George Fan
George Fan | |
---|---|
Born | 1978 (age 45–46) |
Nationality | American |
Education | University of California, Berkeley |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 2000–present |
Notable work |
George Fan (born 1978) is an American
Fan left Blizzard and started developing Plants vs. Zombies. He became a full-time employee for PopCap, who supplied Fan with a team. Upon release in 2009, it became the best-selling game developed by PopCap. EA bought PopCap Games in 2011 and Fan was laid off after he insisted EA to not make "Plants vs. Zombies 2" pay-to-win in 2012. Fan started developing Octogeddon and submitted it to the 2012 Ludum Dare contest. Fan formed a developing company named All Yes Good with Rich Werner and Kurt Pfeffer and developed Octogeddon further before releasing it in 2018. Fan then developed Hardhat Wombat, which was released on October 26, 2023.
Early life and education
Fan was born in 1978.[1] Fan grew up with his brother and lived with their father.[2][3] Fan attended the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a degree in computer science in 2000.[1]
Career
2000–2001: Early career
Fan first worked as creator of
2001–2012: PopCap Games
While researching Java games, Fan discovered
At the time, Fan was looking for a job at
Fan worked for Blizzard for two and a half years.[9] He was tasked with programming AI and designing enemies for Diablo III during this time.[6][18] It was not long after Insaniquarium was released that Fan realized that he was more of a designer than a programmer. Fan tried to become a designer at Blizzard, though found it hard to persuade other employees to his ideas, leading him to conclude that he preferred to work in smaller teams.[9]
Fan left Blizzard to become an independent game designer for a year.
Initially, Fan worked on Plants vs. Zombies independently.
Plants vs. Zombies was released on May 5, 2009, for the PC and
There were various other projects designed by Fan for PopCap that were either canceled or unannounced. One of them was a role-playing video game called Yeti Train,[4] which was rumored to become a new franchise after a trademark for the title was filed by PopCap in 2009,[30] though in March 2011, David Roberts, CEO of PopCap, declined there being any plans to release new franchises.[31] Another game in production was Full Contact Bingo.[32]
On July 12, 2011, PopCap and its assets were bought by Electronic Arts (EA) for $750 million.[33] EA envisioned Plants vs. Zombies as a major franchise, with the sequel using a freemium model, which resulted in Fan losing interest in Plants vs. Zombies. According to Jason Schreier of Kotaku, when EA directed PopCap towards making free-to-play games with transactions, "Fan no longer fit in."[32] In August 21, 2012, 50 employees either left or were laid off from PopCap's Seattle studio, with studios in Dublin; Shanghai; and San Mateo, California — where Fan worked at the time — closing.[32][34] Fan was fired during this time after months of discussion from PopCap's management team. A circulating rumor that Fan was fired because of his opposition to EA's freemium model was based on a statement by Edmund McMillen, the creator of The Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy. George Fan refused to comment publicly on the truth of this story.[32][35]
2012–present: Post-PopCap Games
After leaving PopCap Games due to his lay-off on August 21, 2012, Fan created the
Fan served as the designer, Werner served as the artist, and Pfeffer served as the programmer for Octogeddon.
Personal life
Fan lives in
Works
Game | Release Date | Genre | Role | Developer | Publisher | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wrath of the Gopher | 2001 | Puzzle | Designer | Arcade Planet | Arcade Planet | [4][6][7] |
Insaniquarium | August 31, 2001[b] | Virtual pets
|
Designer, programmer, composer | Flying Bear Entertainment | PopCap Games[c] | [7][12][47] |
Plants vs. Zombies | May 5, 2009 | Tower defense | Designer | PopCap Games | PopCap Games | [48][49] |
Diablo III | May 15, 2012[d] | Role-playing | AI programmer, enemy designer | Blizzard Entertainment | Blizzard Entertainment | [6][50] |
Octogeddon | February 8, 2018 | Action
|
Designer | All Yes Good | All Yes Good | [37][51] |
Hardhat Wombat | 2023 | Puzzle | Designer | All Yes Good | All Yes Good | [52][53] |
Other credits
Game | Release Date | Genre | Developer | Publisher | Credit |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plants vs. Zombies 2 | July 9, 2013 | Tower defense | PopCap Games | Electronic Arts | Special thanks |
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d "Who are we?". Flying Bear Entertainment. Fresh Pulp. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
- ^ a b c Carter, Chris (May 4, 2019). "It's the 10th anniversary of Plants vs. Zombies: We talked to the creator about the past, present, and future of the series". Destructoid. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ Fan, George (March 9, 2012). How I Got My Mom to Play Through Plants vs. Zombies. Game Developers Conference Vault. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Carter, Chris (February 1, 2018). "Plants vs. Zombies creator George Fan on past success, future risks, and drafts with Edmund McMillen". Destructoid. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
- ^ "Arcade Planet Launches Affiliate Program For Exciting, New Games Web Site; PrizeGames.com Makes Debut at Internet World Chicago" (Press release). Arcade Planet. July 12, 2000. Retrieved August 19, 2021 – via Business Wire.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Fan, George (May 5, 2009). "Flower Defence". Edge (Interview). Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "Flying Bear Entertainment News". Flying Bear Entertainment. Fresh Pulp. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
