Stieg Hedlund
Encyclopedia
Stieg Hedlund is a computer and video game designer, artist
, and writer
with over 20 years of experience who has worked on more than 30 games in the video game industry. Although he is probably best known for his work in action RPGs
, he has also worked on games in each of the real-time strategy
, tactical shooter
, beat-'em-up
and action-adventure
genres on the PC and almost every dedicated game console. He has a professed interest in conlangery
and linguistics.
area, Hedlund contributed to and co-ran a small but successful minicomic
during high school. He became a pen & paper RPG
designer "by the age of 16" after exploring "scenario creation, rule variants, balancing" and the like in Dungeons & Dragons
.
Hedlund began his career in the electronic entertainment field in 1987 at Infinity Software, a small publisher of games for the Macintosh, Commodore 64
and Amiga
.
Hedlund moved on to Japanese publisher Koei in 1990, which had established a North American subsidiary, Koei Corporation, in California two years earlier. Working at Koei both in Northern California and Japan, he was the lead designer for and/or originated a number of games including Liberty or Death, Celtic Tales: Balor of the Evil Eye, Gemfire and Saiyuki: Journey West. In 1995, shortly after Hedlund left the company, the subsidiary ceased its game development efforts.
After working on an unreleased Lord of the Rings
-based title for Electronic Arts
in the early '90s, Hedlund interviewed with Condor Software (the future Blizzard North
), then working on Justice League
. According to Hedlund the game concept "wasn't very appealing to me", leading to his instead going to work for the Sega Technical Institute in 1994, where, as lead game designer, he worked on titles like Die Hard Arcade
, Comix Zone
, The Ooze
and Sonic X-treme
. Hedlund has stated that in addition to his gaming experience, his experience "living and working in Japan" was another reason he was hired on at STI, since STI collaborated and integrated more game professionals from Japan than any of Sega’s other studios.
In 1996, three years after he first interviewed with the company, Hedlund ran into the three founders of Condor (STI and Condor were closely located on the eastern edge of the SF peninsula). He was impressed by the potential of their latest game, Diablo, and immediately joined the team taking on the lead design role. Three months before the release of Diablo, Blizzard
acquired Condor and renamed the company Blizzard North. Diablo would go on to become one of the most highly rated games of 1996.
In the wake of Diablos success, Hedlund designed the record-breaking Diablo II
, which was released in 2000. The title went on to become the second-best-selling PC
game of all time, the number one-selling RPG on the PC with over 15 million units sold and, according to the 2003 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, the fastest selling computer game ever sold, with more than 1 million units sold in the first two weeks of availability. According to the 2008 Guinness Gamer's Edition, the title still holds the record. Diablo II was also the recipient of many of the game industry's most prestigious awards, including the 2001 Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
Game of the Year Award.
While at Blizzard, he also participated in the design of both StarCraft
and the Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
expansion pack
. Starcraft was the best-selling PC game of 1998 and received numerous Game of the Year awards. A decade later it remains one of the most popular online games in the world, and was even named “the Greatest Game of All Time” by GameSpot. Diablo II: LOD was released in 2001, and helped to “reinforce the staying power of an already legendary RPG”. It too received numerous awards, including several for Best Expansion Pack of the Year, and tied with Baldur’s Gate II for Best RPG of the Year.
On April 17, 2000, Hedlund announced that he would be leaving Blizzard North "as soon as his responsibilities for Diablo II (had) been fulfilled" in order to start a new game-development firm called Full-On Amusement Company with business partners, programmers,and artists from Virgin Interactive
, Sega
, Sony Computer Entertainment
, Electronic Arts
, and Maxis
. During this time, Hedlund was also named as the designer to collaborate with five-time academy award nominated director David Lynch
on his unreleased Woodcutters from Fiery Ships game project.
Later in 2000, Hedlund joined Konami
as the company’s Creative Director and worked on titles such as the iconic Frogger
and Contra
series. In 2002, he went to work as Creative Director for Ubisoft
/ Red Storm Entertainment
on games such as Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2
and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown
, as well as contributing to Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. He also spent some time with Oddworld Inhabitants
doing foundational work for Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
.
Beginning in August 2004, Hedlund signed on with Perpetual Entertainment
as Design Director on the Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising
MMORPG, officially announced in March 2005. The game was shown at E3 2006 and received several “Best of Show” awards, with particular notice being paid to its innovative “minion” system. Although it was well into “content complete” beta testing by September 2007, the technology behind the game could not be stabilized, and after numerous delays and several rounds of layoffs the game was "indefinitely suspended" in mid-October 2007 even as further stability testing was underway. Hedlund left the company during its ensuing dissolution in the months that followed. Eventually the game got published in june 2011.
