Cliff Johnson (game designer)
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
game designer, best known for the early computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
puzzle games The Fool's Errand
The Fool's Errand
The Fool's Errand is a 1987 computer game by Cliff Johnson. It is a meta-puzzle game with storytelling, visual puzzles and a cryptic treasure map...
(1987) and 3 in Three
3 in Three
3 in Three is a 1989 computer game by Cliff Johnson.While bearing some similarities to his previous game, The Fool's Errand, 3 in Three brought the meta-puzzle to a new environment: inside the computer. The tale this time is of a wayward number 3, lost in the innards of the computer by a power surge...
(1990). Both games were notable for unique visual puzzles and a metapuzzle structure.
Biography
Johnson was born August 14, 1953 in Hanover, New HampshireHanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....
, the only child of Norman and Leatrice Johnson. He attended Bristol Eastern High School
Bristol Eastern High School
Bristol Eastern High School is a public high school in Bristol, Connecticut, USA which was opened in 1959. It has an enrollment of 1,354 students in grades 9-12. The main head of the school, as of 2010, is Dr. Steve Wysowski...
in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, which is where he started making Super 8
Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
movies. In 1972, he had jobs "building monsters" for five different amusement parks, and then later he attended University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
's film school, where he became a teaching assistant in animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
, and created some of the Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
esque animations for Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
's television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series Out of Control
Out of Control (TV series)
Out of Control is an American comedy television series that ran on Nickelodeon from 1984 until 1985, and was the first series produced specifically for that channel...
.
In 1984, using his first computer, a 512 KiB
Kibibyte
The kibibyte is a multiple of the unit byte for quantities of digital information. The binary prefix kibi means 1024; therefore, 1 kibibyte is . The unit symbol for the kibibyte is KiB. The unit was established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1999 and has been accepted for use...
so-called "Fat" Mac, he learned to program
Computer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
, and created his first game, The Fool's Errand, which in 1987 won "Best Puzzle Game of the Year" from GAMES Magazine
GAMES Magazine
Games magazine is a United States magazine devoted to games and puzzles, and is published by Games Publications, a division of Kappa Publishing Group.-History:...
, and was declared "Best Retro Game Ever" by British GamesTM
GamesTM
GamesTM is a UK-based, multi-format video games magazine, covering many video game platforms including PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC games, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and Arcade machines...
magazine.
From 1990-1995, he directed the *FunHouse* production group for Philips Media, and from 1996-2001, he consulted with Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
for online puzzles and treasure hunts.
In 2002, Johnson designed the $100,000 Challenge
$100,000 Challenge
Blaine's $100,000 Challenge is an armchair treasure hunt hidden throughout the pages of Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic by street magician David Blaine....
for the book Mysterious Stranger
Mysterious Stranger
Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic by street magician David Blaine was published on October 29, 2002 by Random House. Part autobiography, part history, and part armchair treasure hunt, the book also includes instructions on how to perform basic card tricks and illusions.In his chapter,...
by street magician David Blaine
David Blaine
David Blaine is an American illusionist and endurance artist. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, and has made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic. He has set and broken several world records...
. It was solved in 2004.
Authored games
- The Fool's ErrandThe Fool's ErrandThe Fool's Errand is a 1987 computer game by Cliff Johnson. It is a meta-puzzle game with storytelling, visual puzzles and a cryptic treasure map...
(1987) — GAMES MagazineGAMES MagazineGames magazine is a United States magazine devoted to games and puzzles, and is published by Games Publications, a division of Kappa Publishing Group.-History:...
s Best Puzzle Game of the Year.
- At the CarnivalAt the CarnivalAt The Carnival is a 1989 computer puzzle game by Cliff Johnson.It was intended to be the first of a series of games called Puzzle Gallery; however, publisher Miles Computing went out of business before any further games could be made....
(1989) - Disney's Cartoon ArcadeDisney's Cartoon ArcadeDisney's Cartoon Arcade is a 1990 game by Cliff Johnson created by Walt Disney Home Video for use on the View-Master Interactive Vision system....
(1990) - 3 in Three3 in Three3 in Three is a 1989 computer game by Cliff Johnson.While bearing some similarities to his previous game, The Fool's Errand, 3 in Three brought the meta-puzzle to a new environment: inside the computer. The tale this time is of a wayward number 3, lost in the innards of the computer by a power surge...
(1990) — MacUserMacUserMacUser is a biweekly computer magazine published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. and licensed by Felden in the UK.In 1985 Felix Dennis’ Dennis Publishing, the creators of MacUser in the UK, licensed the name and “mouse-rating” symbol for MacUser to Ziff-Davis Publishing for use in the rest of the world....' s Best Game of the Year; GAMES MagazineGAMES MagazineGames magazine is a United States magazine devoted to games and puzzles, and is published by Games Publications, a division of Kappa Publishing Group.-History:...
s Best Puzzle Game of the Year. - Hanna Barbera's Cartoon Carnival (1993)
- Merlin's Apprentice (1994)
- Labyrinth of Crete (1995)
- The Fool and His MoneyThe Fool and His MoneyThe Fool and His Money is a forthcoming puzzle game by Cliff Johnson. It is a self-published sequel to the 1987 game The Fool's Errand...
(projected December 5 2011)
Other contributed works
- Game Design: Disney's The Hunt for the Lost Toy, website contest, 1996
- Game Design: Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy, 1998 http://www.mobygames.com/game/of-light-and-darkness-the-prophecy
- Treasure Hunt Design: David BlaineDavid BlaineDavid Blaine is an American illusionist and endurance artist. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, and has made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic. He has set and broken several world records...
's Mysterious StrangerMysterious StrangerMysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic by street magician David Blaine was published on October 29, 2002 by Random House. Part autobiography, part history, and part armchair treasure hunt, the book also includes instructions on how to perform basic card tricks and illusions.In his chapter,...
book, 2002