Gary Whitta
Encyclopedia
Gary Whitta is an English
screenwriter
, author
, game designer, and video games journalist. He is known as the former editor-in-chief of both the UK and US editions of PC Gamer
magazine and contributor to gaming magazine, ACE
.
magazine. When ACE closed down in 1992, he became deputy editor of "The One for Amiga" then was involved with founding the original PC Gamer magazine in the UK
. A few years later, he moved to the United States
to become editor-in-chief of the newer, US version, of PC Gamer
. He left the magazine in early 2000, but has continued to write columns for the publication.
Whitta still lives in the United States, currently residing in San Francisco, CA. In 2009, he became a US Citizen. He remains a devoted fan of Tottenham Hotspur Football
Club.
, and in early 2000 Whitta worked with Future to establish a film magazine, Total Movie Magazine. Due to financial difficulties at the publisher, Total Movie was canceled after only a couple issues in early 2001. According to Whitta:
While no longer managing or editing, Whitta still contributes game reviews and opinion pieces for a number of gaming publications. His articles can be found in various places, including PC Gamer and 1Up. He also shows up in industry podcasts, for example with Tested.com, PC Gamer and Next Generation.
and Futurama
.
Whitta has found Hollywood success as the screenwriter of the movie The Book of Eli
. He is also working on a script known only as the "Monkey Project" with Chris Weston
. More recent rumors have tied him to a Blizzard project, possibly a title based on the Diablo
series of games. It was later revealed that he was the primary screenwriter for the upcoming Warcraft movie, but is no longer contributing to the script after the confirmation of Sam Raimi as director. It was announced on www.Firstshowing.net, that Whitta was set to write the script for the live-action version of Akira
that is scheduled to be released in 2013. He wrote the script for the action thriller film Undying.
, Prey
, and Gears of War
. He has also consulted on general game design for Microsoft
, Electronic Arts
, Activision
, Midway Games
, and others.
Whitta is also the writer behind a popular short series of comic books based on the Death, Jr.
character, together with cover artist Mike Mignola
and illustrator Ted Naifeh
. Having been extended to a second three-part series, the writing has received praise as "charming and cleverly subversive" and for its "quirky characters and slick humor". Whitta spoke about his experience writing this comic with Silver Bullet Comics in May 2005.
podcast and he co-hosted the Game Theory podcast with Colin Campbell, which has since stopped being produced. In September 2011, Whitta and Campbell, now News and Features Editor at IGN
, started a new podcast in the same vain of Game Theory, called IGN's Game Business Show. He also commentated on the Next Gen podcast until the podcast was canceled.
As a friend of Whiskey Media
he is a weekly co-host of This is Only a Test (Tested) and an occasional guest on Behind the Screened Door (Screened), and the Giant Bombcast (Giant Bomb
). In October 2011, Whitta helped raise over $50,000 for Child's Play
when he co-hosted a 24-hour long, live-streamed edition of This is Only a Test with Tested creators Will Smith and Norman Chan.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, game designer, and video games journalist. He is known as the former editor-in-chief of both the UK and US editions of PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
magazine and contributor to gaming magazine, ACE
ACE (games magazine)
ACE was a multi-format computer and video game magazine first published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing and later acquired by EMAP.-History:...
.
Life and career
Whitta was born and raised in London, England. There, he began his career as a writer and games journalist, and came to ACEACE (games magazine)
ACE was a multi-format computer and video game magazine first published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing and later acquired by EMAP.-History:...
magazine. When ACE closed down in 1992, he became deputy editor of "The One for Amiga" then was involved with founding the original PC Gamer magazine in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. A few years later, he moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to become editor-in-chief of the newer, US version, of PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
. He left the magazine in early 2000, but has continued to write columns for the publication.
Whitta still lives in the United States, currently residing in San Francisco, CA. In 2009, he became a US Citizen. He remains a devoted fan of Tottenham Hotspur Football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
Club.
Magazine publishing
Besides his involvement setting up PC Gamer, Whitta has a long history of involvement with print and online magazines of all kinds. He was a contributing game reviewer for UK-based ACE magazine, an Amiga computer games. ACE was owned by UK publisher Future PublishingFuture Publishing
Future plc is a media company; in 2006, it was the sixth-largest in the United Kingdom. It publishes more than 150 magazines in fields such as video games, technology, automotive, cycling, films and photography. Future is the official magazine company of all three major games console manufacturers...
, and in early 2000 Whitta worked with Future to establish a film magazine, Total Movie Magazine. Due to financial difficulties at the publisher, Total Movie was canceled after only a couple issues in early 2001. According to Whitta:
I should take a minute to sort out the speculation as to why the magazine died: it was not due to any failure on its part. Actually, we were doing really well, with sell-through rates on the newsstand in the 60-80% region in many places (if you know anything about magazine publishing, you know that's pretty impressive), and we had just finished our first monthly issue and DVD when we learned it would not be printed and published.
