Ellen Guon Beeman is an American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, television screenwriter and

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

game designer Game design is the process of creating and shaping the mechanics, systems, rules, and gameplay of a game. Game design processes apply to board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, Wargame (video games), war ga ...

/ producer. She has published four

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s and has worked on over 40

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

Career in the game industry

Ellen Beeman describes herself as "mom, videogame designer and producer, author, gadget geekette, Celtic fiddler, former TV writer and city commissioner, etc." In 1989, Beeman left a career in television writing and was hired by Sierra Online as a

project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the Project planning, planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined star ...

. She worked as a

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and project manager 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. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres of video games ...

for several ''

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

'' titles. Beeman worked on five games in the ''Wing Commander'' series before deciding to move away from sci-fi aerial combat games. She described her experience working on the games as intense, recalling how the images of spaceship afterburners became so ingrained in her mind that she felt she needed to take a break from the genre. This led her to leave Origin Systems, where she had worked on the ''Wing Commander'' series. Despite her departure from the franchise, Beeman has expressed that ''Wing Commander II'' remains one of the projects she is most proud of in her career. She noted that, while she moved on from the genre, the impact of the game and the work she did on it holds a special place in her professional achievements. In 2006, she was ranked in the top 100 most influential women in the game industry by Edge Online (formerly next-gen.biz). At the time, she was Lead Program Manager at

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Casual Games, a producer role. Beeman has also been credited at

Monolith Productions Monolith Productions, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Kirkland, Washington. The company was a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games from August 2004 until its shutdown in 2025. It formerly published third-party games in the 199 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. She has

lecture A lecture (from ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theo ...

d at many

video game industry The video game industry is the tertiary industry, tertiary and quaternary industry, quaternary sectors of the entertainment industry that specialize in the video game development, development, marketing, distribution (marketing), distribution, ...

conferences A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

, including

Game Developers Conference The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Award for Game of the Year, Game Developers Choice Awards and ...

, LOGIN,

SXSW Interactive South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

, Microsoft Gamefest, PAX and PAX Dev, and Game Design Expo. She is one of the founders, as well as, formerly, the Program Chair for Women in Games International. As of 2019, she is an independent video game developer and

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

Kirkland, Washington Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in King County and the twelfth largest city in the state of Washington. ...

, and an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

DigiPen Institute of Technology DigiPen Institute of Technology is a private for-profit university in Redmond, Washington. It also has campuses in Singapore and Bilbao, Spain. DigiPen offers bachelor's and master's degree programs. History In 1988, DigiPen was founded by ...

Television

*'' MoonDreamers'' (1986) *'' Jem'' (1986–1987) *''

Dinosaucers ''Dinosaucers'' is a 1987 animated television series co-produced in the United States and Canada; developed and produced by DIC Animation City in association with Lightyear Entertainment and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. The show was created b ...

'' (1987)

Books

*''Knight of Ghosts and Shadows'' (1990) with

Mercedes Lackey Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar (fictional co ...

*''Summoned to Tourney'' (1992) with Mercedes Lackey *'' Freedom Flight'' (1992) with Mercedes Lackey *''Bedlam Boyz'' (1993) *''Shahrezad and other stories'' (2011) *''The New Professional Programmer's Guide: Code Samples'' (2020) *''The HOTLOGIC Mini Cookbook: Recipes for Everyone'' (2023)

Video games

*'' Hoyle's Official Book of Games: Volume 1'' (1989) (writer) *'' Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail'' (1990) (special thanks) *'' King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown'' (1990) (special thanks) *'' Wing Commander: The Secret Missions'' (1990) (writer) *'' Wing Commander: The Secret Missions 2 - Crusade'' (1991) (writer, director) *'' Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi'' (1991) (writer, assistant director) *'' Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi - Special Operations 1'' (1991) (writer) *'' Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi - Special Operations 2'' (1992) (writer, consulting director) *'' Pickle Wars'' (1994) (writer) *'' Rescue the Scientists'' (1994) (producer) *'' Might and Magic: Swords of Xeen'' (1995) (writer) *''This Means War!'' (1995) (project manager) *'' Contract J.A.C.K.'' (2003) (producer) *''

The Matrix Online ''The Matrix Online'' (abbreviated as ''MxO'') is a discontinued massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) initially developed by Monolith Productions and later, a few months after launch, by Sony Online Entertainment. It was adve ...

'' (2005) (producer) *'' Hexic 2'' (2007) (executive producer) *'' Dash of Destruction'' (2008) (executive producer) *'' South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!'' (2009) (lead producer) *''

Toy Soldiers A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve c ...

'' (2010) (producer) *'' Marvel Super Hero Squad Online'' (2011) (producer) *'' Enchant U'' (2012) (producer)

References

External links

Ellen Beeman
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...