Michael M. Simpson

Developer BIO

Should the BBC ever decide to make another series of Doctor Who, we know where to find a moderately convincing Timelord. Left to his own devices Mike Simpson has appalling taste in jumpers, the air of a slightly bemused - but very nice - missionary who has wandered into an amusing cannibal convention, a quietly evil sense of humour, and a brain the size of a small planet. Fuelled entirely by tea and other people’s biscuits, he has forgotten more about games and game development than most people will ever know. The final clinching point is that his office is bigger on the inside than the outside - no, really. Otherwise the sheer untidiness of it all would spill out into the rest of Sussex…

Mike began his career in the sensible end of the computer industry as a chip designer in 1985, but fortunately escaped from terminal sensibleness and took to games instead. On balance, this was a good move. His first game, Swords and Sorcery (for the Spectrum and Amstrad) won a Game of the Year Award in 1985. Mike also claims it was the first computer RPG.

Since then, he has worked on so many games that there are enough boxes to recreate Stonehenge in miniature, which is kind of cool but completely pointless. And not just as a programmer: he’s brought a broadside of managerial expertise to bear on titles for PSS, Mirrorsoft and Psygnosis before joining CA in 1997. Once there, he became a lynchpin of the whole operation, and acted as the creative force, a guru if you will, for the soon-to-be awesome Total War brand. He had a hand in the design of Shogun: Total War, its expansion pack Mongol Invasion, Medieval: Total War and its expansion Viking Invasion and now is overseeing Rome: Total War and keeping a benevolent eye on another super-secret product. In the process Total War became an awesome brand, instead of a ‘soon-to-be etc.’!

We could go mad and list the 50+ games he’s had his name on, but really, this would only make everyone else in the biz look like slackers. Suffice to say that he’s helped move CA from having a single team of 7 people to being a company 10 times the size spread across 10 time zones (but in two office-shaped clumps, not a thin layer like some bizarre human-flavoured jam). He’s also remained a jolly nice chap too, which is more than can be said for many of the slackers…

Source: CA OZ company homepage

Also Known As

• Mike Simpson

Websites

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Games Credited

Empire: Total War (2009), SEGA of America, Inc.
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (2008), Activision Deutschland GmbH
Medieval II: Total War (2006), SEGA Europe Ltd.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Global Star Software Inc.
Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion (2005), SEGA of America, Inc.
Spartan: Total Warrior (2005), SEGA Europe Ltd.
Army Men: Sarge's War (2004), Global Star Software Inc.
Marine Sharpshooter II: Jungle Warfare (2004), Groove Games
Rome: Total War (2004), Activision Publishing, Inc.
World War II: Sniper - Call to Victory (2004), Groove Games
Army Men Air Combat: The Elite Missions (2003), 3DO Company, The
Medieval: Total War - Viking Invasion (2003), Activision Publishing, Inc.
Medieval: Total War (2002), Activision Publishing, Inc.
Shogun: Total War - The Mongol Invasion (2001), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Army Men: Air Attack 2 (2000), 3DO Company, The
Army Men: Air Combat (2000), 3DO Company, The
Shogun: Total War (2000), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Soldiers at War (1998), Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Uprising 2: Lead and Destroy (1998), 3DO Company, The
Alpha Storm (1997), Psygnosis Limited
Decisive Battles of WWII: Ardennes Offensive (1997), Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Final Liberation: Warhammer Epic 40,000 (1997), Mindscape International GmbH
Pacific General (1997), Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Steel Panthers III: Brigade Command (1939-1999) (1997), Mindscape, Inc., Strategic Simulations, Inc.
SubSpace (1997), Virgin Interactive Entertainment, Inc.
Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles (1996), Mindscape, Inc.
Wargame Construction Set III: Age of Rifles 1846-1905 (1996), Mindscape, Inc., Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Paparazzi!: Tales of Tinseltown (1995), Activision Publishing, Inc.
Hexx: Heresy of the Wizard (1994), Psygnosis Limited
Microcosm (1994), Psygnosis Limited
Obitus (1994), Psygnosis Limited
Shadow of the Beast II (1994), Psygnosis Limited
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993), Psygnosis Limited
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993), Psygnosis Limited, Sony Imagesoft
Shadow of the Beast 3: Out of the Shadow (1992), Psygnosis Limited
Battle Master (1990), Mirrorsoft Ltd.
Conflict: Europe (1989), Mirrorsoft Ltd.
Swords & Sorcery (1985), PSS