Mark Cerny
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Mark Cerny (Czech: Marek Černý) (born 1964) is a video game industry figure having worked as a game designer, programmer, producer and business executive. As president of Cerny Games, which he founded in 1998, he now acts as a consultant in the video game industry.[1]
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[edit] Career
Cerny, a fan of computer programming and arcade games, started in the game industry at the age of 17 when he joined Atari in 1982. In those earlier days of professional game development, teams were small and each member was responsible for a wider range of roles than today.[2]
Cerny's first major success is usually cited as Marble Madness in which he, at age 18, acted as the designer. For years he worked with Sega in Japan and the United States, where he worked on Sonic the Hedgehog 2.[3] He was the vice president and then president of Universal Interactive Studios. He continues to work with Naughty Dog (where he has worked on Crash Bandicoot and later consulted on the Jak and Daxter series), Insomniac Games (Spyro the Dragon and Ratchet and Clank), and Sony.
From his extensive experience on the "do's and don'ts" in the game industry he has developed the "Cerny method", a strategy for game development. His method prefers a free-form, pre-production stage that explores a game's viability prior to full development.[4] For example, he advocates that if the first level produced does not excite customers, then the game idea should be set aside before too much effort is put into it.[1]
The International Game Developers Association awarded Cerny with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards (IGDA) in 2004.[2] IGNA stated, "It's rare to find a 'jack-of-all-trades' who not only has the high-level vision for great game design but can act as the glue to adhere all the pieces together. His unusual but highly effective methodology has brought us some of the most entertaining games in history."[5] He was described as the "master collaborator". His success rests not only on the number of games he's worked on, but also on their quality and commercial success (having sold several dozen million units).
Cerny was an early employee of Kleiner Perkins-backed video game startup Crystal Dynamics in 1992, and was de facto head of engineering during production of its first two products, Crash 'n Burn (1993) and Total Eclipse (1994).[citation needed]
[edit] Production history
- Shooting Gallery (1987) — Programming & Designer
- Missile Defense 3-D (1987) — Programming & Designer
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) — Development Support
- Kid Chameleon (1992) — Programming & Software
- The Ooze (1995) — Programming & Technical Thanks
- Disruptor (1996) — Executive Producer
- Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (1997) — Producer
- Spyro the Dragon (1998) — Executive Producer
- Running Wild (1998) — Executive Producer
- Heart of Darkness (1998) — Special Thanks
- Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (1998) — Executive Producer
- Spyro the Dragon 2: Ripto's Rage! (1998) — Executive Producer
- Spyro the Dragon 3: Year of the Dragon (2000) — Additional Designer
- Crash Bandicoot: Crash Bash (2000) — Game Designer
- Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001) — Additional Game Design and Programming
- Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando (2003) — Additional Design Consultant
- Jet Li: Rise to Honor (2004) — Special Thanks
- Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (2004) — Special Thanks
- Resistance: Fall of Man (2006) — Production, Design, Technical Assistance
- MotorStorm (2006) — SCEE MIS Ice Team
- Warhawk (2007) — Special Thanks
- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007) — Additional Game Design and Programming
- Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (2007) — Design Consultant
- Pain (2007) — Ice Team
- Heavenly Sword (2007) — Ice Team
- Formula One Championship Edition (2007) — Ice Team
- MLB 08: The Show (2008) — Ice Team
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Breeden II, John. "A Lifetime of Achievement". www.gameindustry.com. http://www.gameindustry.com/interview/item.asp?id=3. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
- ^ a b Perry, Douglas C.. "IGN: Interview with Mark Cerny". pc.ign.com. http://pc.ign.com/articles/498/498658p1.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
- ^ Horowitz, Ken. "Interview: Mark Cerny". www.sega-16.com. http://www.sega-16.com/feature_page.php?id=183&title=Interview:%20Mark%20Cerny. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
- ^ McLean, John. "Gamasutra - Conversations From GDC Europe: Mark Cerny, Jonty Barnes, Jason Kingsley". www.gamasutra.com. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2959/conversations_from_gdc_europe_.php. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
- ^ Calvert, Justine. "IGDA Lifetime Achievement Award for Mark Cerny - News at GameSpot". www.gamespot.com. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6089075.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
