Chris Roberts (born May 27, 1968)
is a British-American video game
designer
A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans.
In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...
,
programmer
A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software.
A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...
, film producer and film director. He created the ''
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
'' series while at
Origin Systems
Origin Systems, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. It was founded on March 3, 1983, by Richard Garriott and his brother Robert Garriott, Robert. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres ...
and as of 2011 has been working on the
crowdfunded
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
space simulator ''
Star Citizen
Logo Cloud Imperium Games
''Star Citizen'' is an in-development multiplayer, space trading and combat simulation game. The game is being developed and published by Cloud Imperium Games for Microsoft Windows. An extended retry of unrealized plans ...
''.
Early life
Roberts was born in
Redwood City, California
Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...
to a British father and an American mother, and grew up in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England.
He attended
Parrs Wood High School
Parrs Wood High School is a coeducational secondary school in East Didsbury, Manchester, England, located off Wilmslow Road behind Parrs Wood Entertainment Complex. It educates pupils from the age of 11 to 18 years. A-Levels are taught at the Pa ...
, the same school as computer music composer
Martin Galway
Martin Galway (born 3 January 1966, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is one of the best known composers of chiptune video game music for the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spectrum. His works include ''Rambo (1985 video game), Rambo: First Blood Part II' ...
. As a teenager, he created several video games for the
BBC Micro
The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Designed with an emphas ...
, including ''
Stryker's Run'', ''
Wizadore
''Wizadore'' is a video game developed by Imagine Software and released on cassette tape for the BBC Micro home computer in 1985. It was developed by Chris Roberts (then aged 16 and his first commercially successful game) and released by Imagin ...
'', and ''King Kong''.
Career
Origin Systems
Roberts returned to the United States in 1986 to visit his parents, who had settled in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
.
He found a job at Origin Systems, where he created ''
Times of Lore'', published in 1988. The game's interface had a strong influence on other Origin products such as the popular ''
Ultima'' series. A similar game system was used in Roberts's next release for Origin, ''
Bad Blood'' (1990).
''
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
'' was published later in 1990 and was highly acclaimed. ''Wing Commander'' (and the franchise it spawned) soon became Origin's most successful product. Roberts wasn't as heavily involved in the sequel ''
Wing Commander II'', which he only produced. He instead concentrated on ''
Strike Commander''. First shown to the public at Summer
CES 1991, the project suffered from numerous delays and was not released until 1993. He returned to ''Wing Commander'' soon after, devising the original concept for the spin-off ''
Wing Commander: Privateer'' (which his brother, Erin Roberts, produced) and being more deeply involved in ''
Wing Commander III
''Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger'' is the third main game in Chris Roberts' ''Wing Commander'' science fiction space combat simulation video game series, developed and released by Origin Systems in December 1994. It was a departure from ...
'' and ''
Wing Commander IV
''Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom'' is the fourth main game in the ''Wing Commander'' science fiction space combat simulator video game series, produced by Origin Systems and released by Electronic Arts for the PC in 1996 and the Sony P ...
''. For these sequels, Roberts directed the live-action cinematic scenes. Roberts's major role in developing the ''Wing Commander'' games led ''
Next Generation'' to name him one of their "75 Most Important People in the Games Industry of 1995".
Following the traditions of Origin Systems, Chris Roberts's residence at the outskirts of
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
was named "Commander's Ranch", a reference to the ''Wing Commander'' series.
Digital Anvil
Roberts left Origin in 1996 and founded
Digital Anvil
Digital Anvil, Inc. (formerly Digital Anvil Holdings, Inc.) was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas owned by Microsoft Game Studios (MGS). It was founded in 1996 by brothers Chris and Erin Roberts along with Tony Zurovec, Mar ...
with Tony Zurovec and his brother Erin Roberts.
He cited disillusionment with working with large development teams and Origin parent company
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
' unwillingness to give substantial funding to games that weren't sequels.
The fledgling studio set up shop in
Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
and for several years worked quietly, inking a publishing deal with
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
in 1997.
Roberts had stated that he desired to produce films as well as games with Digital Anvil. The 1999 feature film release of ''
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
'' directed by Roberts himself, starring
Freddie Prinze Jr.
Frederick James Prinze Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American actor, television & film producer and screenwriter. He has starred in films such as ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' (1997) and its sequel ''I Still Know What You Did Last Summer' ...
and featuring
visual effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of
a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production.
The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
from Digital Anvil failed to attract either critical praise or financial success.
Digital Anvil's first finished game was ''
Starlancer'', released to a generally favorable critical reception in 2000. Developed jointly between Warthog and Digital Anvil, the game was produced by the Roberts brothers, and Eric Peterson. The company was acquired by Microsoft soon after, who sold two of Digital Anvil's projects, ''
Conquest: Frontier Wars'' led by Eric Peterson, and ''Loose Cannon'' led by Tony Zurovec to
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
. Roberts left the company after the acquisition, abandoning the director position of his ambitious project ''
Freelancer
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
'', although he remained with the game in a consulting role for a while. The game was commonly regarded as
vaporware
In the computer industry, vaporware (or vapourware) is a product, typically computer hardware or software, that is announced to the general public but is late or never actually manufactured nor officially cancelled. Use of the word has broade ...
due to its promised release date of 2001 however it was eventually released in 2003 with a markedly different feature set than the initial plans.
