Scott Orr
Encyclopedia
Scott Orr is an American
computer game and video game designer best known as the original lead designer on the first video game console
versions of the North American best-selling game, Madden NFL Football
. In 2001 Wired magazine named Orr on its list of "gamemaking gods."
Although Orr is most often thought of for his work on Madden, his career in sports games spans over 20 years, and he also has a strong track record founding companies as an entrepreneur
.
, a game publisher specializing in Commodore 64
sports games, and served as their lead designer. The company's titles included:
Orr sold the company to Activision
in 1986. He spent the late 1980s working for Activision, and then consulting for various games companies.
producer Richard Hilleman
hired Orr to re-design John Madden Football, then a disappointing Apple II
game, for the fast-growing Sega Genesis. Orr and Hilleman together developed the game that we still recognize today as Madden Football, the best-selling title in the history of games in North America. Orr focused, as he had at GameStar, on producing a great head-to-head 2-player game with an intuitive interface
, and with responsive controls. Hilleman and Orr played each other continually, honing the design. When the game shipped it was almost immediately a major hit.
Orr joined EA full-time in 1991 after the success of Madden on the Genesis, and began a ten-year period of his career when he personally supervised the production of Madden Football. During this time he and his EA team also created the following EA Sports
hits, each of which was updated annually:
He continued to work with Hilleman during much of this period, and both were promoted to corporate VP and senior management roles in EA product development.
During this time Orr also produced two educational titles for EA Kids, a division later renamed Creative Wonders
:
. Tiburon has successfully built upon the Madden franchise traditions developed by Orr and Hilleman, and the game has remained one of the biggest hits in the industry each year.
In 2004 Orr (and his brother Keith) were ejected from Sorrent by the board, and founded Bigdog Games to develop next-gen console and handheld games. Sorrent's name was changed to Glu Mobile in 2005, and the company went public with an IPO in 2007. In 2006 Bigdog Games expanded its charter into digital publishing and changed its name to D2C Games.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
computer game and video game designer best known as the original lead designer on the first video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
versions of the North American best-selling game, Madden NFL Football
Madden NFL
Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game series is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders and color commentator...
. In 2001 Wired magazine named Orr on its list of "gamemaking gods."
Although Orr is most often thought of for his work on Madden, his career in sports games spans over 20 years, and he also has a strong track record founding companies as an entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
.
GameStar
In 1982 Orr founded GameStarGameStar
GameStar is a monthly released PC computer game magazine, published by the IDG Entertainment Media GmbH in Germany. In 2008 it had an average monthly circulation of 250,000 copies and is therefore the best sold PC computer game magazine in Europe. It is also being published in Hungary, the Czech...
, a game publisher specializing in Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
sports games, and served as their lead designer. The company's titles included:
- On Court Tennis (1984)
- Championship BaseballChampionship BaseballChampionship Baseball is a computer game developed by Activision's Gamestar division in 1986.-Gameplay:This baseball simulation has a split-screen view, which gives the player a first-person perspective of the action, whether he is pitching or playing defense.-Reception:The game was reviewed in...
(1984) - Barry McGuigan World Championship BoxingBarry McGuigan World Championship BoxingBarry McGuigan World Championship Boxing is a British 1985 computer game for 8-bit home computers released by Activision and later re-released by Mastertronic for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.-Gameplay:...
(1985) - GFL Championship Football (1985) -- American Football
- Star Rank Boxing (1985)
- Gamestar Basketball Association (GBA) Championship Basketball - Two-on-Two (1986)
- Star Rank Boxing II (1987)
- Top Fuel Eliminator (1987)
- Face Off!Face Off!Face Off! is an hockey game developed by Mindspan Technologies and published by GameStar on 1989. The game's features include not only the ability to play with your chosen hockey player, but also game plans, team maneuvers and management.- Gameplay :...
(1987) - Gamestar Championship Sports Pack (1987) -- Miscellaneous sports
Orr sold the company to 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...
in 1986. He spent the late 1980s working for Activision, and then consulting for various games companies.
The creation of Madden NFL
In 1990 EAElectronic 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...
producer Richard Hilleman
Richard Hilleman
Richard Hilleman is an American computer game and video game producer best known for his work creating the original Madden Football game for video game consoles for Electronic Arts. Apart from Madden, Hilleman was a key figure in building the massive EA Sports brand and has spent over 20 years...
hired Orr to re-design John Madden Football, then a disappointing Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
game, for the fast-growing Sega Genesis. Orr and Hilleman together developed the game that we still recognize today as Madden Football, the best-selling title in the history of games in North America. Orr focused, as he had at GameStar, on producing a great head-to-head 2-player game with an intuitive interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
, and with responsive controls. Hilleman and Orr played each other continually, honing the design. When the game shipped it was almost immediately a major hit.
Orr joined EA full-time in 1991 after the success of Madden on the Genesis, and began a ten-year period of his career when he personally supervised the production of Madden Football. During this time he and his EA team also created the following EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
hits, each of which was updated annually:
- NHLPA Hockey
- NCAA Football
- Andretti RacingAndretti RacingThis article is about the 1994 video game Andretti Racing. For the current racing team, see Andretti Autosport.Andretti Racing is a video game that was released in 1994 on the Sega Mega Drive and Genesis. It was an early title in the newly-created EA Sports line, and was developed by Stormfront...
- NASCAR RacingNASCAR 2000For the 2000 NASCAR Season bearing the same name, see 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series.NASCAR 2000 is a racing simulator video game developed and published by EA Sports and co-developed by Stormfront Studios. The game was released on September 15, 1999 for the Nintendo 64, November 30, 1999 for the...
(later called NASCAR Thunder) - Knockout KingsKnockout KingsKnockout Kings is a series of boxing games that were produced by EA Sports for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Color and GameCube yearly between 1998 and 2003....
He continued to work with Hilleman during much of this period, and both were promoted to corporate VP and senior management roles in EA product development.
During this time Orr also produced two educational titles for EA Kids, a division later renamed Creative Wonders
Creative Wonders
Creative Wonders was an educational software corporation from 1994 to 1999. It created computer games based on children's characters like Madeline, Sesame Street, Arthur, The Baby-sitters Club and Schoolhouse Rock!.-History of the company:...
:
- Eagle Eye MysteriesEagle Eye MysteriesEagle Eye Mysteries is a two-part series of educational computer games developed by Stormfront Studios and published by EA*Kids. The game is a first-person detective game that involves reading, writing and puzzle-solving. The in-game protagonists are twins Jake and Jennifer Eagle who form the Eagle...
, which featured The first use of motion control photography in video games, by Stormfront StudiosStormfront StudiosStormfront Studios was a video game developer based in San Rafael, California which had one of the longest creative histories in the industry. In 2007, the company had over 50 developers working on two teams, and owned all its proprietary engines, tools and technology. As of the end of 2007 over...
. - Eagle Eye Mysteries in London
Mobile games
In 2001 Orr resigned from EA and subsequently founded cell phone game design company Sorrent, an abbreviation of Scott Orr Entertainment. Control of the Madden and NASCAR titles went to the internal EA studio Tiburon Entertainment in Orlando, FloridaOrlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. Tiburon has successfully built upon the Madden franchise traditions developed by Orr and Hilleman, and the game has remained one of the biggest hits in the industry each year.
In 2004 Orr (and his brother Keith) were ejected from Sorrent by the board, and founded Bigdog Games to develop next-gen console and handheld games. Sorrent's name was changed to Glu Mobile in 2005, and the company went public with an IPO in 2007. In 2006 Bigdog Games expanded its charter into digital publishing and changed its name to D2C Games.