Matt Firor is a

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

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 ...

massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

s (MMORPGs). He is best known for his involvement in games such as ''

Dark Age of Camelot ''Dark Age of Camelot'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in October 2001 in North America, and in January 2002 in Europe. The game combines Arthurian lore, Norse mythology, and Celtic mythology, Irish Celtic legends wi ...

'' and ''

The Elder Scrolls Online ''The Elder Scrolls Online'', abbreviated ''ESO'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by ZeniMax Online Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released for Microsoft Windows, Windows and OS X in Ap ...

''.

Biography

Matt Firor's first foray into online gaming was a failed attempt in 1987 to license ''The Scepter of Goth BBS''

MUD A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

. The second, more successful project was the co-founding of Interesting Systems (ISI) with Rob Denton and two others, in 1990. At ISI, Firor was co-designer and lead content developer for ISI's multi-user BBS game ''Tempest'' (later renamed ''Darkness Falls''). ISI merged with Adventures Unlimited Software to form

Mythic Entertainment Mythic Entertainment (formerly BioWare Mythic, EA Mythic, Inc., and Interworld Productions) was a video game developer in Fairfax, Virginia that was most widely recognized for developing the 2001 massively multiplayer online role-playing game ' ...

in 1995. Firor stayed at Mythic from 1995 to 2006, where he was the producer of most of Mythic's titles, including the worldwide

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

bestseller ''

'' and its first two expansions. Firor was vice-president of product development at Mythic, where he was - along with COO Rob Denton - responsible for the management of all of Mythic's development projects. In 2005-06, he led Mythic's internal console technology team which assessed the future of MMORPGs on next-generation console platforms. In June 2006, Firor left Mythic Entertainment to found Ultra Mega Games, a consulting company specializing in online gaming services. August 1, 2007, he was hired by

ZeniMax Media ZeniMax Media Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Rockville, Maryland, and founded in 1999. The company owns publisher Bethesda Softworks with its development unit Bethesda Game Studios (developer of ''The Elder Scrolls,'' ...

Inc., parent company of

Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a division of Media Technology Limited, and in 1999 became a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. In its ...

, to head

ZeniMax Online Studios ZeniMax Online Studios LLC is an American video game developer and a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, specializing in massively multiplayer online games. The company developed ''The Elder Scrolls Online'' and its downloadable content. ZeniMax Onli ...

. Firor is currently the president of ZeniMax Online, and runs the division. He and his team are working on ''

''. Firor has lectured at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, and

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences.

Game credits

* 1991: ''Tempest'' (content/design) * 1996: ''Rolemaster: Magestorm'' (producer/design) * 1996: ''Splatterball'' (producer/design) * 1997: ''Darkness Falls'' (producer/design/content) * 1997: ''Rolemaster: Bladelands'' (producer) * 1998: ''Aliens Online'' (producer/design) * 1998: ''Starship Troopers: Battlespace'' (producer) * 1998: ''Godzilla Online'' (producer) * 1999: ''Silent Death Online'' (producer/lead designer) * 1999: ''Darkness Falls: The Crusade'' (producer) * 1999: ''Splatterball Plus'' (producer) * 1999: ''Darkstorm: The Well of Souls'' (producer) * 1999: ''Spellbinder: The Nexus Conflict'' (producer/design) * 2001: ''

'' (producer/design) * 2002: '' Dark Age of Camelot: Shrouded Isles'' (producer/design) * 2003: '' Dark Age of Camelot: Trials of Atlantis'' (executive producer) * 2004: '' Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs'' (executive producer) * 2014: ''

'' (director)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Firor, Matt Video game designers Living people MUD developers Year of birth missing (living people)