About Floodgate
Floodgate is a top-shelf videogame developer based in Boston. Some of us have been doing this for 20 years. Some of us just quit their snazzy corporate software jobs for the chance to make great games.
Many of the team started and ran the late, great Looking Glass Studio, where we created games like System Shock, Thief, Ultima Underworld, Madden Football 1994, Flight Unlimited, Command & Conquer, and many others. These titles and their sequels sold millions of copies and made people think about videogames in new ways.
Since starting Floodgate, we've worked on big brand mobile titles that have won awards and commercial success. Our recent titles include EA Sports NASCAR 2007, Pirates of the Caribbean Multiplayer, Age of Empires and Neverwinter Nights. We've also done some PC development, including Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. You can read more about these efforts in our Games section.
We're also proud of our original game projects. We've recently released Mo-Pets, a mobile title that challenges you to raise a kitten, dog, ferret or monkey to compete in an online pet show, and Daycare Nightmare, a PC download game that has you caring for baby monsters.
The Floodgate Team
We work with some excellent people. Among those most commonly found at the office after midnight are:
Paul Neurath
Paul Neurath, founder and Creative Director of Floodgate Entertainment, is an 20-year veteran of the interactive entertainment industry. He started making videogames in the mid-1980s as an independent game author who created several award winning computer games. In 1990 he founded Blue Sky Productions, which was later renamed to LookingGlass, and became a leading US game development studio. LookingGlass developed 18 titles and generated over $120M in sales. As Creative Director of the studio, Paul designed and directed the development of such acclaimed titles as Ultima Underworld, Terra Nova, Flight Unlimited, and Thief, which collectively earned over a dozen game-of-the-year awards. He was also instrumental in pioneering breakthrough gaming technologies, including 3D texture mapping and photorealistic terrain. As the founder and Creative Director of FloodGate Entertainment, Paul oversees all design, development and research efforts of the company.
Kemal Amarashingham
In addition to creating music for film and live performance, Kemal Amarashingham has been making sound and music for videogames for over eight years. He has worked for Bioware, Looking Glass, Arkane, Mad Doc, Irrational Software and Floodgate Entertainment on projects as diverse as Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark (2003), Arx Fatalis (2002), Jane's Combat Simulations: Attack Squadron (2002), Star Trek: Armada II (2001), Thief II: The Metal Age (2000), Command & Conquer (1999), Flight Unlimited III (1999), System Shock 2 (1999), and Thief: The Dark Project (1998).
Jim Barry
Jim Barry started his game programming career in 1995, and has worked on some of the highest profile, technically demanding games ever shipped. Jim's programming credits include Flight Unlimited (1995), Command & Conquer (2000), Star Wars: Jedi Knight (2003), and Medal of Honor: Rising Sun (2003). Jim has been the lead programmer for Floodgate on titles like Madden Football 2005 (2004) and Neverwinter Nights (2004).
Steve Pearsall
Steve Pearsall has been active in the videogame industry since 1994. As a team member at Looking Glass Studios, he produced games including Thief II: The Metal Age (2000) and Thief Gold (1999). He also contributed to Thief: The Dark Project (1998), Flight Unlimited II (1997), Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri (1996), and Flight Unlimited (1995). At Floodgate, Steve has produced mobile games including Age of Empires (2003), Madden 2005 (2004) and Neverwinter Nights (2004).
Andy Weir
Since 1987, Andy has been developing complex computer applications, including work for Sandia National Laboratories and Nisus Software. His first job in the games industry was for Blizzard Entertainment, where he worked on the development team for Warcraft II. He worked at AOL as a Senior Software Engineer on that company's "You've Got Pictures" initiative. Before joining Floodgate, Andy was the Senior Software Engineer at Centerscore, where he created the backend framework for the company and was lead engineer on 15 BREW and J2ME mobile games.
Tom Stone
Tom entered the game industry in 2003, bringing with him a variety of skills including web design, print design, and a solid foundation in fine art. Before joining Floodgate in 2007, Tom was the lead artist at Centerscore where he contributed to 18 mobile titles including CS Video Poker (2003), Garfield Bowling (2003), Hummer Offroad Challenge (2004), Jamdat's NBA 3-Point Shootout (2004), and Yahoo! Mobile Pyramids (2004).
Randy O'Connor
Randy, the art intern, has worked on game environments since first experiencing the Warcraft 2 Editor in 5th grade. But restrictions on gaming “forced” him to enjoy the outdoors, where the sun gradually warmed Randy into his current form. Content with the sun's work, Randy began attending Northeastern University in 2004, where he is finishing a bachelor's degree in animation. In his spare time he [makes] games, writes, bikes, boulders, and hosts a college radio show. His credits include Geckoman (lead programmer, Metaversal Studios) and Zenix 3d (lead artist).
