Don Daglow

Don Daglow
Don Daglow at theGame Developers Conferencein 2010
Born	c. 1953 (age 70–71)
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Game designer,programmer,producer
Website	https://www.daglowslaws.com/

Don Daglow(born circa 1953)is an Americanvideo gamedesigner,programmer,andproducer.He is best known for being the creator of early games from several different genres, including pioneeringsimulation gameUtopiaforIntellivisionin 1981,role-playing gameDungeonin 1975,sports gamesincluding the first interactive computer baseball gameBaseballin 1971, and the first graphicalMMORPG,Neverwinter Nightsin 1991. He founded long-standinggame developerStormfront Studiosin 1988.

In 2008 Daglow was honored at the 59th AnnualTechnology & Engineering Emmy AwardsforNeverwinter Nightspioneering role in MMORPG development.Along withJohn Carmackofid SoftwareandMike MorhaimeofBlizzard Entertainment,Daglow is one of only three game developers to accept awards at both the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards and at theAcademy of Interactive Arts & SciencesInteractive Achievement Awards.

In 2003 he was the recipient of the CGE Achievement Award for "groundbreaking accomplishments that shaped the Video Game Industry."

University mainframe games in the 1970s

In 1971, Daglow was studying playwriting atPomona CollegeinClaremont, California.Acomputer terminalconnected to theClaremont CollegesPDP-10mainframe computerwas set up in his dorm, and he saw this as a new form of writing. LikeKelton Flinn,another prolific game designer of the 1970s, his nine years of computer access as a student, grad student and grad school instructor throughout the 1970s gave him time to build a large body of major titles. Unlike Daglow and Flinn, most college students in the early 1970s lost all access to computers when they graduated, sincehome computershad not yet been invented.

Some of Daglow's titles were distributed touniversitiesby theDECUSprogram-sharing organization, earning popularity in the free-play era of 1970s college gaming.

His best known games and experiments of this era include:

• Baseball(1971) — A member ofSociety for American Baseball Research,Daglow created the first interactive computerbaseballgame,allowing players to manage the game as it unfolded. It appeared ten years afterJohn Burgesonwrote the first baseball simulation game, on anIBM 1620at an IBM lab in Akron, Ohio. Daglow continued to expandBaseballthroughout the 1970s, and ported the game to theApple IIin 1981, adding graphics in 1982. The simulation model in the Apple version in turn was ported to theIntellivisionin 1982 as the basis forIntellivision World Series Baseball.
• Star Trek(1971) — One of several popularStar Trekcomputer games widely played in American colleges during this era, along with Mike Mayfield and Bob Leedom'sStar Trek.Daglow's game was "the #2 Star Trek at most schools", garnering him fan mail after it was distributed through DECUS. The game printed out dialogue of characters on theEnterprise,describing the events of a battle with an enemy spaceship. The player could enter in choices, such as moving theEnterpriseor firing phasers, and the game would advance accordingly until one of the ships surrendered, fled, or was destroyed.
• Ecala(1973) — Improved version of theELIZAcomputer conversation program. This project paved the way for his later work by suggesting new kinds of game interfaces.
• Dungeon(1975) — The first computerrole playing game,based on the then-newDungeons & Dragonsgaming system. The game was steadily expanded over the following five years.
• Spanish Translator(1977) — As he experimented withparsershe created a context-sensitive Spanish translation program.
• Killer Shrews(1978) — A simulation game based on thecultsci-fifilmThe Killer Shrews.The player has not many decisions to make, only when to try to escape the island during the simulation of the depleting of the food that is there.
• Educational Dungeon(1979) — An attempt to make rotecomputer-aided instruction(CAI) programs more interesting by takingDungeonand making correct answers propel the story.

Intellivision and Electronic Arts in the 1980s

In 1980, Daglow was hired as one of the original five in-houseIntellivisionprogrammers atMattelduring the firstconsole wars.Intellivision titles where he did programming and extensive ongoing design include:

• Geography Challenge(1981) — an educational title for the ill-fated IntellivisionKeyboard component.
• Utopia— the firstsim gameorgod game(1982).Utopiawas a surprise hit and received wide press coverage for its unique design in an arcade-dominated era. The game has been named to two different video game halls of fame.
• Intellivision World Series Baseball(1983) — the first video game to use multiple camera angles to display the action rather than a static playfield; developed withEddie Dombrower.

As the team grew into what in 1982 became known as theBlue Sky Rangers,Daglow was promoted to be Director of Intellivision Game Development, where he created the original designs for a number of Mattel titles in 1982-83 that were enhanced and expanded by other programmers, including:

• Tron: Deadly Discs(programmed by Steve Sents)
• Shark! Shark!(programmed by Ji-Wen Tsao)
• Buzz Bombers(programmed byMichael Breen)
• Pinball(programmed by Minh-Chau Tran).

During theVideo Game Crash of 1983Daglow was recruited to joinElectronic Artsby founderTrip Hawkins,where he joined the EA producer team ofJoe Ybarraand Stewart Bonn.

