fiction 4X turn-based strategy video game sequel to the Civilization series. Sid Meier, designer of Civilization, and Brian Reynolds, designer of Civilization II, developed Alpha Centauri after they left MicroProse to join the newly...
, and FrontierVille
FrontierVille
The Pioneer Trail, formerly known as FrontierVille is a simulation, role-playing video game available for play on social networking sites such as Facebook. It is developed by Zynga and was launched on June 9, 2010...
.
Early life
Reynolds made his first game sale with Quest 1Quest 1
Quest 1 is a single-player text adventure game originally written for the TRS-80 and translated for the Apple II and Atari 8-bit computer families. It was created by Brian Reynolds and published by SoftSide Magazine in 1981. It was subsequently republished in The Best of SoftSide and released on...
to SoftSide
SoftSide
SoftSide Magazine is a defunct computer magazine, begun in October 1978 by Roger Robitaille and published by SoftSide Publications of Milford, New Hampshire.-History:...
magazine, its August 1981 cover feature. He was a gamer in high school, and a SysOp
SysOp
A sysop is an administrator of a multi-user computer system, such as a bulletin board system or an online service virtual community. It may also be used to refer to administrators of other Internet-based network services....
on Randolph School
Randolph School
Randolph School is an American independent private kindergarten-through-12th-grade college preparatory school chartered in 1959 in Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama. It started in an antebellum home on Randolph Street with just a few elementary classes...
's (Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
) PDP-11
PDP-11
The PDP-11 was a series of 16-bit minicomputers sold by Digital Equipment Corporation from 1970 into the 1990s, one of a succession of products in the PDP series. The PDP-11 replaced the PDP-8 in many real-time applications, although both product lines lived in parallel for more than 10 years...
mainframe computer
Mainframe computer
Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
. A 1990 graduate of the University of the South, Reynolds briefly pursued graduate studies in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. This influence is evident in the emphasis on philosophy encountered in one of his more famous computer games, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.
Career
Reynolds initiated his game career with the now defunct MicroProseMicroProse
MicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
where he worked as lead programmer for a number of graphic adventure games
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
. These included Rex Nebular
Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender
Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender is a "point-and-click" style graphic animated adventure developed and published by Microprose in November of 1992.The game is the first graphical adventure game developed by Microprose...
in 1992
1992 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:* Gremlin Graphics releases Zool, Amiga's answer to Mario and Sonic. It goes on to become the best selling Commodore Amiga game, boosting the already popular computer to be the leading gaming machine in Europe....
and Return of the Phantom
Return of the Phantom
Return of the Phantom is a "point-and-click" style graphic animated adventure developed and published by MicroProse in 1993. It was produced by Matt Gruson and designed/written by future James Bond novelist Raymond Benson....
and Dragonsphere
Dragonsphere
Dragonsphere is a "point-and-click" graphic adventure game developed and published by MicroProse in 1994. At the time it had "mind-blowing graphics" and was considered a novelty, and it is still a cult classic for many....
in 1993
1993 in video gaming
-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
.
It was at Microprose where Reynolds first worked with Sid Meier
Sid Meier
Sidney K. "Sid" Meier is a Canadian programmer and designer of several popular computer strategy games, most notably Civilization. He has won accolades for his contributions to the computer games industry...
and the two collaborated on a strategy title by the name of Sid Meier's Colonization
Colonization (computer game)
Sid Meier's Colonization is a computer game by Brian Reynolds and Sid Meier released by MicroProse in 1994. It is a turn-based strategy game themed on the early European colonization of the New World, starting in 1492 and lasting until 1850...
which was released in 1994
1994 in video gaming
-Events:*Nintendo calls this year "1994: The Year of the Cartridge".*Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd is established and opened by Hiroshi Yamauchi and effectively ends Mattel Australia's distribution of Nintendo's products throughout Australia.*"Project...
. Reynolds went on to become lead designer on his next title where he worked with Douglas Kaufman to create a sequel to Sid Meier's Civilization
Civilization (computer game)
Sid Meier's Civilization is a turn-based strategy "4X"-type strategy video game created by Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley for MicroProse in 1991. The game's objective is to "Build an empire to stand the test of time": it begins in 4000 BC and the players attempt to expand and develop their empires...
