Warren Evan Spector (born October 2, 1955) is an American role-playing and video game designer, director, writer, producer and production designer. He is known for creating immersive sim games, which give players a wide variety of choices in how to progress. Consequences of those choices are then shown in the simulated game world in subsequent levels or missions. He is best known for the critically acclaimed video game Deus Ex that embodies the choice and consequence philosophy while combining elements of the first-person shooter, role-playing, and adventure game genres. In addition to Deus Ex, Spector is known for his work while employed by Looking Glass Studios, where he was involved in the creation of several acclaimed titles including Ultima Underworld, Ultima Underworld II, System Shock, and Thief: The Dark Project. He is employed by OtherSide Entertainment, where he was part of the development team for the stalled System Shock 3.

Spector attended Northwestern University in Illinois, still intending to become a film critic, stating that he "knew more about movies than a lot of my teachers".

All through college, Spector enjoyed gaming, and recalls that he "played Avalon Hill games mainly, and a lot of OGRE and G.E.V. games, and Rivets from Metagaming. It was all boardgames until I became friends with science-fiction writers who were into D&D games, so I gave the game a try. I was hooked." Spector wrote the early Paranoia game supplement Send in the Clones (1985) with Allen Varney. In March 1987 he was hired by TSR, initially working on games such as Top Secret/S.I. and the Marvel Super Heroes role-playing game. According to Spector, his decision to dissolve the Austin branch was prompted by the company's ongoing financial struggles and the realization that "continued existence of the Austin Studio was going to jeopardise the existence of Looking Glass overall".

Ion Storm

thumb|Spector, [[John Romero and Mike Wilson in attendance at E3 2000]]

In 1996, Spector was about to sign a contract with EA to do an unannounced project (which was revealed to be a "Command & Conquer Role-Playing Game") when he got a call from John Romero to join him at Ion Storm; Romero persuaded Spector by offering him the chance to make the game of his dreams with no creative interference and a big marketing budget. In 1997 he founded Ion Storm's Austin development studio, and his "dream project" later became the award-winning action/RPG called Deus Ex. Ion Storm was closed by owners Eidos Interactive in February 2005.

Disney

thumb|right|Spector with [[Peter David at the November 30, 2010 Times Square Disney Store launch party for Epic Mickey for which David wrote two tie-in products]]

In 2005 he established Junction Point Studios. Somewhere between the end of 2005 and mid-2007, Junction Point Studios and Spector worked on a third episode for Half-Life 2; this was ultimately cancelled by Valve. In July 2007, Disney Interactive acquired Junction Point Studios. His first project with Disney Interactive was a project involving Disney characters, titled Epic Mickey. The game is steampunk-themed and designed exclusively for the Wii; the game was released in 2010.

Disney closed Junction Point Studios in January 2013, and Spector left the company.

University of Texas

After leaving Disney Interactive, Spector worked with the University of Texas at Austin to build a new post-baccalaureate game development program – the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy. He worked with UT staff to create a curriculum and plan out courses and labs.

OtherSide Entertainment

In February 2016, Spector announced he had joined OtherSide Entertainment, a studio formed by Paul Neurath in 2014 and includes several previous Looking Glass developers, as their Studio Director, after having been in an advisory role from its inception. He will be helping the studio with their current development of System Shock 3 and Underworld Ascendant, the spiritual successor to Ultima Underworld which both Spector and Neurath worked on in the early 1990s. Though Spector had completed only two-and-a-half years of a three-year commitment to the University of Texas, he jumped at the chance to work on System Shock when Neurath approached him with the offer. He also believed the opportunity would help garner good favor from players that had been disappointed by his choice to work on Epic Mickey, even though he states that game had still been based on his past design philosophy used in the development of System Shock and Deus Ex. OtherSide Entertainment announced in November 2022 that Spector is working on a multiplayer game with immersive sim elements entitled Argos: Riders on the Storm, based on an original intellectual property.

Personal life

Spector met Caroline Skelley in 1984 at a comic book store in Austin, Texas, where she was employed. After Skelley got a job at Steve Jackson Games, she and Spector began a relationship. They were married on April 11, 1987. The couple sometimes worked together, such as on game supplements for the Marvel Super Heroes role-playing game.

|Megabit Publishing

|}

Role-playing games

  • Toon – Developer (1984), Steve Jackson Games
  • Bullwinkle and Rocky Role-Playing Party Game – Editor (1988), TSR, Inc.
  • Uncanny X-Men Boxed Set – Editor (1990), TSR, Inc.

Novels

  • Double Agent: Royal Pain/The Hollow Earth Affair by Richard Merwin/Warren Spector

Comics

  • DuckTales – Boom! Studios – (2011)

Gamebooks

  • One Thing After Another – Puffin Books – (Marvel Super Heroes Gamebook #5)

Awards

On 2016, Spector won the Honorific Award at the Fun & Serious Game Festival.

References

Sources

  • Junction Point Studios developer blog (usually Warren Spector, but sometimes other team members)
  • Junction Point Studios, Inc. official website
  • Spector on Grand Theft Auto and video game violence
  • Interview with Warren Spector about Ultima VII: Serpents Isle