Annie VanderMeer

Annie VanderMeer (also credited as Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda, Annie Carlson, Annie VanderMeer Carlson, and Anne VanderMeer) is an American video game designer specializing in role-playing video games, best known for her narrative work on 2021's Unpacking and her design work on the 2012's Guild Wars 2.

Annie VanderMeer
Image from LudoNarraCon 2021 press banner
Born
Annie VanderMeer

United States
Other namesAnnie Carlson, Annie VanderMeer Carlson, Anne VanderMeer, Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda
Occupation(s)Game designer, writer
Known forNeverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir
Guild Wars 2
Destiny
Dead State
Astroneer
Unpacking

Biography

Annie VanderMeer attended Macalester College and earned an Honors B.A. in English in 2003, writing about science fiction and fantasy in contemporary American literature. After the discovery that there were limited opportunities to study and teach English/gaming in graduate school,[1] VanderMeer (then Annie Carlson) started work at Papaya Studio in the summer of 2004,[2] where she worked on Taxi Driver, a video game "sequel" to the film of the same name.

Soon after Taxi Driver was cancelled,[3] VanderMeer joined Obsidian Entertainment in January 2006, beginning work on "Project New Jersey" (a rumored unreleased role-playing video game[4]). When it was cancelled, VanderMeer joined the Neverwinter Nights 2 team, where she worked on handling the in-game items,[5] then as a writing assistant on Alpha Protocol, working with creative lead Brian Mitsoda, where she was credited with helping create some of the characters.[6] While working on Alpha Protocol, VanderMeer assisted with additional design for the first expansion to Neverwinter Nights 2, Mask of the Betrayer.[7] In early 2008, she was moved onto the second expansion for Neverwinter Nights 2, Storm of Zehir as a designer and lead writer. She also assisted with work on the cancelled Aliens RPG[8] before she left the company in October 2008 to move to Seattle.

In 2009, VanderMeer joined ArenaNet as a game designer, first working on the personal story for Guild Wars 2 before moving on to the Living Story team, working in particular on the updates "Lost Shores" and "Flame & Frost".[9][10] From 2013 to 2014, VanderMeer worked as a game designer at Bungie on Destiny[11] before becoming a full time member of DoubleBear Productions, from April 2014 to January 2018, where she worked as a writer and designer on their first title, Dead State, and as the project lead on their second, PANIC at Multiverse High!.[12] In January 2018 she joined at System Era Softworks as a content designer on Astroneer,[13] shipping the game and multiple updates before her departure in October 2019.

In September 2019, she founded the Tiamat Collective[14] - a collection of freelancers across multiple disciplines available for hire on upcoming creative projects - and released their first game, The Passenger, in January 2020 on itch.io.[15] She also contributed narrative design to the indie game Unpacking (videogame), for which she would go on to win Best Narrative (along with Wren Brier and Tim Dawson) at the BAFTA Games Awards in April 2022.[16][17] Shortly thereafter, in December 2019, VanderMeer rejoined ArenaNet as a senior game designer for Guild Wars 2,[18] first on their Living World Season "The Icebrood Saga," and later on their third expansion, End of Dragons.[19] She left ArenaNet in April 2022 and went on to freelance work, becoming a Narrative Lead at Digimancy Entertainment in August 2022.[20]

VanderMeer has contributed as a fiction writer to multiple projects at Fantasy Flight Games, including Legend of the Five Rings, The Investigators of Arkham Horror (a fiction collection based on their Arkham Horror franchise),[21] the Twilight Imperium,[22] and Legacy of Dragonholt, a narrative adventure game set in the Runebound universe.[23]

Panels and interviews

References
  1. ""Annie Mitsoda's (nee Carlson's) Zombie Baby" interview on RPG Codex". RPG Codex. Jul 12, 2010. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  2. "MobyGames Developer Profile - Annie Carlson". MobyGames. July 31, 2009. Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  3. Adams, David (2006-01-19). "Majesco Sees Red, Titles Dead". IGN. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  4. "Dev Profile Q&A: Kevin Saunders, Lead Designer on NWN2: MotB". Warcry Network. Themis Media. Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
  5. "CareerStreet - Macalester College Career Development Newsletter" (PDF). Macalester College. October 4, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  6. "RPG Vault: Alpha Protocol Interview". IGN. November 14, 2008. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  7. "An evening with Annie Carlson". Iron Tower Studio. March 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  8. ""GameStar: Annie Mitsoda: "I'm a game omnivore"". Dec 7, 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-06-03. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  9. "Twitch". Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  10. ""What's In A Name? Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda on Naming Tyria" blog post on the Guild Wars 2 blog". ArenaNet. May 23, 2012. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  11. "News > International Mail Sack of Mystery - Bungie". Bungie. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  12. "PANIC at Multiverse High! (Steam page)". Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  13. "@astroneergame on Twitter". 30 January 2018.
  14. "Welcome to the Tiamat Collective". Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  15. "The Passenger by Tiamat Collective". Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  16. "BAFTA Games Awards 2022". YouTube.
  17. "UNPACKING - NARRATIVE". BAFTA. 3 March 2022.
  18. "Annie VanderMeer's LinkedIn". Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  19. "Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda's LinkendIn". Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  20. "Digimancy Entertainment's Twitter". Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  21. "The Investigators of Arkham Horror". Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  22. Fantasy Flight Games. "Twilight Imperium 4th Edition: Twilight Codex Volume II: Affinity" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  23. "Legacy of Dragonholt Rulebook" (PDF). Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  24. "Obsidian Entertainment and Neverwinter Nights 2 Appearing at PAX". Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  25. "PAX 2008: Women in the game industry". GameSpot. Aug 30, 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  26. Maxwell McGee. "RPG writers spill their secrets". GameSpot. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  27. "From Tabletop to Digital: Crafting Stronger Interactive Narratives". Guidebook. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  28. "Be So Good They Can't Ignore You: Tales of Successful Indies". Guidebook. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  29. "CLASSIC RPGs FOREVER!". Guidebook. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  30. "Pax Panels 2015: Classic CRPGs". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  31. "Surviving Success: How to Handle a Winning Kickstarter". Guidebook. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  32. "Choose Your Own Adventure: Women in Video Game Writing". YouTube. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  33. "Schedule: PAX West - Seattle, WA - Sept 1-4 - "Real Feels: Crafting Meaningful Relationships in Games"". Archived from the original on 2021-03-05. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  34. "Schedule: PAX West - Seattle, WA - Sept 1-4 - "That's It, That's the Joke: Humor, Games, and Humorous Games"". Archived from the original on 2019-05-12. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  35. "I See What You Did There: Environmental Storytelling GO!". Archived from the original on 2018-09-01. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  36. "Annie VanderMeer - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  37. BECOMING: Design Leadership, retrieved 2022-10-10
  38. Good Stories Must Die - LudoNarraCon 2021, retrieved 2021-06-16
  39. Trials of Gameplay Design - LudoNarraCon 2022, retrieved 2022-10-10
  40. Go2022 Speakers - LudoNarraCon, retrieved 2022-10-10
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