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Three Eccentric Designers
In a conference room deep inside the LucasArts compound, Schafer, Holland, and Barwood sit side by side, framed by countless industry statues and plaques on shelves behind them.
Although the three obviously have plenty of things in common, physical appearance isn't among them. Schafer is the youngest of the bunch, dressed in sneakers and a plaid shirt, a few strands of his hair falling across his face. 
The three designers await our questions. |
He's also the most comfortable with his body (you'll find out why in a minute). Holland is the archetypal academic - relaxed and confident - with wire-rimmed glasses, wavy salt-and-pepper hair, and a Hawaiian button-up shirt. Then there's the distinguished-looking Barwood, complete with meticulously groomed gray hair, a full beard, and red reading glasses that are slightly pushed forward on his nose, letting him look you right in the eyes above the bridge of his specs.
Holland's seminal space simulation, TIE Fighter. |
Their design credentials are impeccable. Let's start with Holland, whose X-Wing is widely considered to be the first great Star Wars game. Beyond X-Wing (and its sequels, TIE Fighter and X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter), Holland has also produced a number of excellent air combat sims, including the legendary Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe.
Holland remembers his close encounter with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. |
He's also one of the only game designers to have stopped two of Hollywood's biggest names dead in their tracks. Ten years ago, Holland was at his desk playing a final version of his first flight simulator, Battlehawks 1942, when he overheard two men talking behind him. "One was obviously an avid game player who was talking excitedly about having played Battlehawks and how much he liked it," remembers Holland. "I, of course, was gratified to hear such praise, and then I turned around to see who it was."
Barwood's adventure game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. |
Any guesses? "It was Steven Spielberg talking to George Lucas. Wow, that was an honor!" he recalls. Holland, who has been designing software for more than 15 years, holds a degree in anthropology and archeology, and in perfect keeping with his Battlehawks game, his favorite pastime is hawk watching. Gamers will be watching for his newest game, X-Wing: Alliance, in early 1999.
Then there's Hal Barwood, a gifted Hollywood screenwriter who penned numerous screenplays, including Sugerland Express, Dragonslayer, and Warning Sign, in addition to having worked extensively as a director and a producer. And that was all before he started making games.
"I'm kind of an old guy, gray beard and all," says Barwood. |
A graduate of Brown University, Barwood freely admits, "I'm kind of an old guy. Grey beard and all," - but don't for a minute think that he's not a hard core gamer. Indeed, his first interactive project, Binary Gauge, was a railroad simulation. He went on to develop Space Snatchers From Aratoon, an Apple II game that he designed and programmed in assembly language. At LucasArts, he was behind the highly successful Indiana Jones adventure games Last Crusade and Fate of Atlantis as well as the off-beat Desktop Adventures. No surprise then that his current project is the Tomb-Raider-inspired Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, due out in 1999. As Barwood puts it, "Inside I'm still 14, but entertainment software has aged me prematurely."
Does Barwood feel out of place among the young whippersnappers at LucasArts? Quite the opposite. "Here at LucasArts, I work with people more or less the age of my two sons," he says. "They're young, bright, talented, energetic, of diverse background and interests, and they keep me alive." They also serve as Barwood's conduit to the current whims of pop culture. "They're the reason I know who Nine Inch Nails, Tori Amos, and Green Day are. They're the only way I'd ever find out the plot summaries to South Park and the only reason I'd ever attend a Farelly Brothers movie."
Finally, there's Tim Schafer, the out-and-out comedian of the group, who is responsible for some of the funniest moments in the history computer gaming. Indeed, Peter Molyneux - president of Lionhead Studios and designer of games such as Populous and Magic Carpet - says that Schafer's Day of the Tentacle is his favorite LucasArts game because "the sense of humor and the balance of puzzles was just breathtaking. I don't think there has been any other game that has made me laugh out loud."
Schafer attempts to make the Corley Limo from Full Throttle appear between his hands. |
Schafer is a self-proclaimed fiction-writer-in-waiting who found his calling in computer game design when he joined LucasArts in 1989. While at the company, he helped write the first two Monkey Islands games, and designed the critically acclaimed Full Throttle. (Speaking of Full Throttle, Schafer insisted that we point out in this article that he does appear nude in the game - in case you missed him, he's the hood ornament on the Corley Limo.) And reviewers and gamers alike have already granted Schafer's most recent work, the surreal adventure Grim Fandango, classic status.
Next: Designers in Action
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