- ^ a b Fan, George; Henderson, Tysen (March 2002). "Interview with Flying Bear Entertainment". Gamedev.net (Interview). Interviewed by Drew Sikora. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Fan, George (November 2, 2010). "George Fan and his cat on the making of Plants vs. Zombies". PC Gamer (Interview). Interviewed by Graham Smith. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
- ^ "Winners: 2002 IGF Competition". Independent Games Festival. Archived from the original on July 18, 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Fan, George (May 22, 2009). "Interview with Plants vs. Zombies creator George Fan". Gamezebo (Interview). Interviewed by Erin Bell. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Insaniquarium Deluxe Readme". PopCap Games. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
- GamesIndustry.biz. June 29, 2006. Archivedfrom the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
- ^ Bennallack, Owain (April 14, 2006). "Insaniquarium splashes onto mobile". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- GamesIndustry.biz. April 13, 2006. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- GamesIndustry.biz. August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
- GamesIndustry.biz. August 6, 2008. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Funk, John (August 24, 2009). "Is There a Zombie on Blizzard's Lawn?". The Escapist. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
- ^ Thomson, Michael (March 19, 2010). "Aliens in the garden: the secret origin of Plants vs. Zombies". Ars Technica. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
- ^ a b c Fan, George (May 10, 2019). "How George Fan created the wacky Plants vs. Zombies a decade ago". VentureBeat (Interview). Interviewed by Dean Takahashi. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- GameArena (Interview). Interviewed by Joaby. Archived from the originalon October 1, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- Gamasutra. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ "PopCap Launches Plants vs. Zombies Game for PC and Mac". IGN. May 5, 2009. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- Fandom, Inc.Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Sliwinski, Alexander (May 20, 2009). "Plants vs. Zombies is PopCap's fastest-selling game". Joystiq. Archived from the original on May 28, 2009. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Funk, John (May 20, 2009). "PopCap Wins Big With Plants vs. Zombies". The Escapist. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- Gamasutra. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ Gwertzman, James (August 1, 2010). "The Making of PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies". Retrieved August 16, 2021 – via SlideShare.
- ^ Miller, Greg (February 25, 2012). "Plants vs. Zombies Vita Review". IGN. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Morris, Chris (March 6, 2011). "Bejeweled Publisher Ponders IPO". CNBC. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Schreier, Jason (November 21, 2017). "Widespread Rumor About EA Firing Plants vs. Zombies Creator Isn't Quite True". Kotaku. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Takahashi, Dean; Lynley, Matthew (July 12, 2011). "Electronic Arts buys PopCap for $750M". VentureBeat. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ Goldfarb, Andrew (August 21, 2012). "Report: Layoffs Hit PopCap, International Studios Shuttered". IGN. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ O'Brien, Lucy (November 20, 2017). "Update: Plants vs. Zombies Creator's EA Departure Clarified". IGN. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ North, Dale (August 28, 2012). "Plants vs. Zombies creator's new game: Octogeddon". Destructoid. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Fan, George (February 7, 2018). "Octogeddon: How Plants vs. Zombies creator spent four years on zany octopus game". VentureBeat (Interview). Interviewed by Dean Takahashi. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- Gamasutra. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ Fan, George (October 6, 2016). "Plants Vs. Zombies Creator Has His Hands Full With Octogeddon". Game Informer (Interview). Interviewed by Jeff Cork. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ Cork, Jeff (February 8, 2018). "New Gameplay Today – Octogeddon". Game Informer. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ Takahashi, Dean (February 8, 2018). "Octogeddon review — who knew that fighting as a giant octopus could be this fun?". VentureBeat. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- Fandom, Inc.Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ Craddock, Ryan (May 1, 2019). "Destroy Everything As An Angry Mutant Octopus When Octogeddon Smashes Onto Switch". Nintendo Life. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ a b "All Yes Good". Octogeddon. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ Miozzi, CJ (April 16, 2014). "Magic 2015 Designer Cards Include PvZ Creator, Notch". The Escapist. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ Tach, Dave (April 21, 2014). "Minecraft, Plants vs. Zombies, Street Fighter vets and more designing Magic 2015 cards". Polygon. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ Buchanan, Levi (March 9, 2006). "Insaniquarium". IGN. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ "Plants vs. Zombies Readme". PopCap Games. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ Watters, Chris (May 11, 2009). "Plants vs. Zombies Review". GameSpot. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ a b Newman, Jared (May 14, 2012). "Diablo III Launches at Midnight: What You Need to Know". PC World. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ "Octogeddon". Octogeddon. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ "Plants Vs Zombies creator's new game is about stacking wombat poo". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
- ^ "Hardhat Wombat". Hardhat Wombat. Retrieved May 19, 2023.