Gary Grigsby is a
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 ...
and
programmer of
computer wargame
A computer wargame is a wargame played on a digital device. Descended from board wargaming, it simulates military conflict at the tactical, operational or strategic level. Computer wargames are both sold commercially for recreational use an ...
s. In 1997, he was described as "one of the founding fathers of strategy war games for the PC."
''
Computer Games Magazine'' later dubbed him "as much of an institution in his niche of computer gaming as
Sid Meier
Sidney K. Meier ( ; born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian-American programmer, game designer, designer, and video game producer, producer of several strategy video games and simulation video games, including the ''Civilization (series), Civiliz ...
,
Will Wright, or
John Carmack are in theirs."
Career
Gary Grigsby purchased a
TRS-80
The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer launched in 1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation through their Radio Shack stores. The name is an abbreviation of '' ...
computer in May 1979
to write wargames, but did not know how to approach the two publishers of computer wargames,
Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) and
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the company ...
. In February 1982 he called SSI to complain about a bug in its ''
Torpedo Fire''; during the conversation
Joel Billings
Joel Billings is an American video game designer and producer. He is the founder of the computer game company Strategic Simulations (SSI). He was also the company's president.Seiken, Jeff (July 05, 1990).Computer War Games Test Strategic Skills, ...
encouraged Grigsby to submit his designs. That year ''
Guadalcanal Campaign'', written in
BASIC, became his first game for SSI,
and was nominated for "Best Adventure Game for Home Computer" at the 1983
Origins Game Fair
Origins Game Fair is an annual gaming convention that was first held in 1975. Since 1996, it has been held in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Origins is run by The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Origins was c ...
.
Through 1997 he created for SSI several titles that are considered classics of the wargame genre, including ''
Kampfgruppe'', ''USAAF'', ''
War in Russia'' and the ''
Steel Panthers'' series. Two games, ''Battle of Britain'' and ''12 O'clock High'', were done for TalonSoft in the late 90s. In 2001 Grigsby started a game development company called
2 By 3 Games with Billings and Keith Brors.
Their latest Grigsby-designed title, ''Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2'', was released by
Matrix Games
Matrix Games is a publisher of PC games, specifically strategy games and wargames. It is based in Ohio, US, and Surrey, UK.
Their focus is primarily but not exclusively on wargames and turn-based strategy. The product line-up also includes spa ...
in 2021.
Game designs
* ''
Guadalcanal Campaign'' (1982)
* ''
Bomb Alley'' (1982)
* ''
North Atlantic '86'' (1983)
* ''
Carrier Force'' (1983)
* ''
Objective: Kursk'' (1984)
* ''
War in Russia'' (1984)
* ''
Reforger '88'' (1984)
* ''
Kampfgruppe'' (1985)
* ''
Mech Brigade'' (1985)
* ''
USAAF
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
'' (1985)
* ''
Battlegroup'' (1986)
* ''
Warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...
'' (1986)
* ''
War in the South Pacific'' (1987)
* ''
Battle Cruiser
The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
'' (1987)
* ''
Panzer Strike!'' (1988)
* ''
Typhoon of Steel'' (1988)
* ''
Overrun!'' (1989)
* ''
Second Front: Germany Turns East'' (1990)
* ''
Western Front'' (1991)
* ''
Carrier Strike'' (1992)
* ''
Gary Grigsby's Pacific War'' (1992)
* ''
Gary Grigsby's War in Russia'' (1993)
* ''
Steel Panthers'' (1995)
* ''
Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles'' (1996)
* ''
Steel Panthers III: Brigade Command: 1939-1999'' (1997)
* ''
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
'' (1999)
* ''
TalonSoft's 12 O'Clock High: Bombing the Reich'' (1999)
* ''
Uncommon Valor: Campaign for the South Pacific'' (2002)
* ''
War in the Pacific: The Struggle Against Japan 1941-1945'' (2004)
* ''
Gary Grigsby's World at War'' (2005)
* ''
Gary Grigsby's World at War A World Divided'' (2006)
* ''
Gary Grigsby's War Between the States'' (2008)
* ''
Gary Grigsby's War in the East'' (2010)
* ''
Gary Grigsby's War in the West'' (2014)
* ''
Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2'' (2021)
References
External links
2 By 3 Games official website*
American company founders
Video game programmers
Video game designers
Living people
People from Encinitas, California
Year of birth missing (living people)
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