Erik Wolpaw is an American video game writer. He and Chet Faliszek wrote the pioneering video game website Old Man Murray. He subsequently worked for game developers Double Fine Productions and

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...

, and is known for his work on video games including ''

Half-Life 2 ''Half-Life 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It was published for Windows on Valve's digital distribution service, Steam. Like the original ''Half-Life'' (1998), ''Half-Life 2'' is played ent ...

'', ''

Psychonauts ''Psychonauts'' is a 2005 platformer, platform game developed by Double Fine Productions and published by Majesco Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, Xbox (console), Xbox and PlayStation 2. Set in a Retrofuturism, retro-futuristic version of t ...

'', '' Portal'', '' Portal 2'' and '' Half-Life: Alyx''.

Career

As a high-school student, Wolpaw wrote two games for the

Atari 8-bit computers The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 650 ...

published as

type-in program A type-in program or type-in listing was computer source code printed in a home computer magazine or book. It was meant to be entered via the keyboard by the reader and then saved to cassette tape or floppy disk. The result was a usable game, ut ...

s in ''

Antic Alphanumeric Television Interface Controller (ANTIC) is an LSI ASIC dedicated to generating 2D computer graphics to be shown on a television screen or computer display. Under the direction of Jay Miner, the chip was designed in 1977–1978 b ...

'' magazine in 1983 and 1984. From 1997 to 2002, Wolpaw and Chet Faliszek wrote the video game-oriented website Old Man Murray. The site was highly influential in video game writing and game journalism. He also wrote for

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

. He subsequently worked at Double Fine Productions as a writer for ''

''. In 2006, he won the Game Developers Choice Award for Best Writing for his story and dialogue contributions to ''Psychonauts''. In 2004, Wolpaw joined

, where he and Faliszek wrote for games such as '' Half-Life 2: Episode One'', '' Half-Life 2: Episode Two'', ''

Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' (''TF2'') is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation in 2007. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video g ...

'', '' Left 4 Dead'', '' Portal'' and '' Portal 2''. He left Valve in February 2017 to write for '' Psychonauts 2'', though he ended up not working on it. In January 2019, he confirmed that he had returned to Valve as a part-time contractor on '' Artifact'' and '' Half-Life: Alyx''.

Personal life

In 2004, Wolpaw was diagnosed with

ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the other type being Crohn's disease. It is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary sympto ...

. Expecting his condition to require a departure from the company, he spoke with managing director

Gabe Newell Gabe Logan Newell (born November 3, 1962), also known by his nickname Gaben, is an American video game developer and businessman. He is the president and co-founder of the video game company Valve Corporation. Newell was born in Colorado and ...

, who surprised him by offering an extended leave with pay. "Your job is to get better," Newell said. "That is your job description at Valve. So go home to your wife and come back when you are better."

Works

References

External links

Erik Wolpaw on Mobygames

Erik Wolpaw on official Team Fortress wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolpaw, Erik Living people American writers with disabilities Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Valve Corporation people American video game writers Double Fine people People with ulcerative colitis