While no longer managing or editing, Whitta still contributes game reviews and opinion pieces for a number of gaming publications. His articles can be found in various places, including PC Gamer and 1Up. He also shows up in industry podcasts, for example with Tested.com, PC Gamer and Next Generation.
Screenwriting
In addition to contributing to periodicals, Whitta has written a number of screenplays and TV episodes. A partial list, including the text of those which were not picked up, could at one time be found on his homepage. Included among them are both movie scripts and TV episodes for Star Trek: VoyagerStar Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
and Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
.
Whitta has found Hollywood success as the screenwriter of the movie The Book of Eli
The Book of Eli
The Book of Eli is a 2010 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by the Hughes brothers, written by Gary Whitta, and starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson and Jennifer Beals....
. He is also working on a script known only as the "Monkey Project" with Chris Weston
Chris Weston
Chris Weston is a British comics artist who has worked both in the US and UK comics industries.-Biography:Weston was born in January, 1969 in Rinteln, Germany, and lived in various countries as a child...
. More recent rumors have tied him to a Blizzard project, possibly a title based on the Diablo
Diablo (video game)
Diablo is a dark fantasy-themed action role-playing game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment on December 31, 1996....
series of games. It was later revealed that he was the primary screenwriter for the upcoming Warcraft movie, but is no longer contributing to the script after the confirmation of Sam Raimi as director. It was announced on www.Firstshowing.net, that Whitta was set to write the script for the live-action version of Akira
Akira (film)
is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk science fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, and starring the voices of Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama and Taro Ishida. The screenplay is based on Otomo's manga Akira....
that is scheduled to be released in 2013. He wrote the script for the action thriller film Undying.
Game development
In the realm of game development, Whitta has consulted on a number of game titles. Perhaps his best known contributions have been as a writer for Duke Nukem ForeverDuke Nukem Forever
Duke Nukem Forever is a 2011 first-person shooter video game for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 developed by 3D Realms and Triptych Games and finished by Gearbox Software and Piranha Games...
, Prey
Prey (video game)
Prey is a first-person shooter video game developed by Human Head Studios , and published by 2K Games. The Xbox 360 version was ported by Venom Games. The game was initially released in North America and Europe on 11 July 2006...
, and Gears of War
Gears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
. He has also consulted on general game design for 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...
, Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
, Midway Games
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
, and others.
Comic books
Death, Jr.
Death Jr. is a video game for the PlayStation Portable. The PSP iteration was the very first PSP game ever shown publicly and advertised as a killer-app. It was released to fairly mediocre reviews and noted for numerous problems about the camera, gameplay and uninspiring graphics, but was praised...
character, together with cover artist Mike Mignola
Mike Mignola
Michael Joseph "Mike" Mignola is an American comic book artist and writer who created the comic book series Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics. He has worked for animation projects such as Atlantis: The Lost Empire and the adaptation of his one shot comic book, The Amazing Screw-On Head.-Career:Mignola...
and illustrator Ted Naifeh
Ted Naifeh
Edward "Ted" Naifeh is an American comic book writer and artist who gained notoriety for his illustrations in the goth romance comic Gloomcookie...
. Having been extended to a second three-part series, the writing has received praise as "charming and cleverly subversive" and for its "quirky characters and slick humor". Whitta spoke about his experience writing this comic with Silver Bullet Comics in May 2005.
Podcasts
Whitta was a frequent commentator on the PC GamerPC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
podcast and he co-hosted the Game Theory podcast with Colin Campbell, which has since stopped being produced. In September 2011, Whitta and Campbell, now News and Features Editor at IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, started a new podcast in the same vain of Game Theory, called IGN's Game Business Show. He also commentated on the Next Gen podcast until the podcast was canceled.
As a friend of Whiskey Media
Whiskey Media
Whiskey Media is an independent American online media company founded by CNET co-founder Shelby Bonnie. It is the parent company of Giant Bomb, Comic Vine, Anime Vice, Tested and Screened. Whiskey Media websites are wiki community based, while maintaining an editorial staff. The company's target...
he is a weekly co-host of This is Only a Test (Tested) and an occasional guest on Behind the Screened Door (Screened), and the Giant Bombcast (Giant Bomb
Giant Bomb
Giant Bomb is an American video game website and wiki that includes gaming news, reviews, commentary, and video, created by former GameSpot editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis in collaboration with Whiskey Media...
). In October 2011, Whitta helped raise over $50,000 for Child's Play
Child's Play (charity)
Child's Play is a charitable organization founded by the authors of the popular computer and video games-based webcomic Penny Arcade that organizes worldwide toy drives to children's hospitals. Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins founded Child's Play in 2003 to improve the lives of sick children by...
when he co-hosted a 24-hour long, live-streamed edition of This is Only a Test with Tested creators Will Smith and Norman Chan.
External links
- Moby Games developer profile
- Amazon.com list of books
- The "Gaz" Blog – Personal Blog
- Famous Whitta quotes – ThinkExist.com