. Civilization II
Civilization II
Sid Meier's Civilization II is a turn-based strategy computer game designed by Brian Reynolds, Douglas Caspian-Kaufman and Jeff Briggs. Although it is a sequel to Sid Meier's Civilization, neither Sid Meier nor Bruce Shelley was involved in its development.Civilization II was first released in...
was released in 1996
1996 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*January 29 — Duke Nukem 3D, successor to the simple side-scrolling originals, and a genre-redefining title for first person shooters....
and sold multi-million copies. This success gave Reynolds a great deal of credibility within the games industry and was the stepping stone to him becoming a founding partner in Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games is a computer game developer. It was founded in 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds upon leaving MicroProse. The company focuses on strategy games and is based in Sparks, Maryland in the United States....
.
Reynolds' first task at Firaxis games was his contribution to Sid Meier's Gettysburg in 1997
1997 in video gaming
-Events:*October 4 — Gunpei Yokoi dies after a double car accident.*November – Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association launched.*3rd annual E3...
, followed by the creation and design of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is the critically acclaimed science fiction 4X turn-based strategy video game sequel to the Civilization series. Sid Meier, designer of Civilization, and Brian Reynolds, designer of Civilization II, developed Alpha Centauri after they left MicroProse to join the newly...
in 1998
1998 in video gaming
-Events:*Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo to the AIAS Hall of Fame*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 1st annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards...
. Alpha Centauri was also popular, becoming his second multi-million selling title. In 2000
2000 in video gaming
-Events:* May 11–13 — 6th annual Electronic Entertainment Expo ; the 3rd annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E³* June 26 — International Game Developers Association renamed from Computer Game Developers Association...
Reynolds left Firaxis games and sold his share in the company to become CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Big Huge Games
Big Huge Games
Big Huge Games is a video game developer located in Timonium, Maryland. The company was founded in February 2000 by four veteran game industry developers: Tim Train, David Inscore, Jason Coleman and Brian Reynolds...
.
On June 30, 2009, Zynga
Zynga
Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace....
announced that Brian Reynolds was leaving Big Huge Games
Big Huge Games
Big Huge Games is a video game developer located in Timonium, Maryland. The company was founded in February 2000 by four veteran game industry developers: Tim Train, David Inscore, Jason Coleman and Brian Reynolds...
to lead the formation of Zynga East, and serve the role of Chief Game Designer.
Contributions
Although marketed under Sid Meier's name, Civilization II, Sid Meier's Colonization and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri all credited Reynolds as lead designer. The credits for Civilization II and Alpha Centauri moreover imply that Meier had only advisory or peripheral participation. All these games, however, do clearly borrow from Meier's original Civilization.Brian Reynolds' first major break was the design of Sid Meier's Civilization II. Meier had created Civilization but had moved on to other projects. MicroProse wanted to make a sequel and asked Reynolds to design it. MicroProse put Meier on retainer for consultational advice and for the use of his name, but Meier only had peripheral involvement in the design of this game. The sequel game, hence, was primarily designed by Reynolds and bore the subtitle "A Brian Reynolds Design" in the introductory graphics screen.
Rise of Nations
Rise of Nations
Rise of Nations is a real-time strategy computer game, developed by Big Huge Games and published by Microsoft on May 20, 2003. The development of the game was led by veteran Brian Reynolds, of Civilization II and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Concepts taken from turn-based strategy games have been...
was Reynolds' first game at Big Huge Games. Later came Rise of Legends
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends is a real-time strategy game for the PC made by Big Huge Games, and published by Microsoft. It is a spin off of the popular game Rise of Nations, released in May 2003. However, rather than being a historical game, it is based in a fantasy world, where technology and...
, a real-time strategy game, published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
Reynolds and Klaus Teuber
Klaus Teuber
Klaus Teuber is a German designer of board games. He won the Spiel des Jahres award four times, for The Settlers of Catan, Barbarossa, Drunter und Drüber and Adel Verpflichtet. He retired from his profession as a dental technician to become a full-time game designer in 1999. , he lives in ...
collaborated to develop the Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
game Catan
Catan
Catan is the Xbox Live Arcade version of Klaus Teuber's The Settlers of Catan, developed by Big Huge Games in collaboration with Teuber. It was released on May 2, 2007 for 800 Microsoft Points...
