A Distinctive Lineage

Few game developers boast a resume like Don Mattrick's: Co-founder of one of the first game studios in Canada, President of Electronic Arts and Senior Vice President of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division. But on a more local level, Mattrick may have singlehandedly turned Vancouver into one of the foremost game development hubs in the world.

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So... this article is Don Mattrick's resume in disguise?

I enjoyed this article.

Your mention of Evolution recalled previously long-gone memories of playing Evolution on a C64 when I was, oh I don't know, around 8 or so. That was a good game!

I remember how the game ended -- after the humans with lazerz stage -- with a vast, apocalyptic nuclear war. Which lead back to stage 1 of Evolution: amoebas competing for food.

Now knowing the story behind it, and that Mattrick was only 17 when he made that game, makes me appreciate those fond (and certainly nostalgic) memories all the more.

Thanks for the article. The thoughts of that game probably would not have ever re-bubbled up in my brain had you not wrote this article :)

Also, being a Vancouverite, I had no idea of the 'Mattrick connection' , so that was interesting for me to hear as well. Thanks!

kspiess:
Also, being a Vancouverite, I had no idea of the 'Mattrick connection' , so that was interesting for me to hear as well. Thanks!

The Georgia Straight ran a good article along the same lines as this one (no doubt in this one's works consulted) back in January, Vancouver's Video Game Family Tree. They even have a schematic PDF of the family tree: http://www.straight.com/files/pdf/vangamedevelopertree.pdf