Roger Keating is an Australian computer game designer. Along with Ian Trout, Keating co-founded of the video game company

Strategic Studies Group Strategic Studies Group (SSG) is an Australian software development company that makes primarily strategy wargames. The company was founded by strategy game enthusiasts Ian Trout and Roger Keating. Trout was proprietor of a military books st ...

, which is known for its strategic war and fantasy games with

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

. Keating and Trout worked together on the majority of SSG titles.

Early life

Keating was born in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He moved to Australia in 1978 and worked as a

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

teacher."Strategies of a Man Down Under"
''Softline'', March 1983.

Career in game design

Keating created his first game, ''Conflict'', in 1979. It was published by American software house

Strategic Simulations Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) was a video game developer and publisher of over 100 games from its founding in 1979 to its dissolution in 1994 (though the brand was in use until around 2002). The company focused on computer wargames then lat ...

. Keating left his teaching job to program full-time, and published seven games while working with SSI during 1981 and 1982. Keating later worked as a school teacher in New Zealand. In 1983 Keating, along with Ian Trout formed

. Gregor Whiley joined the company in 1986 for the development of ''

BattleFront In a military context, the term front can have several meanings. According to official US Department of Defense and NATO definitions, a front can be "the line of contact of two opposing forces."Leonard, B. (2011). Department of Defense Dictio ...

''. The company created many strategy games over the following 25 years. After his business partner Ian Trout's death, both Keating and Whiley worked part-time at The Northern Sydney Institute for four years between 2011 and 2014 while developing their games part-time. They both moved to work for the

Academy of Interactive Entertainment The Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) is an Australian video games and computer animation school. Founded in 1996, it was one of the world's first institutions to offer qualifications in these industries. The AIE provides courses cover ...

in 2015, where Keating taught programming.

List of games

*'' Computer Conflict'' (1980) *'' Operation Apocalypse'' (1981) *'' Southern Command'' (1981)"Game Review: Battles in Normandy"
''Australian Apple Review'', page 40, bybb Gene Stephan. *'' Germany 1985'' (1983) *'' RDF 1985'' (1983) *'' Reach for the Stars'' (1983) *'' Baltic 1985: Corridor to Berlin'' (1984) *''

Carriers at War ''Carriers at War 1941-1945: Fleet Carrier Operations in the Pacific'' is a 1984 computer wargame by Strategic Studies Group for Apple II and Commodore 64. The game was designed by Roger Keating and Ian Trout. A remake, ''Carriers at War (1992 v ...

'' (1984) *''

Norway 1985 ''Norway 1985'' is a computer wargame published in October 1985 by Strategic Simulations. Developed by Roger Keating, it was the fourth in the "When Superpowers Collide" series. Summary The game simulates NATO, NATO forces in Norway during the s ...

'' (1985) *''

Europe Ablaze ''Europe Ablaze'' is a computer wargame developed and published by Strategic Studies Group for the Commodore 64 and Apple II in 1985. It is based on air warfare of World War II. Gameplay ''Europe Ablaze'' covers the period 1939 to 1945 and con ...

'' (1985) *''

Battlefront In a military context, the term front can have several meanings. According to official US Department of Defense and NATO definitions, a front can be "the line of contact of two opposing forces."Leonard, B. (2011). Department of Defense Dictio ...

'' *'' Russia: The Great War in the East 1941-1945'' (1987) *'' Halls of Montezuma: A Battle History of the U.S. Marine Corps'' (1987) *''Rommel: Battles for North Africa'' (1988) *'' Decisive Battles of the American Civil War Volume 1: Bull Run to Chancellorsville'' (1988) *'' Decisive Battles of the American Civil War Volume 2: Gaines Mill to Chattanooga'' (1988) *'' Decisive Battles of the American Civil War Volume 3: Wilderness to Nashville'' (1988) *'' Gold of the Americas'' (1989) *''Panzer Battles'' (1990) *'' MacArthur's War: Battles for Korea'' (1990) *''

Warlords Warlords are individuals who exercise military, economic, and political control over a region, often one without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over local armed forces. Warlords have existed throug ...

'' (1990) *''

'' (1992) *'' Carriers at War: Construction Kit'' (1993) *'' Carriers at War II'' (1993) *'' Warlords II'' (1993) *'' Warlords II Scenario Builder'' (1994) *'' Warlords II Deluxe'' (1995) *'' Decisive Battles of WWII: The Ardennes Offensive'' (1997) *'' Warlords III: Reign of Heroes'' (1997) *'' Warlords III: Darklords Rising'' (1998) *''

Warlords Battlecry ''Warlords Battlecry'', sometimes mislabeled as ''Warlords 3: Battlecry'', is a real-time strategy video game released in 2000 for Microsoft Windows. It was the first of new series of RTS games set in Steve Fawkner's ''Warlords'' franchise. Game ...

'' (2000) *''

Warlords Battlecry II ''Warlords Battlecry II'' is a real-time strategy and role-playing game, developed by Strategic Studies Group (SSG) as the sequel to ''Warlords Battlecry''. It was released on March 12, 2002. The game requires the player to build buildings and cr ...

'' (2002) *'' Decisive Battles of WWII: Korsun Pocket'' (2003) *'' Decisive Battles of WWII: Battles in Normandy'' (2004) *''Decisive Battles of WWII: Battles in Italy'' (2005) *''

'' (2007) *''Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets'' (2008)Australian Centre for the Moving Image – http://www.acmi.net.au/global/docs/games_history_australia.pdf

References

External links

SSG Website
last updated in 2010
Roger Keating
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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keating, Roger Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian video game designers Australian computer programmers New Zealand emigrants to Australia Video game programmers