Chris Roberts
Encyclopedia
Chris Roberts is a computer game designer, programmer
, film
producer
, and director
. He is best known for creating the popular Wing Commander
series while employed at Origin Systems
.
, Roberts grew up in Manchester
, England
. He attended the same school with the computer music composer Martin Galway
. As a teenager, he created several hit games for the BBC Micro
, including Stryker's Run and Wizadore.
in 1986. He soon found a job at Origin Systems, where he created Times of Lore
, published in 1988. The game's interface had a strong influence on other Origin products such as the popular Ultima series. A similar game system was used in Roberts' next release for Origin, Bad Blood
(1990). Wing Commander was published later in 1990 and was highly acclaimed. Wing Commander (and the franchise it spawned) soon became Origin's most successful product, eclipsing even the Ultima series. Roberts wasn't as heavily involved in the sequel Wing Commander II
, which he only produced. He instead concentrated on Strike Commander
. First shown to the public at Summer CES
1991, the project suffered from numerous delays and wasn't released until 1993. Roberts returned to Wing Commander soon after, devising the original concept for the spin-off Wing Commander: Privateer
(which his brother, Erin Roberts, produced) and being more deeply involved in Wing Commander III and Wing Commander IV. For these sequels, Roberts directed the live-action cinematic scenes.
Following the traditions of Origin Systems, Chris Roberts' residence at the outskirts of Austin, Texas
was aptly named "Commander's Ranch", a reference to the Wing Commander series he created.
along with Marten Gerald Davies EA National Sales Manager PC, Origin producer Tony Zurovec and his brother Erin Roberts. The fledgling studio set up shop in Austin and for several years worked quietly, inking a publishing deal with Microsoft
in 1997.
Roberts had stated that he desired to produce films as well as games with Digital Anvil. The 1999 feature film release of Wing Commander
directed by Roberts himself, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and featuring visual effects
from Digital Anvil failed to attract either critical praise or financial success.
Digital Anvil's first finished game was Starlancer
, released to a generally warm critical reception in 2000. Developed externally at Warthog, the game was produced by the Roberts brothers, and featured only some contributions by Digital Anvil. The company was acquired by Microsoft soon after, who sold two of Digital Anvil's projects to Ubi Soft. Roberts left the company after the acquisition, abandoning the director position of his extremely ambitious project Freelancer
, even though he remained with the game in a consulting role for a while. The game was commonly regarded as vaporware
due to its promised release date of 2001. The game was eventually released in 2003 with a markedly different feature set than the initial plans, but was received fairly favorably.
, The Jacket
and Lord of War
.
Game programmer
A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. He is best known for creating the popular Wing Commander
Wing Commander (franchise)
Wing Commander is a video game media franchise consisting of space combat simulation computer games from Origin Systems, Inc., an animated television series, a feature film, a collectible card game, a series of novels, and action figures...
series while employed at Origin Systems
Origin Systems
Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...
.
Early years
Born in Redwood City, CaliforniaRedwood City, California
Redwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...
, Roberts grew up in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He attended the same school with the computer music composer Martin Galway
Martin Galway
Martin Galway is one of the best known composers of music for the Commodore 64 sound chip, the SID soundchip, and for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum...
. As a teenager, he created several hit games for the BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
, including Stryker's Run and Wizadore.
Origin Systems
Roberts returned to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1986. He soon found a job at Origin Systems, where he created Times of Lore
Times of Lore
Times of Lore is an action role-playing game with a detailed world. It was released for several platforms, including PC, Commodore 64/128, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad, Atari ST, Apple II, NES, and Amiga.-Description:...
, published in 1988. The game's interface had a strong influence on other Origin products such as the popular Ultima series. A similar game system was used in Roberts' next release for Origin, Bad Blood
Bad Blood (video game)
-Story:A nuclear war has turned the world into a wasteland. The pure-blooded humans have retreated in large cities while mutants live in small villages on the plains where they make a living by hunting the many monsters. Now one of the human leaders, Lord Dominix, wants to start a war to wipe out...
(1990). Wing Commander was published later in 1990 and was highly acclaimed. Wing Commander (and the franchise it spawned) soon became Origin's most successful product, eclipsing even the Ultima series. Roberts wasn't as heavily involved in the sequel Wing Commander II
Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi
Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi is the first sequel in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulator franchise of computer games, produced by Origin Systems....