Christophe DeGregory - artist
Scott Kimball - designer
Vincent Bonanni - programmer
Tyler Sargent - Lead QA
Manu Kapoor - programmer
Justin Lee - QA
Dara-Lynn Pelechatz - HR
Doug Bauer - programmer
Floodgate's Board of Advisors
We count among our advisors some of the most experienced mobile entertainment leaders anywhere. This group includes:
Tom Ellsworth
Thomas Ellsworth is a deeply experienced veteran of the wireless industry. Before joining GoTV, Ellsworth served as Executive Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Development from 2001 to 2005 at JAMDAT Mobile. Inc. (NASDAQ: JMDT) where he was part of the management team that saw the company complete its highly successful IPO in September of 2004. Prior to JAMDAT he was Vice President of Incubator Development and Senior Director of Business Development in the wireless division of Sprint. In that role, Ellsworth oversaw the Sprint incubator joint venture that led to the formation of wireless companies - including JAMDAT Mobile and Boingo.
While at Sprint, Ellsworth also launched the 1st CDMA market in the US and developed what became the "Free and Clear" rate plans - a pioneering change in the wireless industry. Earlier in his career he held selling, marketing and strategy roles at California Amplifier, Inc., L.A. Cellular (acquired by AT&T) and IBM. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration - Marketing from California State University, Northridge and an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.
Dan Scherlis
Dan Scherlis is CEO of Etherplay, a mobile games consultancy. In this role, Dan advises mobile-content and online-entertainment companies on marketing and on partnership strategy. Previously, Dan was CEO of Turbine Entertainment, developers of massively multiplayer games, where he produced Microsoft's Asheron's Call. He directed content strategy for Comverse Mobile Entertainment. For Papyrus (now a Vivendi studio) Dan established and led game-publishing operations, and produced IndyCar Racing. Dan created online publications for AT&T New Media (Ziff-Davis Interactive/Interchange), and led market analysis at HBO. A Contributing Editor for Mobile Entertainment Analyst, and a frequent speaker at industry events, Dan holds AB, AM, and MBA degrees from Harvard.
Warren Spector
Warren Spector received a BS in Speech from Northwestern University and an MA in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1983, just shy of his PhD in Communication, Warren joined Steve Jackson Games where he worked on a variety of boardgames and RPGs while rising to the position of Editor-in-Chief. Four years later, he moved to TSR, where he added boardgame design, choose-your-own-adventure books and novels to his resume. Warren entered the world of electronic games with ORIGIN in 1989, co-producing Ultima VI and Wing Commander and producing Ultima Underworld 1 and 2, Ultima VII: Serpent Isle, System Shock, Wings of Glory, Bad Blood, Martian Dreams and others. In 1997, after a year as General Manager of Looking Glass Austin, Warren started Ion Storm's Austin development studio. He was project director on Ion's award-winning action/RPG, Deus Ex, published in June 2000. Deus Ex was reissued in a 2001 Game of the Year edition and, in 2002, as Deus Ex: The Conspiracy on PS2. As Studio Director, he oversaw development of Deus Ex: Invisible War, released in December 2003, and Thief: Deadly Shadows, released in June 2004. He left Ion Storm in November 2004 to found Junction Point Studios, Inc., to develop videogames for next gen platforms.
Mike Yuen
Mike Yuen is Senior Director, Gaming Group, for QUALCOMM Internet Services. He manages the team chartered with defining and driving the BREW gaming experience. Prior to founding the Gaming Group, Yuen led the BREW Developer Relations team that has signed up companies such as Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo!, Disney, Sony, and EA to deliver consumer and business applications to users around the world. He previously held positions with Accolade, GTE Interactive Media, Hammerhead Entertainment, AMD, and NCR. Yuen is a member of the advisory boards for GDC Mobile and Floodgate Entertainment and was a founding board member of MEF Americas.
Matthew Bellows
Matthew is responsible for the operations, sales and marketing of Floodgate. Before joining Floodgate, Matthew led Gamespot's mobile entertainment initiatives, including the development of a mobile games distribution service called PlayNow. He arrived at Gamespot (a division of CNET Networks) through that company's acquisition of Wireless Gaming Review. Matthew was the co-founder, editor and publisher of WGR (WGamer.com), the leading publication for mobile entertainment consumers. While leading WGR, he grew revenues to $1.5 million, distributed content through Verizon, Sprint, Yahoo! and Ziff-Davis, and formed profitable relationships with industry leaders like Qualcomm, Nokia, JAMDAT and others. Before starting Wireless Gaming Review, Matthew managed the team responsible for 4,000 advertising contracts that drove $30 million in annual revenue for Engage, Inc. Bellows received his MBA with high honors from the Olin School of Management at Babson College.
