Erin Hoffman (born 1981) is an American game developer, blogger, and fantasy writer. She has published three fantasy novels, and been the lead designer on multiple games such as ''

Kung Fu Panda World ''Kung Fu Panda World'' was a browser-based video game. The game was themed after the ''Kung Fu Panda'' franchise of DreamWorks Animation, where players could move their character around a pre-rendered 2D world and participate in a variety of m ...

'', '' GoPets: Vacation Island'', and '' Frontierville''. Her anonymous post as a disgruntled "EA Spouse" in 2004, based on the working conditions of her husband who was an

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 ...

developer, led to industry-wide awareness of the frequent use of " crunch time" overtime work to complete games in the video game industry.

Game designer and author

Hoffman graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York in 2003, where she majored in Philosophy. From 1999 to 2004, Hoffman was a contract game designer for

Simutronics Simutronics is an American online games company whose products include '' GemStone IV'' and ''DragonRealms''. It was founded in 1987 by David Whatley, with husband and wife Tom & Susan Zelinski. The company is located in St. Louis, Missouri. I ...

, working on the multiplayer game ''

DragonRealms Simutronics is an American online games company whose products include ''GemStone IV'' and ''DragonRealms''. It was founded in 1987 by David Whatley, with husband and wife Tom & Susan Zelinski. The company is located in St. Louis, Missouri. It ...

'', after which she went on to become a contract game designer and director of online communities for '' GoPets'', a pet-based virtual world startup based in

Seoul, Korea Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

. She then worked for 1st Playable Productions on handheld games, such as being lead designer on '' GoPets: Vacation Island'' (2008). From 2008 to 2011 she designed games for HumaNature Studios, such as ''

''. In 2010, she was appointed to the board of directors of the

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

, a position which she held until early 2011. Also in 2011, Hoffman published her first novel, ''Sword of Fire and Sea'', the first of the ''Chaos Knight'' trilogy of fantasy novels, which was followed by ''Lance of Earth and Sky'' (2012) and ''Shield of Sea and Space'' (2013). From September 2010 until October 2011, Hoffman was a Lead Systems Designer at

Zynga Zynga Inc. () is an American developer running social video game services. It was founded in April 2007, with headquarters in San Mateo, California. The company primarily focuses on mobile and social networking platforms. Zynga states its missio ...

, as Lead Systems Designer for '' FrontierVille''. In December 2011, she joined the social game studio Loot Drop as a lead designer, creating the game ''Charmcraft Hollow'' (2011). As of 2015, she is a game designer at GlassLab.

"EA Spouse" blog post

In 2004, Hoffman became known for an initially anonymous blog post under the name "EA Spouse". The post, made on November 11, 2004 to

LiveJournal LiveJournal (russian: Живой Журнал), stylised as LiVEJOURNAL, is a Russian-owned social networking service where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary. American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal on April 15, 1999, a ...

, sharply criticized the labor practices of

. It was widely distributed in the

video game industry The video game industry encompasses the development, marketing, and monetization of video games. The industry encompasses dozens of job disciplines and thousands of jobs worldwide. The video game industry has grown from niches to mainstrea ...

. In 2006, Hoffman's identity as the poster was made public. Hoffman's actions, in part, led to the filing of three

class action lawsuits A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...

against EA and some changes throughout the industry at large, such as the reclassification of entry-level artists as hourly employees, thus making them eligible for overtime under California law. Her fiancé, EA employee Leander Hasty, was the main plaintiff in the successful class-action suit on behalf of software engineers at EA, which in 2007 awarded the plaintiffs $14.9 million for unpaid overtime. After the affair and the court action, Hoffman and Hasty founded GameWatch, a watchdog organization meant to facilitate discussions between employees at different companies. It was closed in 2012.

Works

Games

* 2014, ''Mars Generation One: Argubot Academy'', GlassLab, Game Design Lead * 2013, ''SimCityEDU'', GlassLab, Game Design Lead * 2013, '' Doki-Doki Universe'', HumaNature Studios, design * 2011, ''Charmcraft Hollow'', Loot Drop, designer * 2011, '' FrontierVille'',

, Lead Systems Designer, live team * 2010, ''

'', HumaNature Studios, Lead Designer * 2008, ''PuzzleSmash: Book of Secrets'', Warm and Fuzzy Logic, Creative Director * 2008, '' GoPets: Vacation Island'', Lead Designer * 2006, ''

Cabbage Patch Kids Cabbage Patch Kids are a line of cloth dolls with plastic heads first produced by Coleco Industries in 1982. They were inspired by the Little People soft sculptured dolls sold by Xavier Roberts as collectibles. The brand was renamed 'Cabbage ...

: Patch Puppy Rescue'', 1st Playable Productions, Assistant Game Designer, Writer * 2004–2005, GoPets, Director of Online Communities * 2004, ''Shadowbane: The Lost Kingdom'', Taldren Pacific, Game Designer * 1999–2004, ''

'',

, Assistant Game Designer, Races Assistant, World Builder

Nonfiction

* ''Settlers of the New Virtual Worlds'', 2008,

Novels

;''The Chaos Knight'' trilogy #''Sword of Fire and Sea'' (2011), #''Lance of Earth and Sky'' (2012), #''Shield of Sea and Space'' (2013),

References

External links

EA Spouse Live Journal
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Erin Video game blogs Living people 1981 births American game designers Anonymous bloggers 21st-century American novelists American women novelists American fantasy writers American women bloggers American bloggers Women science fiction and fantasy writers 21st-century American women writers Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni