Gregory Weir
Encyclopedia
Gregory Weir is an American
game designer and writer. He is known for creating short Flash games. He currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina
, United States
.
At college he produced a weekly comic in his college newspaper called “The Absolute Sum of All Evil”.
Weir writes most of his games in a language called ActionScript 3
for the Flash
platform, with the intent that they be played in a web
browser. He takes responsibility for the graphics, the programming, and the design of the games.
Weir funds his work through a bid-based model, where casual gaming portals such as Kongregate
or Armor Games
bid to sponsor Flash projects in exchange for privileges such as their logo appearing in the final game, site exclusivity, or other benefits. Weir's games are developed start to finish, and then offered up for sponsorship as a complete product. Says Weir, "That means that I get to maintain creative freedom, although it does introduce uncertainty. I’m never quite sure if a game is going to get sponsors interested at all."
The advertising and sponsorship money Weir receives from his games, in combination with his work writing for website GameSetWatch
, is enough to fully financially support him.
, which he praises as "an incredibly emotional work", drawing attention to that game's schism between the goal of killing huge creatures while at the same time feeling ambivalent about the morality of those actions.
He also speaks fondly of Planescape: Torment
, which he says "continually asks the question, 'What can change the nature of a man?'" He adds, "It gives a lot of answers over the course of the game, but never holds one up as the correct one."
He has commented on Knytt, saying, "It manages to create better atmosphere with a few hundred pixels and some sound loops than any multi-million-dollar triple-A video game title."
Weir has mentioned H. P. Lovecraft
as an influence, specifically for The Majesty of Colours but also in general, saying, "He wasn’t the best writer, but his ideas are amazing. He’s the first fiction writer I know of to focus on the idea that humans are not the most powerful beings in the world, and that there are things out there that we can’t understand."
During 2008 and 2009, Weir undertook paid work writing for game website GameSetWatch
, an opportunity which came about after he wrote an article about the videogame Phyta on his blog Ludus Novus.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
game designer and writer. He is known for creating short Flash games. He currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Early life and education
Weir received little formal art training, other than occasional art and cartooning classes while growing up.At college he produced a weekly comic in his college newspaper called “The Absolute Sum of All Evil”.
Career
Up until 2008, Weir worked as a web developer for RealEstate.com. Prior to his fully released games, Weir developed hobby game projects in Logowriter, Hypercard, DOS batch scripts, Megazeux, and Inform 6 and 7.Weir writes most of his games in a language called ActionScript 3
ActionScript
ActionScript is an object-oriented language originally developed by Macromedia Inc. . It is a dialect of ECMAScript , and is used primarily for the development of websites and software targeting the Adobe Flash Player platform, used on Web pages in the form of...
for the Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
platform, with the intent that they be played in a web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
browser. He takes responsibility for the graphics, the programming, and the design of the games.
Weir funds his work through a bid-based model, where casual gaming portals such as Kongregate
Kongregate
Kongregate is an online games hosting website owned by Gamestop Corporation, which allows users to upload user-created Adobe Flash or Unity3D games. It features an API that Flash and Unity developers can integrate into their games which allows users to submit high scores and in some games, earn...
or Armor Games
Armor Games
Armor Games, formerly Games Of Gondor, is a website based in Irvine, California, that hosts free Flash-based browser games. Armor Games was founded by Daniel McNeely. Under its former name, it hosted The Lord of the Rings-themed content, such as the games "Hob the Hobbit", "Battle for Gondor", and...
bid to sponsor Flash projects in exchange for privileges such as their logo appearing in the final game, site exclusivity, or other benefits. Weir's games are developed start to finish, and then offered up for sponsorship as a complete product. Says Weir, "That means that I get to maintain creative freedom, although it does introduce uncertainty. I’m never quite sure if a game is going to get sponsors interested at all."
The advertising and sponsorship money Weir receives from his games, in combination with his work writing for website GameSetWatch
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...
, is enough to fully financially support him.
Influences
Among the games that Weir has suggested influence his work is Shadow of the ColossusShadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus, released in Japan as , is an action-adventure game published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game was released in North America and Japan in October 2005 and PAL territories in February 2006...
, which he praises as "an incredibly emotional work", drawing attention to that game's schism between the goal of killing huge creatures while at the same time feeling ambivalent about the morality of those actions.
He also speaks fondly of Planescape: Torment
Planescape: Torment
Planescape: Torment is a computer role-playing game developed for Windows by Black Isle Studios and released on December 12, 1999 by Interplay Entertainment. It takes place in Planescape, an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy campaign setting...
, which he says "continually asks the question, 'What can change the nature of a man?'" He adds, "It gives a lot of answers over the course of the game, but never holds one up as the correct one."
He has commented on Knytt, saying, "It manages to create better atmosphere with a few hundred pixels and some sound loops than any multi-million-dollar triple-A video game title."
Weir has mentioned H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
as an influence, specifically for The Majesty of Colours but also in general, saying, "He wasn’t the best writer, but his ideas are amazing. He’s the first fiction writer I know of to focus on the idea that humans are not the most powerful beings in the world, and that there are things out there that we can’t understand."
Writing
Weir blogs on gaming and game design at his site, Ludus Novus.During 2008 and 2009, Weir undertook paid work writing for game website GameSetWatch
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...
, an opportunity which came about after he wrote an article about the videogame Phyta on his blog Ludus Novus.
Games
- NecropolisNecropolis (browser game)Necropolis is a browser game implemented in Adobe Flash. It was released in October 2008 and is the first game by game designer and programmer Gregory Weir. It was sponsored by Spanish gaming portal MiniJuegos.com.-Gameplay:User play as "Ms...
- The Majesty of ColorsThe Majesty of ColorsThe Majesty of Colors is a Flash browser game by Gregory Weir. It is Weir's second full game and was released in December 2008. Weir described the game as "pixel-horror".-Gameplay:...
- Bars of Black and White
- Exploit
- Sugarcore
- How to Raise a Dragon
- Silent Conversation
- The Mold Fairy
- The Bryant Collection
- Backup
- Looming
- The Day
- A Ride Home
- Beneath the Waves
External links
- Ludus Novus, Weir's blog, with playable versions of many of Weir's games