Game artist
A game artist is an artist who creates art for one or more types of games. Game artists are responsible for all of the aspects of game development that call for visual art...
, and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
with over 20 years of experience who has worked on more than 30 games in the video game industry. Although he is probably best known for his work in action RPGs
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
, he has also worked on games in each of the real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
, tactical shooter
Tactical shooter
A tactical shooter is a subgenre of shooter game that includes both first-person shooters and third-person shooters. These games typically simulate realistic combat, thus making tactics and caution more important than quick reflexes in other action games...
, beat-'em-up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
and action-adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
genres on the PC and almost every dedicated game console. He has a professed interest in conlangery
Constructed language
A planned or constructed language—known colloquially as a conlang—is a language whose phonology, grammar, and/or vocabulary has been consciously devised by an individual or group, instead of having evolved naturally...
and linguistics.
Design philosophy
Despite his lengthy resume, Hedlund is not known for having the "rock-star attitude" common among well-known designers in the industry. Hedlund has said that he is "more interested in how the audience feels" about his games than in the "accolades of (his) fellow game designers". He has further stated in interviews that he believes in a collaborative environment and that his door is "always open to anyone who had a design idea".Experience
Raised in the ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
area, Hedlund contributed to and co-ran a small but successful minicomic
Minicomic
A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term "small press comic" is equivalent with minicomic reserved for those publications measuring A6 or less...
during high school. He became a pen & paper RPG
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
designer "by the age of 16" after exploring "scenario creation, rule variants, balancing" and the like in Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
.
Hedlund began his career in the electronic entertainment field in 1987 at Infinity Software, a small publisher of games for the Macintosh, 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...
and Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
.
Hedlund moved on to Japanese publisher Koei in 1990, which had established a North American subsidiary, Koei Corporation, in California two years earlier. Working at Koei both in Northern California and Japan, he was the lead designer for and/or originated a number of games including Liberty or Death, Celtic Tales: Balor of the Evil Eye, Gemfire and Saiyuki: Journey West. In 1995, shortly after Hedlund left the company, the subsidiary ceased its game development efforts.
After working on an unreleased Lord of the Rings
Middle-earth in video games
While an immense number of computer and video games owe a great deal to J. R. R. Tolkien's works and the many other high fantasy settings based upon his, relatively few games have been directly adapted from his world of Middle-earth...
-based title for 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...
in the early '90s, Hedlund interviewed with Condor Software (the future Blizzard North
Blizzard North
Blizzard North was the Bay Area division of Blizzard Entertainment, known for the Diablo series. The studio was originally based in Redwood City, and then moved a short distance away to San Mateo, with Blizzard proper being based in Irvine .-History:Blizzard North was originally an independent...
), then working on Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
. According to Hedlund the game concept "wasn't very appealing to me", leading to his instead going to work for the Sega Technical Institute in 1994, where, as lead game designer, he worked on titles like Die Hard Arcade
Die Hard Arcade
Die Hard Arcade is the licensed North American, European and Australian version of the Japanese videogame . The game is a beat 'em up with loose ties to the Die Hard movie series of the same name....
, Comix Zone
Comix Zone
Comix Zone is a arcade-style action game. The game's unique feature is that it is set within the panels of a comic book. Each level consists of two pages and secrets are discovered by shredding the paper and revealing items. The unique dialogue is rendered within talk bubbles with the typical...
, The Ooze
The Ooze
The Ooze is a video game developed by Sega Technical Institute and released in 1995 for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. In the game, players take the role of a slimy puddle of liquid and face off against various enemies and obstacles.-Plot:...
and Sonic X-treme
Sonic X-treme
Sonic X-treme is a canceled platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Early version were considered for several systems until ending up as being developed by Sega for the Sega Saturn, with the intended release being around Christmas of 1996. However, after getting stuck in development...
. Hedlund has stated that in addition to his gaming experience, his experience "living and working in Japan" was another reason he was hired on at STI, since STI collaborated and integrated more game professionals from Japan than any of Sega’s other studios.
In 1996, three years after he first interviewed with the company, Hedlund ran into the three founders of Condor (STI and Condor were closely located on the eastern edge of the SF peninsula). He was impressed by the potential of their latest game, Diablo, and immediately joined the team taking on the lead design role. Three months before the release of Diablo, Blizzard
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
acquired Condor and renamed the company Blizzard North. Diablo would go on to become one of the most highly rated games of 1996.
