Brent "Buzzboy" Iverson is a programmer best known as a

simulations A simulation is an imitative representation of a process or system that could exist in the real world. In this broad sense, simulation can often be used interchangeably with model. Sometimes a clear distinction between the two terms is made, in ...

game developer. Among his credits are the

PC DOS PC or pc may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Player character or playable character, a fictional character controlled by a human player, usually in role-playing games or computer games * '' Port Charles'', an American daytime TV soap opera * ...

version of Chuck Yeager's Air Combat, LHX Attack Chopper, and Jane's US Navy Fighters, all published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

Background

Iverson's experience with computers began at the age of fifteen when he went to a friend's house to play games on an

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

. He liked working on computers but still planned to major in Art in college. However, after beginning his studies at the University of Michigan he learned that even talented artists rarely make a good living with their art, but that computer programmers make more money as a general rule. As a result, he majored in computer science.

Career

Iverson has worked at Electronic Arts (EA) since 1986,Edge Magazine Online, "The Hot 100 Game Developers of 2008", 20 February 2008
he is now the Chief Technical OfficerStanford University Center for the Study of Language and Information, "Calendar of Public Events, Vol. 18, No. 12", 27 November 2002
and Senior Director of Development of Electronic Arts' Redwood Shores studio. In November 2005 he participated on a panel of industry tech experts at an International Game Developers Association panel.GameSpot: "IGDA panel talks middleware", 30 November 2005
/ref> During that panel discussion, Iverson expressed his opinion of developing games within the limitations of marketing concerns:

"I think that technology and code you're given, design decisions you're given... aren't really limiters; they're actually enablers. If someone said, 'Make a great game,' and that's all the instructions you had, it would be pretty darn difficult to get started. But if somebody said, 'Make a great game about this movie that's coming out, or about dinosaurs, or pirates, that's a turn-based strategy game,' now all of a sudden you've got a lot of stuff that's laid out for you, and you don't have to think about those things anymore. Now you can say, 'How can I innovate in that space?' "I think technology a lot of times has that same effect.... Now you can stop worrying about that stuff and you can say, 'Well, what do I do that's really interesting to the customer on top of that framework?'"

Development credits

MySims Kingdom ''MySims Kingdom'' is a video game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts as a spin-off to Maxis' ''The Sims'' franchise for the Nintendo DS and Wii in 2008. ''MySims Kingdom'' is a follow-up to ''MySims'', which was re ...

(EA, 2008) * Boom Blox (EA, 2008) *

MySims ''MySims'' is a video game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts as a spin-off to Maxis's ''The Sims'' franchise for the Wii and Nintendo DS in September 2007, re-released for Microsoft Windows and mobile phones in 200 ...

(EA, 2007) * The Godfather: The Game (EA, 2006) * 007: Everything or Nothing (EA, 2004) *

The Sims ''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and Video game publisher, published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and is one of the List of best-selling video game fran ...

(EA, 2003) * 007: Nightfire (EA, 2002) * Combat Medic: Special Ops (LI, 2002) *

Freekstyle ''Freekstyle'' is a 2002 motocross racing video game for the PlayStation 2, GameCube and Game Boy Advance. There are four levels of gameplay: the circuit, a quick race, freestyle, and free run. The game features an assortment of real-life Freest ...

(EA, 2002) * Rumble Racing (EA, 2001) * Sub Command (EA, 2001) * Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 (EA, 2001) * Jane's Combat Simulations: WWII Fighters (EA, 1998) * Jane's Combat Simulations: U.S. Navy Fighters '97 (EA, 1997) * Marine Fighters (EA, 1995) * U.S. Navy Fighters (EA, 1994) * Bulls vs Blazers and the NBA Playoffs (EA, 1992) * Chuck Yeager's Air Combat (EA, 1991) * PGA Tour Golf (EA, 1991) * LHX Attack Chopper (EA, 1990) * SU-25 Stormovik (EA, 1990) MobyGames, "Brent Iverson Developer Bio"
/ref> Iverson also wrote the

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

and

Apple IIGS The Apple IIGS (styled as II) is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Inc., Apple Computer beginning in September 1986. It is the fifth and most powerful model of the Apple II family. The "GS" in the name stands for "Graphics and Sound" ...

versions of Deluxe Paint, a program originally written for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

by Dan Silva.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iverson, Brent American video game designers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Michigan alumni