Jerry O'Flaherty
Encyclopedia
Jerry O'Flaherty is an American video game art director
and filmmaker best known as Art Director on Gears of War
from Epic Games
and as the Director
on the Warner Bros.
feature film "Thundercats
". He co-authored the book Destroyed Beauty: An Inside Look at Gears of War. O'Flaherty began in the game industry at sixteen years old . By age twenty-four he was part owner of video game developer KoP Media and sold it to Seventh Level two years later. He was one of the original owners and founders of game company Ion Storm
. In 2003, O'Flaherty was named Studio Art Director of Epic Games, handling the direction of Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3. He worked on the Command & Conquer series
while employed at the groundbreaking but now defunct Westwood Studios
in Las Vegas
, later absorbed into EA Los Angeles
. In the summer of 2007 O'Flaherty moved to California and signed on to direct the Warner Bros.
feature film Thundercats
.
O'Flaherty was born in Irving
a suburb of Dallas, Texas
, and is the fourth of ten children. His father, James A. O'Flaherty
, was an immigrant from Listowel, County Kerry
, Ireland
.
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
and filmmaker best known as Art Director on Gears of War
Gears of War
Gears of War is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios...
from Epic Games
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...
and as the 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:...
on the 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,...
feature film "Thundercats
ThunderCats
ThunderCats is an American animated television series that was produced by Rankin/Bass Productions debuting in 1984, based on the characters created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. The series follows the adventures of a group of cat-like humanoid aliens...
". He co-authored the book Destroyed Beauty: An Inside Look at Gears of War. O'Flaherty began in the game industry at sixteen years old . By age twenty-four he was part owner of video game developer KoP Media and sold it to Seventh Level two years later. He was one of the original owners and founders of game company Ion Storm
Ion storm
Ion storm may refer to:* Ion Storm, a defunct games software company.* An interplanetary coronal mass ejection , a disruption of the fast and slow solar winds, often called "ion storm", "solar storm" or "space storm"...
. In 2003, O'Flaherty was named Studio Art Director of Epic Games, handling the direction of Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3. He worked on the Command & Conquer series
Command & Conquer series
Command & Conquer is a video game franchise, mostly of the real-time strategy style as well as a first-person shooter game based on the former...
while employed at the groundbreaking but now defunct Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios was a computer and video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in as Westwood Associates, and renamed to Westwood Studios when it merged with Virgin Interactive in...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, later absorbed into EA Los Angeles
EA Los Angeles
EA Los Angeles is a video game developer founded originally in 1995 as DreamWorks Interactive LLC, a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG....
. In the summer of 2007 O'Flaherty moved to California and signed on to direct the 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,...
feature film Thundercats
ThunderCats
ThunderCats is an American animated television series that was produced by Rankin/Bass Productions debuting in 1984, based on the characters created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. The series follows the adventures of a group of cat-like humanoid aliens...
.
O'Flaherty was born in Irving
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
a suburb of Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, and is the fourth of ten children. His father, James A. O'Flaherty
James A. O'Flaherty
James A. O'Flaherty was an Irish folk musician who lived in the Dallas, Texas area. He was born in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland, moving to Texas at 29...
, was an immigrant from Listowel, County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Awards
- Academy of Interactive Arts & SciencesAcademy of Interactive Arts & SciencesThe 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...
- Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction 2007 "Gears of War"
- Outstanding Achievement in Animation 2007 "Gears of War"
- Game Developers ConferenceGame Developers ConferenceThe Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
Choice Awards - Visual Arts Award 2007 "Gears of War"
Other games credited
- Gears of War (Limited Collector's Edition) (2006), Microsoft Game Studios
- Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict (2005), Midway Home Entertainment, Inc.
- Unreal Tournament 2004: Editor's Choice Edition (2004), Atari, Inc.
- Command & Conquer: Renegade (2002), Electronic Arts, Inc.
- Earth & Beyond (2002), Electronic Arts, Inc.
- Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat (2002), Electronic Arts, Inc.
- Anachronox (2001), Eidos Interactive, Inc.
- John Romero's DaikatanaDaikatanaJohn Romero's Daikatana, or simply Daikatana, is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive. Released on May 23, 2000 for Windows, it was led by John Romero. The game is known as one of the major commercial failures of the computer game industry....
(2000), Eidos, Inc. - Dominion: Storm Over Gift 3 (1998), Eidos Interactive, Inc.
- Raymond E. Feist's Return to Krondor (1998), Sierra On-Line, Inc.
- G-Nome (1997), 7th Level, Inc.
- Eight Ball Deluxe (1993), Amtex
- Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (1993), ORIGIN Systems, Inc.
- Maelstrom (1992), Don Bluth Multimedia, Inc., Merit Studios, Inc.
- Aunt Arctic Adventure (1988), Mindware
Known Articles
- 360 Stylecast : From Gears of War to Thundercats the Movie Exclusive Director Interview
- Xbox -Interview with Epic's Mark Rein and Jerry O'Flaherty
- Now Toronto Interview