Diablo II
Diablo II is a dark fantasy/horror-themed hack and slash, with elements of the role playing game and dungeon crawl genres. It was released for Windows and Mac OS in 2000 by Blizzard Entertainment, and was developed by Blizzard North. It is a direct sequel to the 1996 hit PC game, Diablo.Diablo II...
, which was released in 2000. The title went on to become the second-best-selling PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
game of all time, the number one-selling RPG on the PC with over 15 million units sold and, according to the 2003 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, the fastest selling computer game ever sold, with more than 1 million units sold in the first two weeks of availability. According to the 2008 Guinness Gamer's Edition, the title still holds the record. Diablo II was also the recipient of many of the game industry's most prestigious awards, including the 2001 Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences , founded in 1996, is a non-profit organization that promotes computer and video game entertainment with the annual D.I.C.E. Summit event, where its Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony has been held annually since 1998...
Game of the Year Award.
While at Blizzard, he also participated in the design of both StarCraft
StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
and the Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction is an expansion pack for the hack and slash action role-playing game Diablo II...
expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
. Starcraft was the best-selling PC game of 1998 and received numerous Game of the Year awards. A decade later it remains one of the most popular online games in the world, and was even named “the Greatest Game of All Time” by GameSpot. Diablo II: LOD was released in 2001, and helped to “reinforce the staying power of an already legendary RPG”. It too received numerous awards, including several for Best Expansion Pack of the Year, and tied with Baldur’s Gate II for Best RPG of the Year.
On April 17, 2000, Hedlund announced that he would be leaving Blizzard North "as soon as his responsibilities for Diablo II (had) been fulfilled" in order to start a new game-development firm called Full-On Amusement Company with business partners, programmers,and artists from Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group...
, Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
, Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
, 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...
, and Maxis
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
. During this time, Hedlund was also named as the designer to collaborate with five-time academy award nominated director David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
on his unreleased Woodcutters from Fiery Ships game project.
Later in 2000, Hedlund joined Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
as the company’s Creative Director and worked on titles such as the iconic Frogger
Frogger
Frogger is an arcade game introduced in 1981. It was developed by Konami, and licensed for worldwide distribution by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct frogs to their homes one by one. To do this, each frog must avoid cars while crossing a busy road and navigate a river full of...
and Contra
Contra
Contra is a Latin preposition meaning "against". It is very frequently abbreviated to con, which is a separate preposition. It may refer to:*Contras, Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries opposed to the Sandinistas...
series. In 2002, he went to work as Creative Director for Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
/ Red Storm Entertainment
Red Storm Entertainment
Ubisoft Red Storm is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ubisoft Entertainment, specializing in video games and related merchandise, mainly based on the works of the writer Tom Clancy. The company develops and markets their own CD/DVD-ROM games...
on games such as Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 is the third console installment in the popular Ghost Recon tactical shooter video game series, published by Ubisoft. It is a sequel to Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon....
and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown is the fourth game in the Rainbow Six series. The initial design and PlayStation 2 version were developed by Red Storm Entertainment and the Xbox version was developed by the Ubisoft Montreal studio. Both are published by Ubisoft...
, as well as contributing to Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. He also spent some time with Oddworld Inhabitants
Oddworld Inhabitants
Oddworld Inhabitants Inc. is an American video game developer founded in 1994 by special-effects and computer-animation veterans Sherry McKenna and Lorne Lanning. The company is primarily known for the Oddworld Quintology, a series of award-winning video games about the fictional planet of Oddworld...
doing foundational work for Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is an action-adventure game developed by Oddworld Inhabitants and published by Electronic Arts for the Microsoft Xbox. Music for the game was written by composer Michael Bross. It was released on January 25, 2005. A version for the PlayStation 2 was planned, but...
.
Beginning in August 2004, Hedlund signed on with Perpetual Entertainment
Perpetual Entertainment
Perpetual Entertainment, founded in March 2002, was an American developer, publisher and operator of networked multiplayer games and MMORPGs. Their headquarters were in San Francisco, California, USA. From October 2007 to February 2008 the company was known as P2 Entertainment...
as Design Director on the Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising
Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising
Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising is the title of an MMORPG made by Heatwave Interactive. The game is set in the world of Ancient Rome, and combines historical elements and enemies with mythological ones...
MMORPG, officially announced in March 2005. The game was shown at E3 2006 and received several “Best of Show” awards, with particular notice being paid to its innovative “minion” system. Although it was well into “content complete” beta testing by September 2007, the technology behind the game could not be stabilized, and after numerous delays and several rounds of layoffs the game was "indefinitely suspended" in mid-October 2007 even as further stability testing was underway. Hedlund left the company during its ensuing dissolution in the months that followed. Eventually the game got published in june 2011.