.
Reynolds led the development of FrontierVille
FrontierVille
The Pioneer Trail, formerly known as FrontierVille is a simulation, role-playing video game available for play on social networking sites such as Facebook. It is developed by Zynga and was launched on June 9, 2010...
on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
Personal life
Reynolds met his wife, who at the time was an elementary schoolPrimary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
teacher in Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
, at a live action role-playing
Live action role-playing game
A live action role-playing game is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically act out their characters' actions. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by the real world, while interacting with each other in character. The outcome of player actions may...
event in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The two were married in August 1994 and due to Colonization being released in less than a month, had only a week long honeymoon
Honeymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...
. They have two sons, Robert and Caleb, and a greyhound, Trixie.
Charles Kibler, a game designer at BreakAway Games
BreakAway Games
BreakAway Games is a video game developer based in Hunt Valley, Maryland established in 1998. Their executive staff is composed of several veterans from companies such as MicroProse, Origin Systems, Atari and Acclaim Entertainment....
, is Reynolds' uncle.
Games
- FrontierVilleFrontierVilleThe Pioneer Trail, formerly known as FrontierVille is a simulation, role-playing video game available for play on social networking sites such as Facebook. It is developed by Zynga and was launched on June 9, 2010...
(2010) (chief game designer) - Age of Empires 3: The Asian Dynasties (2007) (creative director)
- CatanCatanCatan is the Xbox Live Arcade version of Klaus Teuber's The Settlers of Catan, developed by Big Huge Games in collaboration with Teuber. It was released on May 2, 2007 for 800 Microsoft Points...
(2007) (project lead and AI) - Rise of Nations: Rise of LegendsRise of Nations: Rise of LegendsRise of Nations: Rise of Legends is a real-time strategy game for the PC made by Big Huge Games, and published by Microsoft. It is a spin off of the popular game Rise of Nations, released in May 2003. However, rather than being a historical game, it is based in a fantasy world, where technology and...
(2006) (project lead and lead designer) - Rise of Nations: Thrones & Patriots (2004) (lead designer)
- Rise of NationsRise of NationsRise of Nations is a real-time strategy computer game, developed by Big Huge Games and published by Microsoft on May 20, 2003. The development of the game was led by veteran Brian Reynolds, of Civilization II and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Concepts taken from turn-based strategy games have been...
(2003) (lead designer) - Sid Meier's Alpha CentauriSid Meier's Alpha CentauriSid Meier's Alpha Centauri is the critically acclaimed science fiction 4X turn-based strategy video game sequel to the Civilization series. Sid Meier, designer of Civilization, and Brian Reynolds, designer of Civilization II, developed Alpha Centauri after they left MicroProse to join the newly...
(1999) (lead designer) - Sid Meier's Gettysburg!Sid Meier's Gettysburg!Sid Meier's Gettysburg! is a real-time tactical computer game designed by Sid Meier, the co-founder of Firaxis Games, that was released in 1997 by Electronic Arts. In 1998, Gettysburg won the Origins Award for Best Strategy Computer Game of 1997...
(1997) (contributions) - Sid Meier's Civilization II (1996) (lead designer)
- Sid Meier's Colonization (1994) (designer)
- DragonsphereDragonsphereDragonsphere is a "point-and-click" graphic adventure game developed and published by MicroProse in 1994. At the time it had "mind-blowing graphics" and was considered a novelty, and it is still a cult classic for many....
(1992) (technical director) - Return of the PhantomReturn of the PhantomReturn of the Phantom is a "point-and-click" style graphic animated adventure developed and published by MicroProse in 1993. It was produced by Matt Gruson and designed/written by future James Bond novelist Raymond Benson....
(1993) (lead programmer) - Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender BenderRex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender BenderRex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender is a "point-and-click" style graphic animated adventure developed and published by Microprose in November of 1992.The game is the first graphical adventure game developed by Microprose...
(1992) (lead programmer) - Quest 1Quest 1Quest 1 is a single-player text adventure game originally written for the TRS-80 and translated for the Apple II and Atari 8-bit computer families. It was created by Brian Reynolds and published by SoftSide Magazine in 1981. It was subsequently republished in The Best of SoftSide and released on...
(1981) (Author)