Richard Hilleman is an American
computer game and
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, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
producer best known for his work creating the original
Madden Football game for
video game consoles for
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 ...
. Apart from ''Madden'', Hilleman was a key figure in building the massive
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...
brand and has spent over 20 years working in product development at EA. He has directly or indirectly influenced a wide range of games and
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 ...
s.
Hilleman joined Electronic Arts in 1982, and was employee number 39. After several years working with producers and teams in a variety of roles (including
Ray Tobey and Stewart Bonn on the early combat
flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...
''
Skyfox''), he began producing his own titles in the late 1980s. His first credited title as producer was
Indianapolis 500: The Simulation on
PC in 1989.
In 1990, he was the producer of
John Madden Football for the fast-growing
Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...
, a game developed by
Troy Lyndon and
Michael Knox of
Park Place Productions, and co-designed by
Scott Orr, the game that we still recognize today as Madden Football, the best-selling title in the history of games in North America.
A team member of the Madden team,
Scott Orr joined Hilleman later at EA full-time in 1991 where both Hilleman and Orr were promoted to senior management roles in EA product development over the following few years. Hilleman was later named Vice President in charge of
Production for the company. An avid hockey player during his youth in
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, Hilleman was Executive Producer or Producer for other successful EA Sports titles in the 1990s as well, including
NHL Hockey,
NHLPA Hockey,
PGA Tour Golf and
Tiger Woods Golf.
Rich Hilleman worked for Electronic Arts as Chief Creative Officer until May, 2016. He also serves on the board of directors of the
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...
.
In 2009, he was chosen by
IGN
''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
as one of the top 100 game creators of all time.
References
External links
Hilleman's rap sheet at MobyGames; note that it is number 8 in the serial Moby system*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilleman, Richard
American video game designers
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)