Finally, we moved into office space we could be proud of in Providence.
Typical view at a computer games conference
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It was difficult to hire people in Providence, so in 1996 we ended up
moving to Westwood, Massachusetts, just south of Boston. I had too
many business responsibilities, and hired longtime gaming friend
Rickland Powell to help out, as executive vice-president.
The first part of 1996 involved a ton of flying around the country,
giving presentations to prospective publishers. I'd hired a
businessman, Dan Scherlis, with a Harvard MBA to run the trip.
Here's how conventions work. You fly out to a computer games conference,
along with your
business reps, your technical reps, and your game designers and
artists. Using your contacts and generally networking around, you
drag people off to see your demo. This typically involves a lot of
Dan, juggling with four hands?
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prowling around the conference show floor.
If you've never been to a computer conference, I suggest going sometime
just for the excitement. Computer game conferences are even wilder.
Every company tries to impress you with glitz and glamour. They set up
20-foot stages with whirling lights, rock music, and projection TVs.
Everywhere you see models, and free toys and t-shirts they're giving away.
Some of the companies have booths covering such large floor spaces
that you can get lost in them! Of course, everywhere there are blazing
computer screens with
Light saber battles: Dan and Tim
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computer game demos. "We're hot! Do a deal with us!" every banner seems
to shout.
By mid-1996, Turbine was a company of 30 people: administrators, game
testers, game designers, artists, and of course lots of
programmers. Putting together an entire online world is similar to
setting up an amusement park. It's a huge undertaking, involving tons
of artwork, music, gamewriting, and the entire programming
infrastructure to make it work.
I'd had a great time meeting people, working like crazy, managing the
projects and putting together presentations for outsiders. Together
we'd attracted many publishers who were "checking us out". But I
wondered whether someone with a business background should be our
CEO. In the end, I gave up the position to Dan in late 1996, remaining
chairman of the board, and becoming the Chief Technology Officer
(CTO), which gave me member-at-large responsibilities to foster cool
technology. This included the artificial intelligence system to
drive monsters to and fro in the game's virtual world. Meanwhile, I became
the #2 businessperson for guiding the company and negotiating with the
outside world. We ended up signing Microsoft as our first publisher.
Click prev or next for more The Johnny Monsarrat Turbine Story.
Turbine Entertainment
Software is an Internet computer games company. Turbine's games,
called "massively multiplayer games", each involve a virtual world,
which thousands of players can visit simultaneously through the
Internet. The gameplay and artwork are extensive, and it's all based
on cutting-edge 3D graphics and server software. The first game,
Asheron's Call,
and its sequel, are published by Microsoft, and shipped in 1999 and 2001. This
is the story of how I founded and ran the company. — Jon Monsarrat, jonmon@alum.mit.edu.
Copyright (c) 2002
Jon Monsarrat.
Duplication prohibited. All rights reserved.
I don't speak officially for Turbine. Click to contact Turbine directly.
