Brian Reynolds

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Brian Reynolds (born 1967) is a North American game designer. Honored by PC Gamer magazine as one of twenty-five "Game Gods," Reynolds has masterminded the design of such strategy games as Civilization II, Alpha Centauri and Rise of Nations.

Reynolds' game career began in 1991 when he joined Microprose as the lead programmer for their graphic adventure series. Early games included Rex Nebular (1992), Return of the Phantom (1993), and Dragonsphere (1993). But Reynolds' greatest passion has always been for strategy games. As the graphic adventure series wound down, Brian began work on a prototype which eventually became a collaboration with Sid Meier, the eponymous Sid Meier's Colonization (1994). Acclaim for Colonization led to Reynolds' first stint as lead designer: Reynolds and Kaufman sequelized Meier's Civilization (1991) to create Civilization II (1996).

The runaway success of Civilization II gave Reynolds the beginnings of “name recognition” in the industry and he became a founding partner in Firaxis Games, his first entrepreneurial venture. At Firaxis, he contributed to the design of Sid Meier's Gettysburg (1997), and then led the design and creation of Alpha Centauri (1998), his second million-selling game. In 2000, Brian sold his stake in Firaxis to pursue his new dream, Big Huge Games.

Reynolds briefly pursued graduate studies in Philosophy at U.C. Berkeley.

Credited on 28 games

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Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition (2020, Windows) Creative Director
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning (2020, Windows) Additional Thanks
Rise of Nations: Extended Edition (2017, Windows Apps) Design Lead
DomiNations (2015, Android) Creative Director
The Ville (2012, Browser) Additional Help
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (2012, Xbox 360) Additional Thanks
Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties (2008, Macintosh) Creative Director
Catan (2007, Xbox 360) Project Lead
Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (2006, Windows) Project Lead
Rise of Nations: Gold Edition (2004, Windows) Design Lead
Rise of Nations: Thrones & Patriots (2004, Windows) Design Lead
Rise of Nations (2003, Windows) Game Design
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri: Planetary Pack (2001, Linux) Created By
C-evo (1999, Windows) Game Design
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999, Windows) Lead Design
Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition (1999, Macintosh) Game Design
Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire (1999, Windows) Design
Sid Meier's Gettysburg! (1997, Windows) Design
Sid Meier's Civilization II (1996, Windows 3.x) Game Design
Once Upon a Forest (1995, DOS) MADS Game Engine

[ full credits ]

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