Joe Sparks
Encyclopedia
Joe Sparks is an American
video game developer
, animator
, songwriter
, web publisher, and multimedia
consultant from San Francisco, California
.
He is best known for his Flash animation and video games. His Radiskull and Devil Doll cartoons were an internet craze in 2000-2001. His pioneering games Total Distortion
and the classic Mac adventure game Spaceship Warlock
won much acclaim.
in 1992. He left to found Pop Rocket, which produced the critically acclaimed video game Total Distortion
, to moderate success. Pop Rocket folded in 1995, with Sparks returning to Macromedia in 1997 as a creative developer.
Sparks was instrumental in the formation and lasting success of shockwave.com, most especially because of the popularity of Radiskull and Devil Doll. He created all the graphics, programming, and animation, as well as wrote and recorded all the music.
A pioneer of the interactive web, Joe Sparks has been asked to speak at industry conferences and educational events. He continues to publish various media on his website, joesparks.com, and works as a consultant and contractor for development and design.
Sparks currently works for Google.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
video game developer
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...
, animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, web publisher, and multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
consultant from San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
He is best known for his Flash animation and video games. His Radiskull and Devil Doll cartoons were an internet craze in 2000-2001. His pioneering games Total Distortion
Total Distortion
Total Distortion is a 1995 full motion video adventure game for Mac and Windows, developed by Pop Rocket. It was critically acclaimed for being innovative and creative....
and the classic Mac adventure game Spaceship Warlock
Spaceship Warlock
Spaceship Warlock is an adventure game created by Mike Saenz and Joe Sparks. The game featured arcade action and interactive dialogue, which enabled the player to type whatever he chose. The game was released in 1991 for the Macintosh and in 1994 for Windows. It was graphically ahead of its time...
won much acclaim.
Career
Joe Sparks was an early employee of Paracomp, which had become MacromediaMacromedia
Macromedia was an American graphics and web development software company headquartered in San Francisco, California that produced such products as Flash and Dreamweaver. Its rival, Adobe Systems, acquired Macromedia on December 3, 2005 and controls the line of Macromedia...
in 1992. He left to found Pop Rocket, which produced the critically acclaimed video game Total Distortion
Total Distortion
Total Distortion is a 1995 full motion video adventure game for Mac and Windows, developed by Pop Rocket. It was critically acclaimed for being innovative and creative....
, to moderate success. Pop Rocket folded in 1995, with Sparks returning to Macromedia in 1997 as a creative developer.
Sparks was instrumental in the formation and lasting success of shockwave.com, most especially because of the popularity of Radiskull and Devil Doll. He created all the graphics, programming, and animation, as well as wrote and recorded all the music.
A pioneer of the interactive web, Joe Sparks has been asked to speak at industry conferences and educational events. He continues to publish various media on his website, joesparks.com, and works as a consultant and contractor for development and design.
Sparks currently works for Google.