John Welch
Moby ID: 31994
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John Welch is veteran leader of the online games industry and one of the early pioneers of digital distribution of entertainment. He is currently CEO of Making Fun, a game developer and publisher he co-founded in 2009 to create mobile and social titles for digital platforms. Making Fun’s top titles include Hidden Express, BloodRealm and the upcoming Mage & Minions.
In addition to his operating role, John is an active investor in other game-related startups. He is a Director of Ledge Media, a game project development fund. He is a member of the Board of Directors at Renaissance 2.0, makers of Secret Builders. He was an Advisor to Games That Give (recently sold), a charitable gaming platform that rewards users’ free gameplay on Facebook with vaccinations for children in third world countries.
Previously, as co-founder & CEO of PlayFirst, the casual games developer and publisher famous for its best-selling Diner Dash brand, John was responsible for the vision, financing, strategic direction and operations of the company for its first five years. Prior to forming PlayFirst, he spent nearly five years building Shockwave.com into one of the Internet's top game portals as the company's Vice President of Games and Product. He was a key member of the Dreamcast Network leadership team at SEGA from 1998 to 1999. Previously, John spent several years running a small consultancy he co-founded, and he began his career at Andersen Consulting.
John has served as steering committee member and chair of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Online & Casual Games groups, and he is a regular faculty member of the annual Game Developers' Conference. John is currently and has been an Advisor to the GDC Social and Online Game Summit for the past several years. John is an active member and officer of the Golden Gate chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). He holds degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from M.I.T. and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Credited on 23 games
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Mage and Minions (2014, Android) | Published by Making Fun |
Cooking Dash (2009, iPhone) | Special Thanks |
Dream Chronicles (2009, iPhone) | Special Thanks |
Wandering Willows (2009, Windows) | Special Thanks |
Chocolatier (2009, iPhone) | Special Thanks |
Nightshift Legacy: The Jaguar's Eye (2008, Windows) | Special Thanks |
Diner Dash: Seasonal Snack Pack (2008, Windows) | Special Thanks |
The Nightshift Code (2008, Macintosh) | Special Thanks |
Diner Dash: Hometown Hero (2007, Macintosh) | Special Thanks |
Mystery of Shark Island (2007, Windows) | Special Thanks |
SandScript (2006, Windows) | Special Thanks |
Diner Dash: Flo on the Go (2006, Windows) | Special Thanks |
Connect Four Cities (2006, Windows) | Special Thanks |
Diner Dash 2: Restaurant Rescue (2006, Windows) | Special Thanks |
Plantasia (2006, Windows) | Special Thanks |
Egg vs. Chicken (2006, Windows) | Special Thanks |
Spellagories (2005, Windows) | Executive Producers |
Oasis (2005, Windows) | Special thanks to |
Chessmaster Challenge (2005, Windows) | Executive Producers |
Subway Scramble (2005, Windows) | Executive Producer |
[ full credits ]
Frequent Collaborators
People- 21 games with Kenny Shea Dinkin
- 21 games with Brad Edelman
- 14 games with Nicholas Stern
- 13 games with Jim Brooks
- 13 games with Bruce Sherrod
- 12 games with Sheridan Hitchens
- 12 games with Heidi Perry
- 12 games with Christopher Dunn
- 11 games with Tim Mensch
- 10 games with Rebekah Hash
[ 474 more people ]
Companies
- 21 games with PlayFirst, Inc.
- 7 games with Russobit-M
- 7 games with MacGameStore, LLP
- 7 games with Game Factory Interactive Ltd.
- 5 games with SomaTone Interactive Audio
- 5 games with Valve Corporation
- 4 games with gameLab
- 3 games with Reflexive Entertainment Inc.
- 2 games with Black Hammer Productions, Inc.
- 2 games with Electrified Games, Inc.
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