In addition to Dombrower, at EA, Daglow often worked with former members of the Intellivision team, including programmerRick Koenig,artistConnie Goldmanand musicianDave Warhol.

Daglow spent 1987–88 atBroderbundas head of the company's Entertainment and Education Division. Although he supervised the creation of games likeJordan Mechner'sPrince of Persia,Star Wars,theAncient Art of Warseries, andWhere in the World is Carmen Sandiego?,his role was executive rather than creative. He took a lead role in signing the original distribution deal forSimCitywithMaxis,and acquired theStar Warslicense for Broderbund fromLucasfilm.

Stormfront Studios in the 1990s and 2000s

Looking to return to hands-on game development, Daglow founded game developerStormfront Studiosin 1988inSan Rafael, California.

By 1995 Stormfront had placed on theInc. 500list of fast-growing companies three times and Daglow stepped back from his design role to focus on the CEO position. See the article onStormfront Studiosfor further information.

In 2003 and again in 2007 Daglow was elected to the board of directors of theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.He also serves on theSan Franciscoadvisory board of theInternational Game Developers Association,the advisory board to the president of theAcademy of Art Universityand served on the advisory board to theGames ConventionDevelopers Conference until it was dissolved in 2008. In 2009, Daglow joined the board of GDC Europe.He has been a keynote speaker, lecturer and panelist at game development conferences in Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Works

Games

Electronic Arts

• Realm of Impossibility(1984)
• Adventure Construction Set(1985)
• Racing Destruction Set(1985)
• Mail Order Monsters(1985)
• Thomas M. Disch's Amnesia(1986)
• Lords of Conquest(1986)
• World Tour Golf(1986)
• Super Boulder Dash(1986)
• Ultimate Wizard(1986)
• Earl Weaver Baseball(1987)— again teamed with Eddie Dombrower. One of the earliestEA Sportstitles,EWBwas later named to the computer game Hall of Fame byComputer Gaming WorldandGameSpy.CGWnamed it as one of the top 25 games of all time in 1996.
• Patton Versus Rommel(1987)
• Return to Atlantis(1987)

1988–1995

Between 1988 and 1995 Daglow designed or co-designed the following titles:

• Tony La Russa Baseball(1991–1997) — withMichael Breen,Mark Buchignani,David BunnettandHudson Piehl,winner of multiple Game of the Year awards fromComputer Gaming Worldand other publications.
• Quantum Space(1989–1991) — The first originalplay by emailgame offered by a major online service
• Gateway to the Savage Frontier(1991) — AGold BoxDungeons & DragonsRPG forSSI,went to #1 on the U.S. game charts.
• Rebel Space(1992–1993) — with Mark Buchignani, David Bunnett and Hudson Piehl.
• Treasures of the Savage Frontier(1992) — Gold Box D&D RPG for SSI, the first game where anNPCcould fall in love with a player character.
• Neverwinter Nights(1991–1997) — The first graphicalMMORPG,with programmerCathryn Mataga,and the top revenue producing title in the first ten years of online games.NWNpaved the way forUltima Online(1997),EverQuest(1999), andWorld of Warcraft(2004).
• Stronghold(1993) — The first 3DRTSgame, with Mark Buchignani and David Bunnett
• Old Time Baseball(1995) — a baseball sim with over 12,000 players and 100 years of teams.

Fiction

During the late 1970s, Daglow worked as a teacher and graduate school instructor while pursuing his writing career. He was a winner of theNational Endowment for the HumanitiesNew Voicesplaywriting competition in 1975. His 1979noveletteThe Blessing of La Lloronaappeared in the April, 1982 issue ofFantasy and Science Fictionmagazine.

Non-fiction

• Daglow, Don,The Changing Role of Computer Game Designers,Computer Gaming World,August, 1988, p. 18.
• Daglow, Don,The Dark Ages of Game Design,Computer Gaming World,May, 1986, p. 12.
• Daglow, Don,Through Hope-Colored Glasses: A Publisher's Perspective on Game Development,The Journal of Computer Game Design, 1(4) (1987), 3—5.
• DeMaria, Rusel & Wilson, Johnny L. (2003).High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games (2nd ed.).McGraw-Hill/Osborne.ISBN0-07-222428-2.Picture ofDaglow DeclesandMinkoff MeasuresMattel softball teams, 1982
• Diesel, Vin (Foreword) (2004).Thirty Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons.Wizards of the Coast.ISBN0-7869-3498-0.
• Fullerton, Tracy; Swain, Christopher & Hoffman, Steven (2004).Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, and Playtesting Games.CMP Books.ISBN1-57820-222-1.
• Krawczyk, Marianne & Novak, Jeannie (2006).Game Development Essentials: Game Story & Character Development.Thomson Delmar Learning.ISBN1-4018-7885-7.
• Novak, Jeannie (2004).Game Development Essentials: An Introduction.Thomson Delmar Learning.ISBN1-4018-6271-3.

External links

• Don DaglowatMobyGames
• 1up.com feature
• GameBanshee feature
• Game Informer article
• Don Daglow's personal website
• Source code for Star Trek script game