Feargus MacRae Urquhart (born April 19, 1970) is the CEO of Obsidian Entertainment. He was formerly the president at Interplay Entertainment and Black Isle Studios. Urquhart was involved with the production of Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout: New Vegas and the canceled Van Buren project.
Career
In the mid-1990s, Urquhart joined forces with Tim Cain and others to produce the first entry in what would be the Fallout franchise, Fallout: A Post-Nuclear Role Playing Game, on which he was credited as a design division director. Following Fallout's 1997 release, team-structure negotiations between Interplay and Cain collapsed, leading to the departure of several principal designers of the original Fallout. In 1998, Urquhart was given the reins to Interplay's newly-created development division for role-playing games, Black Isle Studios.
After Cain, Jason D. Anderson and Leonard Boyarsky left Fallout 2 to form Troika Games, Urquhart and Matt Norton took over in directing the game.[1] Fallout 2 was released later that year, with Urquhart as a producer and lead designer. As an example of his work, the Vault City designer notes include credit to Urquhart as one of the designers on Vault City,[2] while the Fallout 2 Official Strategies & Secrets guide credits him for the design of game systems, including controlling companions, as well as design on San Francisco.[3] He was also credited for the design of the SPECIAL game system as it appeared in Fallout 2, as well as a production division director.
In 2003, Interplay fell into serious financial difficulties. In December, the Black Isle Studios division was closed down, and its staff laid off, Urquhart included. With the help of former Fallout colleagues Chris Avellone, Chris Jones, Darren L. Monahan and Chris Parker, Urquhart founded Obsidian Entertainment in Santa Ana, California. Obsidian went on to develop Fallout: New Vegas, released in 2010, with Urquhart credited as president and CEO of the company, alongside some other development roles.[4]
Employment history
| From | To | Company | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 2003 | Interplay Entertainment | President |
| 2003 | Present | Obsidian Entertainment | CEO |
Credits
Fallout series
| Year | Title | Credited as/for |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Fallout | Design Division Director |
| 1998 | Fallout 2 | Producer Lead Designer SPECIAL Game System Design By Production Division Director |
| 2010 | Fallout: New Vegas | CEO & President |
| - | Van Buren | Designer |
Other work
| Year | Title | Credited as/for |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Castles II: Siege and Conquest | Additional Designer |
| 1998 | Baldur's Gate | Design Director |
| 1999 | Planescape: Torment | Production |
| 2000 | Icewind Dale | Production Division Director |
| 2006 | Neverwinter Nights 2 | CEO & President Executive Producer |
| 2014 | Pillars of Eternity | CEO & President Kickstarter Team |
| 2019 | The Outer Worlds | CEO & President |
Behind the scenes
Several characters in the Fallout series are named after Feargus Urquhart, including Feargus, the Chosen One's nephew in Arroyo in Fallout 2, as well as Feargus, the receptionist of the Hall of Congress in Fallout 2. Additionally, his middle name, MacRae, is also the name of a bodyguard in the Boneyard in Fallout, and was the name of John Cassidy in early development of Fallout 2. There is also a character named Feargus in Fallout Tactics, although Urquhart was not involved with that game's development.
External links
Gallery
References
- ↑ Chris Avellone on Twitter (archived): "@TheREALMrDerp Feargus Urquhart/Matt Norton directed F2 after Cain/Anderson/Boyarsky left after a few months to form Troika."
- ↑ Vault City designer notes
- ↑ Fallout 2 Official Strategies & Secrets, p. 338
- ↑ Fallout: New Vegas 10th Anniversary Charity Stream Part 3 (reference starts at 45:17)
Joshua Sawyer: "'Was combining Small Guns and Big Guns back together an uncontested change?' The only people who contested it were Feargus Urquhart and Chris Parker. Nobody else contested it. And I was like, 'It's fine.' [laughter] They're like, 'I think it's gonna do this-' I'm like, 'Nah. Nah.' That was my feedback, like 'Nah, it's fine.'"