, which he only produced. He instead concentrated on Strike Commander
Strike Commander
Strike Commander is a flight sim computer game for MS-DOS released in 1993 by the now defunct Origin Systems and designed by Chris Roberts. Its 3D graphics-engine used both gouraud shading and texture-mapping on both aircraft-models and terrain, an impressive feat at the time...
. First shown to the public at Summer CES
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
1991, the project suffered from numerous delays and wasn't released until 1993. Roberts returned to Wing Commander soon after, devising the original concept for the spin-off Wing Commander: Privateer
Wing Commander: Privateer
Wing Commander: Privateer is an adventure space flight simulation computer game released by Origin Systems in 1993. Privateer and its storyline is part of the Wing Commander series...
(which his brother, Erin Roberts, produced) and being more deeply involved in Wing Commander III and Wing Commander IV. For these sequels, Roberts directed the live-action cinematic scenes.
Following the traditions of Origin Systems, Chris Roberts' residence at the outskirts of Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
was aptly named "Commander's Ranch", a reference to the Wing Commander series he created.
Digital Anvil
Roberts left Origin in 1996 and founded Digital AnvilDigital Anvil
Digital Anvil was a computer game company. It was founded in 1996, when Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts left Origin Systems, Inc., along with many other employees....
along with Marten Gerald Davies EA National Sales Manager PC, Origin producer Tony Zurovec and his brother Erin Roberts. The fledgling studio set up shop in Austin and for several years worked quietly, inking a publishing deal with 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...
in 1997.
Roberts had stated that he desired to produce films as well as games with Digital Anvil. The 1999 feature film release of Wing Commander
Wing Commander (film)
Wing Commander is a science fiction film based on the same titled video game series, released in 1999. It was directed by Chris Roberts, the creator of the game series, and stars Freddie Prinze, Jr., Matthew Lillard, Saffron Burrows, Tchéky Karyo, Jürgen Prochnow, David Suchet and David Warner...
directed by Roberts himself, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and featuring visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
from Digital Anvil failed to attract either critical praise or financial success.
Digital Anvil's first finished game was Starlancer
Starlancer
Starlancer is a space-based science fiction flight simulator computer game, created by Erin Roberts, under the auspices of Digital Anvil.-Overview:It is the year 2160...
, released to a generally warm critical reception in 2000. Developed externally at Warthog, the game was produced by the Roberts brothers, and featured only some contributions by Digital Anvil. The company was acquired by Microsoft soon after, who sold two of Digital Anvil's projects to Ubi Soft. Roberts left the company after the acquisition, abandoning the director position of his extremely ambitious project Freelancer
Freelancer (video game)
Freelancer is a space trading and combat simulation video game developed by Digital Anvil and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game was initially announced by Chris Roberts in 1999, and following many production schedule mishaps and a buyout of Digital Anvil by Microsoft, it was eventually...
, even though he remained with the game in a consulting role for a while. The game was commonly regarded as vaporware
Vaporware
Vaporware is a term in the computer industry that describes a product, typically computer hardware or software, that is announced to the general public but is never actually released nor officially canceled. Vaporware is also a term sometimes used to describe events that are announced or predicted,...
due to its promised release date of 2001. The game was eventually released in 2003 with a markedly different feature set than the initial plans, but was received fairly favorably.
Point of No Return Entertainment/Ascendant Pictures
After leaving Digital Anvil, Roberts founded Point of No Return Entertainment, planning to produce films, television and games. However, no projects materialized from Point of No Return. Roberts founded Ascendant Pictures in 2002 and served as a producer for a number of Hollywood productions including the 2004 adaptation of The PunisherThe Punisher (2004 film)
The Punisher is a 2004 American comic book action film, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, starring Thomas Jane as the antihero Frank Castle / The Punisher and John Travolta as the villain Howard Saint, a money launderer who orders the death of Castle's entire family...
, The Jacket
The Jacket
The Jacket is a 2005 psychological thriller film directed by John Maybury that is partly based on the Jack London novel of the same name, released in the US as The Star Rover. Massy Tadjedin wrote the screenplay based on a story by Tom Bleecker and Marc Rocco...
and Lord of War
Lord of War
Lord of War is a 2005 French-German-American action drama film written and directed by Andrew Niccol and starring Nicolas Cage. It was released in the United States on September 16, 2005, with the DVD following on January 17, 2006 and the Blu-ray Disc on July 27, 2006.Cage plays an illegal arms...
.