Starr McAuley Long (born March 12, 1970) is an American game developer, a long time collaborator with
Richard Garriott
Richard Allen Garriott de Cayeux (''né'' Garriott; born July 4, 1961) is an American video game developer, entrepreneur and private astronaut. Although both his parents were American, he maintains dual British and American citizenship by birth. ...
at the companies
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 ...
(1992–2000),
Destination Games (2000–2008), and
Portalarium (2013–present). In 1997, Long was the original director of the early graphical multiplayer game ''
Ultima Online
''Ultima Online'' (''UO'') is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released on September 24, 1997 by Origin Systems.
Set in the '' Ultima'' universe, it is known for its extensive player versus player combat system. ...
'', and from 2008–2013 he was executive producer at
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
, where he created and managed several educational games and apps for
Club Penguin
''Club Penguin'' was a massively multiplayer online game (MMO), involving a virtual world that contained a range of online games and activities. It was created by New Horizon Interactive (now known as Disney Canada Inc.). Players used cartoon ...
and the
Disney Connected Learning platform. In early 2008, he was listed as one of the Top 20 Most Influential People in the
MMO industry.
[ In 2013, he again partnered with Garriott at Portalarium, where they began working on a new game '']Shroud of the Avatar
''Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues'' is a fantasy role-playing video game. Described as being a spiritual successor to the Ultima (series), ''Ultima'' series, ''Shroud of the Avatar'' was developed by Austin, Texas-based developer Portalar ...
''.
Career
Long grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...
, the only child of Zelda Klein Long (1948–2013) and Max "Cary" Long (1943–2003), who ran an antique store, Goudeau Antiques. He graduated in 1988 from Baton Rouge Magnet High School
Baton Rouge Magnet High School (BRMHS or Baton Rouge High) is a public magnet school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, founded in 1880. It is part of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System with a student body of approximately 1500 stude ...
, and then attended Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
, earning a degree in Theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
in 1992. He did some part-time work building sets for local theaters such as Baton Rouge Opera, and then moved with some friends 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 ...
, where he continued at venues such as Live Oak Theatre. Because of the low pay in the theater business though, he began looking for other opportunities. On a whim, in September 1992 he responded to an ad looking for paid game testers, and to his surprise found himself suddenly hired by Richard Garriott
Richard Allen Garriott de Cayeux (''né'' Garriott; born July 4, 1961) is an American video game developer, entrepreneur and private astronaut. Although both his parents were American, he maintains dual British and American citizenship by birth. ...
's well-known game company 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 ...
(which, later that same month, was acquired by 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 ...
). At Origin, Long worked in Quality Assurance
Quality assurance (QA) is the term used in both manufacturing and service industries to describe the systematic efforts taken to ensure that the product(s) delivered to customer(s) meet with the contractual and other agreed upon performance, design ...
, documenting bugs on games such as ''Ultima VII
''Ultima VII: The Black Gate'' is the seventh installment of the ''Ultima (series), Ultima series'' of role-playing video games, released on April 16, 1992. In it the player returns as The Avatar, a would-be paragon of moral virtue who faces down ...
'', ''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 ''ShadowCaster
''ShadowCaster'' is a first-person role-playing video game developed by Raven Software.
It was published in 1993 by Origin Systems after Electronic Arts acquired them. A CD-ROM version was released in 1994, featuring two additional levels with ...
''.
He was soon promoted to QA Lead on games such as ''BioForge
''BioForge'' is a 1995 action-adventure game developed by Origin Systems and published by Electronic Arts for MS-DOS. Set in the future, the player controls an amnesiac cyborg trying to escape the research facility in which they are being held pr ...
'', then in 1995 to associate producer on ''Ultima IX
''Ultima IX: Ascension'' is the ninth and final part of the main series of the role-playing video game series '' Ultima''. Developed by Origin Systems and published by Electronic Arts, ''Ultima IX'' was released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows aft ...
'', and to director of the first online version of the Ultima series
''Ultima'' is a series of open world fantasy role-playing video games from Origin Systems, Inc. ''Ultima'' was created by Richard Garriott. Electronic Arts has owned the brand since 1992. The series sold over 2 million copies by 1997.
A signi ...
, ''Ultima Online
''Ultima Online'' (''UO'') is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released on September 24, 1997 by Origin Systems.
Set in the '' Ultima'' universe, it is known for its extensive player versus player combat system. ...
'', where Long's online persona was known as Lord Blackthorn
This is a list of significant or recurring characters in the ''Ultima'' series of computer games, indicating the games in which they appeared.
