Seamus Blackley
Encyclopedia
Seamus Blackley is a former agent with Creative Artists Agency representing video game creators.
After entering Tufts University
to study jazz
piano
, Blackley switched to study physics and graduated Summa cum Honore en Tesis. As a sophomore, he published his first paper in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance. After college, he studied High Energy Physics at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, until the Superconducting Supercollider project was cancelled in 1993.
Blackley then went to work at Blue Sky Productions, later called Looking Glass Studios
. In addition to work there on Ultima Underworld and System Shock
, Blackley helped to create the sophisticated physics system in Flight Unlimited
. He is mentioned in the Flight Unlimited manual as follows:
He was no longer working with the company when Flight Unlimited II
was being developed. As a result, the second and third games did not have quite as sophisticated physics (though still arguably better than other games of the time), and the series became more civilian in nature.
After Looking Glass, Blackley worked at DreamWorks Interactive
as executive producer of Jurassic Park: Trespasser
, a physics-rich game published in 1998.
In February 1999, Blackley joined Microsoft
. Originally hired to work on DirectX
, he co-wrote the initial Xbox
proposal, and helped assemble the team that designed and built the device. He then evangelized the Xbox to game developers around the world.
Blackley left Microsoft to co-found Capital Entertainment Group with former Microsoft co-worker Kevin Bachus after his time developing the Xbox. CEG aimed to reform the financing models available in the game industry, following the Hollywood studio model, to provide more flexibility and creative control to game makers, and loosen the grip publishers had on control of the game industry. CEG was unable to complete a game before folding in 2004.
Currently, Blackley represents video game developers at the Creative Artists Agency, evolving the position of video games within the entertainment industry.
In 2007, Blackley received the P.T. Barnum Award
from Tufts University for his exceptional work in the field of media and entertainment.
As of May 2011, Blackley is no longer an agent at Creative Artists Agency.
After entering Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
to study jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, Blackley switched to study physics and graduated Summa cum Honore en Tesis. As a sophomore, he published his first paper in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance. After college, he studied High Energy Physics at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, until the Superconducting Supercollider project was cancelled in 1993.
Blackley then went to work at Blue Sky Productions, later called Looking Glass Studios
Looking Glass Studios
Looking Glass Studios was a computer game development company during the 1990s.The company originally formed as Looking Glass Technologies, when Blue Sky Productions and Lerner Research merged....
. In addition to work there on Ultima Underworld and System Shock
System Shock
System Shock is a first-person action-adventure video game developed by Looking Glass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. Released in 1994, the game is set aboard the fictional Citadel Station in a cyberpunk vision of 2072...
, Blackley helped to create the sophisticated physics system in Flight Unlimited
Flight Unlimited
Flight Unlimited is a 1995 aerobatic flight simulator video game developed and published by Looking Glass Technologies. It allows players to pilot reproductions of real-world aircraft and to perform aerobatic maneuvers. They may fly freely, race through floating rings against a timer or take...
. He is mentioned in the Flight Unlimited manual as follows:
- As far back as 1992, we started looking for new ways to fly on the PCPersonal computerA 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...
. Seamus Blackley, a physics expert and experienced pilot, had just been hired on at Looking Glass Technologies, and he was well placed to see where the current simulators fell short of what they could be.
He was no longer working with the company when Flight Unlimited II
Flight Unlimited II
Flight Unlimited II is a 1997 flight simulator video game developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. The sequel to Flight Unlimited, it eschews its precessor's focus on aerobatics in favor of general aviation...
was being developed. As a result, the second and third games did not have quite as sophisticated physics (though still arguably better than other games of the time), and the series became more civilian in nature.
After Looking Glass, Blackley worked at DreamWorks Interactive
EA Los Angeles
EA Los Angeles is a video game developer founded originally in 1995 as DreamWorks Interactive LLC, a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG....
as executive producer of Jurassic Park: Trespasser
Jurassic Park: Trespasser
Jurassic Park: Trespasser is a video game released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows after much hype and anticipation. The player assumes the role of Anne, the sole survivor of a plane crash on InGen's "Site B" one year after the events of The Lost World: Jurassic Park...
, a physics-rich game published in 1998.
In February 1999, Blackley joined 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...
. Originally hired to work on DirectX
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...
, he co-wrote the initial Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
proposal, and helped assemble the team that designed and built the device. He then evangelized the Xbox to game developers around the world.
Blackley left Microsoft to co-found Capital Entertainment Group with former Microsoft co-worker Kevin Bachus after his time developing the Xbox. CEG aimed to reform the financing models available in the game industry, following the Hollywood studio model, to provide more flexibility and creative control to game makers, and loosen the grip publishers had on control of the game industry. CEG was unable to complete a game before folding in 2004.
Currently, Blackley represents video game developers at the Creative Artists Agency, evolving the position of video games within the entertainment industry.
In 2007, Blackley received the P.T. Barnum Award
P.T. Barnum Awards
The P.T. Barnum Awards for Excellence in Entertainment is an annual awards ceremony honoring alumni of Tufts University for their exceptional work in the field of media and entertainment...
from Tufts University for his exceptional work in the field of media and entertainment.
As of May 2011, Blackley is no longer an agent at Creative Artists Agency.
Quotations
External links
- Seamus Blackley's game credits on MobyGames
- Seamus Blackley Speech at DICE '03
- 2003 CEG Interview
- 2001 Xbox-related Interview
- 1999 Gamasutra Post-Mortem on Trespasser
- Association for Computing MachineryAssociation for Computing MachineryThe Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
Video Interview with Seamus Blackley