Point of No Return Entertainment/Ascendant Pictures
After leaving Digital Anvil, Roberts founded Point of No Return Entertainment, planning to produce films, television and games. However, no projects materialized from Point of No Return. Roberts founded Ascendant Pictures in 2002 and served as a producer for a number of Hollywood productions including ''
Edison'', ''
Timber Falls
''Timber Falls'' is a 2007 American horror film directed by Tony Giglio and starring Josh Randall and Brianna Brown. In Brazil it was released with the title ''Wrong Turn 2''. In Mexico it was released with the title ''Wrong Turn 3''.
Plot
T ...
'', ''
Outlander'', ''
Who's Your Caddy?
''Who's Your Caddy?'' is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Don Michael Paul and starring Big Boi, Lil Wayne, Andy Milonakis, Faizon Love, Terry Crews, Tony Cox, Jeffrey Jones and Jesper Parnevik. It is the first film produced by Robert L. ...
'', ''
The Big White
''The Big White'' is a 2005 black comedy film directed by Mark Mylod starring Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Giovanni Ribisi, Woody Harrelson, Tim Blake Nelson, W. Earl Brown and Alison Lohman.
In a podcast interview with Marc Maron in 2010, Wi ...
'', ''
Ask the Dust
''Ask the Dust'' is the most popular novel of Italian-American author John Fante, first published in 1939 and set during the Great Depression era in Los Angeles. It is one of a series of novels featuring the character Arturo Bandini as Fante's al ...
'', ''
Lucky Number Slevin
''Lucky Number Slevin'' (also known as ''The Wrong Man'' in Australia, ''The 7 Affair'' in Spain, ''Hitman for Hire'' in Mexico and ''Check-Mate'' in Brazil) is a 2006 neo-noir action crime thriller film directed by Paul McGuigan and written by ...
'' and ''
Lord of War
''Lord of War'' is a 2005 American crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Andrew Niccol, and co-produced by and starring Nicolas Cage.
The film was released in the United States on September 16, 2005, to positive reviews and grosse ...
'', which were almost entirely financed by a loophole in the German tax laws that was finally closed in 2006. Robert's activities as a film producer ended with the depletion of the funds raised by this controversial financing scheme. In 2005, actor
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...
sued Ascendant Pictures for breach of contract on an unreleased film. The company was acquired by
Bigfoot Entertainment
Bigfoot Entertainment is the American parent company of Bigfoot Films, Bigfoot Productions, Bigfoot Production Services, Bigfoot Partners, the International Academy of Film and Television, New Cebu Films and Fashion One Network. The Bigfoot Grou ...
in 2010.
Cloud Imperium Games
In 2011, Chris Roberts founded
Cloud Imperium Games
file:Cloud Imperium Games logo.svg, Logo Cloud Imperium Games
''Star Citizen'' is an in-development multiplayer, space trading and combat simulation game. The game is being developed and published by Cloud Imperium Games for Microsoft Windows. An ...
with his wife Sandi Roberts, as well as business partner and long-time international media attorney
Ortwin Freyermuth
Ortwin Sam Schneider-Freyermuth (born November 1958) is a German American video game executive, entertainment lawyer and film producer. He currently holds the position of co-founder (together with Chris Roberts), vice-chairman and general couns ...
, to work on a new game. In October 2012, Cloud Imperium Games launched a
crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
campaign on their website to produce a space simulation game, ''
Star Citizen
Logo Cloud Imperium Games
''Star Citizen'' is an in-development multiplayer, space trading and combat simulation game. The game is being developed and published by Cloud Imperium Games for Microsoft Windows. An extended retry of unrealized plans ...
'', and later added a
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
campaign in conjunction. By November 2012, they had earned US$6,238,563, surpassing all stretch goals set for the campaigns, and breaking video game industry crowdfunding records.
Chris Roberts had stated that if at least $23 million could be raised over the course of the crowdfunding campaign, no outside investors' or developers' funding would be required. This goal was reached October 18, 2013.
As of February 22, 2022, Cloud Imperium Games has raised over US$474 million in crowdfunding and over $63.25 million in external investments. Cloud Imperium Games' other title in development, Squadron 42, a single-player campaign set in the Star Citizen universe, is still in development and has no confirmed release date as of March 2022, although Cloud Imperium Games has announced they are allocating more resources toward its development.
Works
;Video games
;Films
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Chris
1968 births
American computer programmers
Film producers from California
American video game designers
Film directors from California
Living people
Origin Systems people
Mass media people from Manchester
People from Redwood City, California
American video game directors
American video game programmers
Video game writers
Wing Commander (franchise)
People educated at Parrs Wood High School