Jeffery Spangenberg is a retired

video game producer A video game producer is the top person in charge of overseeing development of a video game. History The earliest documented use of the term ''producer'' in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Arts ...

and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

who founded

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

s Punk Development,

Iguana Entertainment Acclaim Studios Austin (formerly Iguana Entertainment) was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by Jeff Spangenberg, previously lead designer for Punk Development, and originally located in Sa ...

Retro Studios Retro Studios, Inc. is an American video game developer and subsidiary of Nintendo based in Austin, Texas. The studio is best known for its work on the ''Metroid Prime'' and ''Donkey Kong Country'' series, and has contributed to several other N ...

, and Topheavy Studios.

Biography

Spangenberg skipped college to learn

computer programming Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as ana ...

, and later served as

lead designer Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in ...

and president for Punk Development, the development team of publisher RazorSoft, headquartered in

Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the nort ...

. In 1991, Spangenberg founded his own company in Santa Clara,

and hired 20 staff, including friends of his. Iguana, who would later move to

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 ...

due to the elevated costs of living in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

, wound up bought by

Acclaim Entertainment Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally formed by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki out of an Oyster Bay storefront in 1987, the company established a worldwide d ...

in 1995, and Spangenberg was promoted to an executive position in which he overlooked all of Acclaim's software studios. Spangenberg was fired from Acclaim in 1998, leading him to sue the company for breach of contract and fraud. The suit was settled in 2000. Following his dismissal, Spangenberg launched a new company,

, in October 1998. He then approached

Nintendo of America is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards. ...

to establish a partnership. Nintendo accepted to fund the studio, hoping the new developer could provide games aimed at mature audiences for their upcoming console, the

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

, just like Iguana did with the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...

title '' Turok: Dinosaur Hunter''. The studio immediately began work on four projects for the GameCube.

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...

was impressed with the studio's ''Action-Adventure''

game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...

and suggested that Retro could use it to develop a new title in the ''

Metroid is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirate (Metroid), Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the powe ...

'' series. All titles were eventually cancelled so Retro could focus all their effort onto ''

Metroid Prime ''Metroid Prime'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. ''Metroid Prime'' is the fifth main installment in the '' Metroid'' franchise and the first game in the series to use 3D c ...

''. On May 2, 2002, months before ''Prime'' was released, Nintendo bought out Spangenberg's $1 million worth of Retro Studios, and reclassified the company as a first party developer and division of Nintendo. Spangenberg's departure was attributed to frequent absenteeism and using Retro's servers to host a website that featured pictures of scantily clad women. Spangenberg would then create Topheavy Studios, who developed ''

The Guy Game ''The Guy Game'' is an adult video game developed by Topheavy Studios and published by Gathering, released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox in 2004. Presented in a trivia gameshow-style supporting up to four players, it consists ...

'', released in 2004. The game would result in a lawsuit from one of the featured women who was underage, leading to a temporary injunction prohibiting the further production of copies of the game. The game was later re-released as an interactive DVD with the woman from the lawsuit's scenes dropped. ''The Guy Game'' was the only game developed by Topheavy Studios.Games Database - The Guy Game
/ref>

Credits

Programming

*''Advanced Basketball Simulator/Slam-Dunk'' (1988,

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

) *''

Space Harrier is a third-person arcade rail shooter game developed by Sega and released in 1985. It was originally conceived as a realistic military-themed game played in the third-person perspective and featuring a player-controlled fighter jet, but techni ...

'' (1988,

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

port) *''

After Burner is an Arcade video game, arcade vehicular combat game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player assumes control of an American Grumman F-14 Tomcat, F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by des ...

'' (1989, Amiga port) *''

After Burner II is an Arcade video game, arcade vehicular combat game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player assumes control of an American Grumman F-14 Tomcat, F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by des ...

'' (1989, Amiga port) *''

Death Duel ''Death Duel'' () is a 1977 Hong Kong ''wuxia'' film directed by Chor Yuen under the Shaw Brothers Studio banner. The film stars Derek Yee (whose role as the third master launched his career), Ling Yun, and marked the debut of Candice Yu for ...

'' (1992,

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

) *'' Side Pocket'' (1993,

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...

port) *''

Aero the Acro-Bat ''Aero the Acro-Bat'' is a 1993 video game developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Sunsoft. It was released for both the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis. Aero the Acro-Bat, a red anthropomorphic bat, was created ...

'' (1993, SNES and Genesis) *'' NFL Quarterback Club'' (1994, SNES and Genesis)

Producer

*''

Rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

'' (1991,

Sega Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 and ...

port) *''Aero the Acro-Bat'' (1993) *''

Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel ''Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel'' is a video game developed by Iguana Entertainment, and published by Sunsoft in 1994. It is a spin-off/sequel of the ''Aero the Acro-Bat'' series and was released for the Sega Genesis in October 1994 and for the Supe ...

'' (1994, SNES and Genesis) *''

Aero the Acro-Bat 2 ''Aero the Acro-Bat 2'' is a platform game developed by Iguana Entertainment, and published by Sunsoft as the sequel of ''Aero the Acro-Bat''. It was released for the Sega Genesis in April 1994 then for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in ...

'' (1994, SNES and Genesis) *''

The Pirates of Dark Water ''The Pirates of Dark Water'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by David Kirschner and produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series premiered as a five-part miniseries on Fox Kids early 1991. The first season, consisting of 13 ...

'' (1994, SNES and Genesis) *''NFL Quarterback Club'' (1994) *'' Turok: Dinosaur Hunter'' (1997, PC and

) *''

'' (2004, PC,

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

and

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spangenberg, Jeff Living people Video game businesspeople Video game producers Video game programmers Year of birth missing (living people)