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Kevin Ryan

Kevin Ryan 2017

Kevin Ryan (b. 1961) is a former game designer, programmer, and part owner for Dynamix. Kevin has designed and programmed a large number of games for the Apple II, Commodore 64, Amiga, and MS-DOS/Windows computers. These titles include Arcticfox, Skyfox II, F-14 Tomcat, Rise of the Dragon, The Incredible Machine, and 3D Ultra Minigolf. He currently lives in Shaver Lake, California.

Career

Growing up in Fresno, California, Kevin Ryan first got into computers in 1976 during junior high field trip in Berkeley where it showcased a mainframe computer in one of their labs. Once in high school, he spent the next a couple of years writing basic games on a Wang computer.[1]

Ryan graduated from the University of Oregon with a BS in Computer and Information Science in 1983. One of the earlier developers for the Apple II computer, his first games, Zoo Master and Black Belt were published by Earthware Computer Services.

He joined Dynamix in 1984 after a phone conversation with co-founder Damon Slye. Ryan first task was porting Sword of Kadash onto the Commodore 64 . He then programmed Arcticfox for the Amiga computer in 1986. He, along with Richard Hicks, became owner-partners for Dynamix.[2]

Ryan left the company in November 1991. Three weeks later, Jeff Tunnell left a phone message to Ryan and offered him a job at Jeff Tunnell Productions so they can developed "a Rube Goldberg game." This lead to the creation of The Incredible Machine.[3]

Kevin attended the 2001 CGDC and got in touch with GarageGame, a company made up of old Dynamix employees. He contributed to both Marble Blast and Chain Reaction in 2002. He also programmed for Blockland, an open world sandbox game created by Eric Hartman.

Gameography

  • 1983: Zoom Master - writer (Earthware Computer Services)
  • 1984: Black Belt - writer (Earthware Computer Services)
  • 1985: Sword of Kadash - programmer (Penguin Software)
  • 1986: Arcticfox - programmer (Electronic Arts)
  • 1987: Skyfox II: The Cygnus Conflict - creator (Electronic Arts)
  • 1989: F-14 Tomcat - designer, programmer (Activision)
  • 1989: David Wolf: Secret Agent - designer, programmer, screenplay, as Father Brown (Dynamix)
  • 1990: Rise of the Dragon - game development system (Sierra On-Line)
  • 1991: Heart of China - DGDS system, Airfield cinemactics (Sierra On-Line)
  • 1991: The Adventures of Willy Beamish - SDE programmer (Sierra On-Line)
  • 1992: The Incredible Machine - designer, programmer, puzzlomaniacs (Sierra On-Line)
  • 1993: The Even More! Incredible Machine - designer, programmer (Sierra On-Line)
  • 1994: The Incredible Machine 2 - designer, software engineer (Sierra On-Line)
  • 1994: The Incredible Toon Machine - puzzlomaniacs (Sierra On-Line)
  • 1994: The Incredible Machine (3DO) - original game design (Dynamix)
  • 1997: 3-D Ultra Minigolf - co-designer, game logic programmer (Sierra On-Line)
  • 1998: 3-D Ultra MiniGolf Deluxe - designer, game logic, voice scripts (Sierra On-Line)
  • 2000: Return of the Incredible Machine: Contraptions - contraption design, parts programmers (Sierra On-Line)
  • 2001: The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions - additional design, parts programmers (Sierra On-Line)
  • 2002: Marble Blast - Marble Blast Team (GarageGames)
  • 2002: Chain Reaction - programmer (GarageGames)
  • 2004: Blockland - beta tester, coder
  • 2006: Marble Blast Ultra - contraption design, development (GarageGames)

Special Thanks

External Links

Reference

  1. ↑ Interesting People #25: Kevin Ryan on The Incredible Machine
  2. ↑ Game Nostalgia, Dynamix Company History Part One
  3. ↑ The Digital Antiquarian, The Incredible Machine