Bill Roper (born March 27, 1965) is an American

video game designer Video game design is the process of designing the rules and content of video games in the Video game development#Pre-production, pre-production stage and designing the gameplay, environment, storyline and characters in the Video game development ...

and producer. He is a co-founder and the current Chief Executive Officer at Lunacy Games. Previously he was Chief Creative Officer at Web3 start-up Midnight. He has also served as co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at AuthorDigital (Adept Stusios / Arcadia Games) and was Chief Creative Officer at Improbable. Roper was Vice President/GM at

Disney Interactive Studios Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Interactive. Prior to its closure in 2016, it developed and distributed multi-platform video games and inter ...

from 2011–2016, and headed video game studios and creative and development departments for two decades, including divisions at

Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Irvine, California, and a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. Originally founded in 1991, the company is best known for producing the h ...

Flagship Studios Flagship Studios was an American video game developer founded by Bill Roper along with , , and David Brevik, former Blizzard North executives. The latter three had been collaborating since their 1993 founding of Condor Studios, later renamed up ...

, and

Cryptic Studios Cryptic Studios is an American video game developer specializing in MMORPG, massively multiplayer online role-playing games. It is headquartered in Los Gatos, California, and was a wholly owned Perfect World (company), Perfect World subsidiary, a ...

. He is also an accomplished musician, and a founding member of the folk band The Poxy Boggards.

Career

Roper worked at

Blizzard North Blizzard North (formerly known as Condor) was an American video game development studio based in San Mateo, California. The studio was the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area division of Blizzard Entertainment, and it was known for the Diablo (series ...

and

from 1994 to 2003, and was Vice President at Blizzard North at the time of his departure. He served in senior production and design capacities on the ''

Warcraft ''Warcraft'' is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of six core games: '' Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', '' Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness'', '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos ...

'', ''

StarCraft ''StarCraft'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance amon ...

'', and '' Diablo'' series. He also provided voice-over talent for numerous games. After his departure from Blizzard, Roper co-founded and held the position of CEO for

, the developer of '' Hellgate: London'' and ''

Mythos Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

'' (which was later released by

HanbitSoft HanbitSoft () is a Korean computer game publishing and development company. It is best known internationally as the Korean distributor for the successful computer game ''StarCraft''. Formed in 1999, HanbitSoft specializes in the distribution of ...

). In early 2008, amidst rumors of layoffs within the company, the company dissolved and lost the rights to both ''Mythos'' and ''Hellgate: London'' to

Hanbitsoft HanbitSoft () is a Korean computer game publishing and development company. It is best known internationally as the Korean distributor for the successful computer game ''StarCraft''. Formed in 1999, HanbitSoft specializes in the distribution of ...

and

Comerica Comerica Incorporated is an American financial services company, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is the parent of Comerica Bank, a regional commercial bank with 413 branches in the U.S. states of Texas, Michigan, California, Florida and Arizon ...

respectively, after it secured financing with Texas-based Comerica Bank to support the continuing development of its franchises. HanbitSoft currently owns the intellectual property rights to ''Mythos'' and ''Hellgate: London''. In November 2008 Roper joined

as Design Director and Executive Producer of their newest project, '' Champions Online''. In March 2010, Roper was promoted to Chief Creative Officer of Cryptic, replacing

Jack Emmert Jack Emmert is an American game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games and computer games. Career Emmert had been playing the role-playing game '' Champions'' ever since it was released in 1981. He spent his teenage years readin ...

after the latter transitioned to the role of Chief Operations Officer. On August 16, 2010, Roper announced his departure from Cryptic Studios to join

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

. Roper was brought on to head the Marvel Franchise games created by

Disney Interactive Disney Interactive is an American video game and internet company that oversees various websites and interactive media owned by The Walt Disney Company. History 1995–1996: Formation and beginnings In December 1994, Disney announced that it w ...

. He was then promoted to VP/GM, Core Games when

Alex Seropian Alexander Seropian (born 1969) is an American video game developer, one of the initial founders and later president of Bungie, the developer of the ''Marathon'', ''Myth'', and ''Halo'' video game series. Seropian became interested in computer pro ...

left Disney. While in this role, his Core Games group released '' Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two'', '' Fantasia: Music Evolved'', and ''

Disney Infinity ''Disney Infinity'' is an action-adventure sandbox toys-to-life video game series developed by Avalanche Software. The setting of the series was a giant customizable universe of imagination, known as the Toy Box, populated with toy versions of ...

'', the latter quickly rising to high levels of critical and commercial success. Roper was formerly Chief Creative Officer at Improbable. In an interview with VentureBeat, Bill Roper unveiled the name of a new studio he founded
Lunacy Games
which is currently developing an "open world survival RPG set in the post-apocalyptic American West" as well as a sequel to 2007's '' Hellgate: London'', codenamed ''Hellgate: Redemption''

Honors

Roper was named #41 in IGN's Top 100 Game Creators of All Time.

Game Titles

Roper has worked on the following titles: * '' Blackthorne'' (1994) - Music * '' Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'' (1994) - Producer, Voiceover, Documentation * '' Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness'' (1995) - Design, Narration, Voiceover, Documentation * '' Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal'' (1996) - Executive Producer, Story Consultant, Narration, Voiceover * '' Diablo'' (1997) - Producer, Voice Production, Casting & Directing, Story, Voiceover, Documentation, Strike Team * ''

'' (1998) - Producer, Voiceover, Documentation, Strike Team * '' StarCraft: Brood War'' (1998) - Executive Producer, Voiceover, Caterer, Documentation * '' Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition'' (1999) - Producer * ''

Diablo II ''Diablo II'' is a 2000 action role-playing game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, and OS X. The game, with its dark fantasy and horror themes, was conceptualized and des ...

'' (2000) - Senior Producer, Voice Casting, Voiceover, Strike Team * '' Diablo II: Lord of Destruction'' (2001) - Global Launch Team, Strike Team * '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' (2002) - Voiceover, Strike Team * '' Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne'' (2003) - Voiceover * '' Hellgate: London'' (2007) - CEO * '' Champions Online'' (2009) - Design Director, Executive Producer * ''

Star Trek Online ''Star Trek Online'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Cryptic Studios based on the ''Star Trek'' franchise. The game is set in the 25th century, 30 years after the events of '' Star Trek: Nemesis''. ''Star Trek O ...

'' (2010) - Design Director * '' Avengers Initiative'' (2012) - VP/GM Product Development, Core Games * '' Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two'' (2012) - VP/GM Product Development, Core Games * ''

'' (2013) - VP/GM Product Development, Core Games * '' Fantasia: Music Evolved'' (2014) - VP/GM Product Development, Core Games * ''

Disney Infinity 2.0 ''Disney Infinity 2.0'' (also known as ''Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes'') is a 2014 toys-to-life action-adventure game developed by Avalanche Software and published by Disney Interactive Studios. It is the sequel to '' Disney Infinity'' ( ...

'' (2014) - VP/GM Product Development, Core Games * '' Disney Infinity 3.0'' (2015) - VP/GM Product Development, Core Games

References

External links

*
Interview with Bill Roper

Bio at MobyGames

Interview on the closing of

July '03 Interview with GameSpy.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, Bill 1965 births Living people American casting directors American video game designers American video game directors American video game producers American voice directors American male video game actors American male voice actors Blizzard Entertainment people Disney people People from Concord, California