Tim Stellmach

Developer BIO

(Exerpted from Interview with Tim Stellmach on Breaking In)

I started out as a playtester for Blue Sky Productions on Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss. I'd gone to school with Doug Church and Jon Maiara, a couple of the programmers on the project at the time, and I expressed an interest in what they were doing. The job involved a lot of playing the game, often repeatedly playing the same scenario trying to isolate the specific circumstances that caused a bug, which takes a lot of perseverance. As the developer's playtest group expanded I ended up coordinating the process, building and managing a database of trouble reports.

After Ultima Underworld, I had my foot in the door when they started hiring designers for Ultima Underworld II. Back in those days the job description of full-time game designer was still fairly new, so I was able to jump straight to the position of lead designer (in a group of three). I was then a designer on the games System Shock and Terra Nova, and then started being a lead designer again, only this time on original projects like Thief: The Dark Project (as opposed to my post on Underworld II, a sequel). All of this constituted eight years or so at the same company, Looking Glass Studios, which only ended when they went out of business. I did some consulting while searching for a new job, looking to do something a bit different, and finally settled on my current position at Vicarious Visions.

Websites

• Tim Stellmach -- The developer's design blog.

Games Credited

• Transformers: War for Cybertron - Decepticons (2010), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (2009), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Guitar Hero: On Tour (2008), Activision Publishing, Inc., RedOctane, Inc.
• Kung Fu Panda (2008), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Bee Movie Game (2007), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Shrek the Third (2007), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Shrek the Third (2007), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Spider-Man 3 (2007), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance (2006), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Over the Hedge (2006), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Over the Hedge (2006), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Over the Hedge: Hammy Goes Nuts! (2006), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• DOOM³ (2005), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Madagascar (2005), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Madagascar: Operation Penguin (2005), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Oasis (2005), PlayFirst, Inc.
• Tony Hawk's American Sk8land (2005), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• X-Men: Legends II - Rise of Apocalypse (2005), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage (2004), Vivendi Universal Games, Inc.
• Spyro Orange: The Cortex Conspiracy (2004), Vivendi Universal Games, Inc.
• Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced (2003), Universal Interactive Inc.
• Crash Nitro Kart (2003), Vivendi Universal Games, Inc.
• Disney•Pixar Finding Nemo (2003), THQ Inc.
• Disney's The Lion King 1 ½ (2003), THQ Inc.
• The Muppets: On with the Show (2003), TDK Mediactive, Inc.
• Spy Muppets: License to Croak (2003), TDK Mediactive, Inc.
• X2: Wolverine's Revenge (2003), Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Deus Ex (Game of the Year Edition) (2001), Eidos Interactive, Inc.
• Deus Ex (2000), Eidos Interactive Ltd.
• Thief II: The Metal Age (2000), Eidos, Inc.
• Thief: Gold (1999), Eidos Interactive Ltd.
• Thief: The Dark Project (1998), Eidos Interactive, Inc.
• Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri (1996), Looking Glass Technologies, Inc.
• System Shock (1994), Dro Soft, ORIGIN Systems, Inc.
• Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (1993), ORIGIN Systems, Inc.
• Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (1992), ORIGIN Systems, Inc.