The Avatar and Companions
* Yes : The companion is in that game.
* No : The companion is not in that ...
. The game was released in 1997, and though not the first graphical MMO, gained considerable attention as part of the popular Ultima series, attracting 250,000 players. It went on to win several awards, including being the first inductee to the GDC Online Awards Hall of Fame, and was listed by ''TIME
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine as one of the 100 greatest video games of all time.
In 2000, Long and the Garriott brothers left Origin (which was disbanded by its 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 ...
in 2004), and formed a new company, Destination Games. In 2001 it was acquired by Korea-based NCsoft, with the company's first game ''Tabula Rasa
''Tabula rasa'' (; "blank slate") is the theory that individuals are born without built-in mental content, and therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception. Epistemological proponents of ''tabula rasa'' disagree with the doctri ...
'' released in late 2007. However, the game did not perform as well as was hoped, both Garriott and Long left the company in 2008, and the game was shut down in February 2009.
The two then parted ways for a time, with Garriott forming a new company, Portalarium, and Long moving his family to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, where he was hired by The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
as an executive producer. During the next four years, Long oversaw the creation of several social games and mobile apps for Disney and its subdivision Disney Interactive
Disney Interactive is an American video game and internet company that oversaw various websites and interactive media owned by The Walt Disney Company.
History
1995–1996: Formation and beginnings
In December 1994, Disney announced that it wa ...
, such as the Disney Connected Learning Platform, the ''Disney Parent App'' for Facebook, several educational mini-games and a mobile version for Club Penguin
''Club Penguin'' was a massively multiplayer online game (MMO), involving a virtual world that contained a range of online games and activities. It was created by New Horizon Interactive (now known as Disney Canada Inc.). Players used cartoon ...
, and several educational games for iPhones and iPads. Educators collaborating on the projects included Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
's Roy Pea
Roy D. Pea is David Jacks Professor of Learning Sciences and Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. He has extensively published works in the field of the Learning Sciences and on learning technology design and made significant co ...
and professors from the University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
such as John Olive and Linda Labbo. Some games created were original concepts such as ''Pufflescape'', ''Jelly Bean Counter'', and ''Bits & Bolts'', while others leveraged existing Disney properties, such as ''Cinderella Shapes & Patterns'', ''Toy Story Letters & Letter Sounds'', ''Fairies Art Studio'', ''Ariel Numbers and Counting'', ''Cars Numbers and Counting'', and ''Disney Fairies Fashion Boutique''. For a time, Long also managed the Disney online worlds ''Toontown Online
''Toontown Online'', commonly known as ''Toontown'', was a 2003 massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on a cartoon animal world, developed by Disney's Virtual Reality Studio and Schell Games, and published by The Walt Disney Comp ...
'', ''Pirates of the Caribbean Online
''Pirates of the Caribbean Online'' was a 3D massively multiplayer online role-playing video game based on the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' franchise. It was developed and published by Disney Online, in conjunction with SilverTree Media, for ...
'', and ''Pixie Hollow
Pixie Hollow is a character meet and greet attraction at Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland, offering guests the opportunity to meet Tinker Bell and her friends from the Disney Fairies franchise, including: Vidia, Terrence, Fawn, Rosetta, Silver ...
'', which were all closed in late 2013.
In 2013 Long left Disney, formed his own consulting company "Stellar Effect", and then re-joined Richard Garriott at Portalarium. As of 2014, they are collaborating on a new game, ''Shroud of the Avatar
''Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues'' is a fantasy role-playing video game. Described as being a spiritual successor to the Ultima (series), ''Ultima'' series, ''Shroud of the Avatar'' was developed by Austin, Texas-based developer Portalar ...
'', intended to be a crowd-funded and crowd-sourced
Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digita ...
title. Via 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, ...
in April 2013, Portalarium raised $2 million through 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 ...
, and Long was announced as executive producer in July 2013. The game was released in March 2018.
Recognition
* 2007, listed at #12 as one of the Top 20 Most Influential People in MMOs by '' Beckett Massive Online Gamer'' magazine
* 2010, ''Ultima Online
''Ultima Online'' (''UO'') is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released on September 24, 1997 by Origin Systems.
Set in the '' Ultima'' universe, it is known for its extensive player versus player combat system. ...
'' is the first inductee to the GDC Online Awards Hall of Fame
References
External links
*
Stellar Effect
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Starr
1970 births
People from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
American video game directors
American video game producers
People from Austin, Texas
Louisiana State University alumni
Origin Systems people
Living people