Raphael "Raph" Koster (born September 7, 1971) is an American entrepreneur,

game 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 author of '' A Theory of Fun for Game Design''. Koster is widely recognized for his work as the lead designer of ''

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 the creative director behind ''

Star Wars Galaxies ''Star Wars Galaxies'' was a ''Star Wars'' themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Microsoft Windows, developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts. Released on June 26, 2003, to much critical ac ...

''. From 2006 until 2013 he worked as the founder and president of Metaplace (previously operating as Areae and acquired by social gaming company

Playdom Playdom was an online social network game developer popular on Facebook, Google+ and Myspace. The company was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area by University of California, Berkeley graduates Ling Xiao and Chris Wang and Swarthmore College g ...

in 2010, which was in turn acquired by

Disney 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 ...

) producing a

Facebook game A social network game (sometimes simply referred to as a social media game, social gaming, social video game or online social game) is a type of online game that is played through social networks or social media. They typically feature multiplaye ...

platform.

Biography

Koster attended

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

Chestertown, Maryland Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,252 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Kent County. History Founded in 1706, Chestertown rose in stature when it was named one of the English col ...

, receiving a bachelor's degree in English (

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

) and Spanish in 1992. The same year he became involved with MUDs as a developer of
Worlds of Carnage
', then in 1994 moved on to become implementor of '' LegendMUD'', where he was known as Ptah. He also played ''

MUME Numerous computer and video games have been inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien's works set in Middle-earth. Titles have been produced by studios such as Electronic Arts, Vivendi Games, Melbourne House, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. ...

'' for a time. On May 10, 1992, he married Kristen who would later work alongside him 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 ...

as a game designer. In 1995, he received a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population o ...

, and joined Origin Systems as the lead designer of Ultima Online. Koster was also the lead designer of '' Ultima Online: The Second Age'', '' Ultima Online Live'', and an unannounced and cancelled title until 2000, when he joined

Verant Interactive Daybreak Game Company LLC is an American video game developer based in San Diego. The company was founded in December 1997 as Sony Online Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, but was spun off to an independent investor i ...

in Austin as the creative director of ''

''. Promoted to

chief creative officer A chief creative officer (CCO) is the highest ranking position of the creative team within a company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of marketing, media, and branding associated wit ...

in 2003, he relocated to

Sony Online Entertainment Daybreak Game Company LLC is an American video game developer based in San Diego. The company was founded in December 1997 as Sony Online Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, but was spun off to an independent investor in ...

in San Diego where he spent three years primarily responsible for business development. In March 2006, Koster left the company to work on Metaplace which, at the end, was a social gaming platform for

s. Since 2013 he is an independent designer and consultant. Koster is a charter member of the

Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

, and a member of the

IGDA The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is a nonprofit professional association whose stated mission is to "support and empower video game developers, game developers around the world in achieving fulfilling and sustainable careers. ...

, ASCAP, and Omicron Delta Kappa. He is also a frequent speaker at game industry conferences such as the GDC, DICE, State of Play, and E3. He presently lives in San Diego, California with his wife and family. In 2019, Koster and Eric Goldberg founded a new company
Playable Worlds
focused on creating an as-yet-unnamed MMORPG.

Credits

Games

* '' LegendMUD'' (emeritus implementor, 1994) * ''

'' (lead designer;

1997) * '' Ultima Online: The Second Age'' (lead designer; Origin Systems 1998) * '' Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided'' (creative director;

2003) ** '' Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed'' (creative consultant;

2004) ** '' Star Wars Galaxies: The Total Experience'' (creative consultant; Sony Online Entertainment 2005) * ''

EverQuest II ''EverQuest II'' is a 3D fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) originally developed and published by Sony Online Entertainment for Microsoft Windows PCs and released in November 2004. It is the sequel to the original ...

'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 2004) ** '' EverQuest II: Desert of Flames'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 2005) ** '' EverQuest II: Kingdom of Sky'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 2005) * '' Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade'' (chief creative officer and editor; Sony Online Entertainment 2005) * '' GripShift'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 2005) * '' Frantix'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 2005) * '' Champions: Return to Arms'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 2005) * '' Field Commander'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 2006)

Discography

* ''After the Flood'' (1999)

Writing

* '' A Theory of Fun for Game Design'' — Foreword by Will Wright ()
"Declaring the Rights of Avatars"

A Story About A Tree
(May 1998), revolving around the '' Karyn incident''
"The Laws of Online World Design"
(GDC 1999 presentation) * Koster, Raph. "Geek Fun Isn't Frivolous; Alien Swarms of Thundering, Flashing Games Hit Town This Week. They're Here to Make Us Smarter." Los Angeles Times May 15, 2005, sec. M1.
"As Seen In Modern Lair"
(October 2007)

Awards

* ''Hot 100'' ( Next Generation 2006) * ''100 Greatest Developers'' (

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...

2006)

References

External links

Raph Koster's Website
*
''A Theory of Fun for Game Design'' official website

MobyGames Biography

"Raph Koster Leaves Sony Online Entertainment"
(

Gamasutra ''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...

)

Interviews

* Pham, Alex. "Game Design; Building a Community—Even a Virtual One—Takes Work." Los Angeles Times Sep 6, 2001, sec. T5. * (Amber Night) * (Stratics)
Interview: March 22, 2006
(Game Studies)
Interview: July 25, 2006
( The Escapist)
Interview: March 10, 2007
(GameZombie.tv) * (The MMO Gamer)

Wikimania 2014

In the news

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...