Expert Details
Virtual Worlds, MMORPGs in particular
ID: 728937
United Kingdom
He spent a week on site advising the designers of a current major AAA MMORPG. It's the nature of such work that NDAs preclude discussion of which MMORPG this is, however it's one of the top five.He spent a week helping a start-up with the design of their proposed MMORPG. They had lots of excellent ideas, except for how they would raise the AU$30m they needed to develop it.He spent a day analysing the problems facing a company's failing attempts to break into the non-game virtual world market, on behalf of their investors. He recommended that further investment not be forthcoming...He spent two weeks going through the design document of an in-development MMORPG, checking for errors, omissions and acts of lunacy. This particular one was actually very, very good, but this is not usually the case...He looked over a patent application and advised that there was prior work which would make it easy (albeit costly) to break, should it be granted.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1988 | Degree: PhD | Subject: Artificial Intelligence | Institution: University of Essex |
| Year: 1981 | Degree: BSc hons. (1st Class) | Subject: Computer Science | Institution: University of Essex |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2002 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Undisclosed | Department: School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering |
Responsibilities:Heads up the Computer Games undergraduate degree scheme. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1997 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Independent Consultant | Department: Undisclosed |
Responsibilities:Acts as an independent consultant in the field of virtual worlds. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2000 to 2001 | Employer: Gameplay Inc. | Title: Undisclosed | Department: Wireplay |
Responsibilities:Led a team designing and developing an MMORPG. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1989 to 2000 | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Managing Director | Department: Undisclosed |
Responsibilities:Was CEO of Multi-User Entertainment Ltd.. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1987 to 1989 | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Programming Director | Department: Undisclosed |
Responsibilities:Was responsible for designing, programming and maintaining the code to MUD2. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1984 to 1987 | Employer: University of Essex | Title: Undisclosed | Department: Department of Computer Science |
Responsibilities:Was a lecturer in Intelligent Knowledge-Based Systems. |
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Government Experience
| Years | Agency | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2009 to 2009 | Agency: Council of Europe | Role: Expert | Description: He presented at a Workshop on Evaluation and Implementation of Human Rights. He also presented at the 1st Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Media and New Communication Services |
| Years: 2009 to 2009 | Agency: EU | Role: Expert | Description: Was on the organisation panel for the European Dialogue for Internet Governance (EuroDIG) conference. |
| Years: 2009 to 2009 | Agency: EU | Role: Expert | Description: Presented at the European Network and Information Security Agency summer school. |
International Experience
| Years | Country / Region | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Years: 1987 to Present | Country / Region: USA | Summary: He has been doing individual consultancy work for a wide variety of US game developers for over twenty years. |
| Years: 2000 to Present | Country / Region: Australia | Summary: Expert has consulted for Australian developers for over a decade. |
| Years: 2000 to Present | Country / Region: Europe | Summary: He has had several consultancy engagements in Europe in the past decade, with Austria and Iceland being particular hotspots. |
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| Member of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA), the Virtual Policy Network (tVPN), Pan-European Online Games Association (PEOGA), Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) and many others. |
| Professional Appointments |
|---|
| Expert is on the editorial board and is reviewer of several games-related academic journals. |
| Awards / Recognition |
|---|
| He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He won a Gamers Choice award in 2005 and was the first winner of the GDC Online's Legend award in 2010. |
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| Expert's 2003 textbook is the standard work on the subject, used by industry and universities alike. His research forms the basis of the "(Undisclosed) Test", which is the Internet's longest-running personality quiz (over 600,000 people have taken it to date). |
Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| Because of his long career in online games, expert is regularly approached with regard to patents in this area. |
| Training / Seminars |
|---|
| Currently teaches two modules of the university's computer games programme: Game Design; Virtual Worlds. He has also recently taught Game Development. He regularly gives seminars at other universities across the world (or in virtual worlds). |
| Marketing Experience |
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| Having co-invented them, hiss experience in virtual worlds is second to none. He has, over the years, worked with most of the well-known names in the industry, and is on numerous advisory boards. He also acts as a reviewer and editorial board member for a number of academic journals related to computer game research. |
| Other Relevant Experience |
|---|
| He is a popular invited speaker at industry and academic conferences. He also chairs conferences on occasion. |