Obituary: Ralph Baer, ‘father of video games,’ passes away

He also received a 2008 Game Developers Choice Pioneer Award (video above). Born in 1942, Bill Cravens, was a leader in the arcade and coin-op industry for many years, weathering a number of industry slumps. He passed away in his sleep on March 29, during the Amusement Showcase International show in Las Vegas. The companies Bill worked for or distributed include Capcom, Nintendo, Cinematronics, Universal, Pacific Novelty, uWink, Incredible Technologies, Bromley, Team Play, and Wurlitzer. He is survived by his wife Marylin, daughter-in-law Alicia, and two sons, Ryan and Todd, who both work for Betson, which currently distributes titles for Eugene Jarvis’ company Raw Thrills (Need for Speed), among others. Bill Cravens was involved in the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) and at one time served as president of its charitable branch, the American Amusement Machine Charitable Foundation.

• The news was shared by his family through an obituary shared via a Wisconson funeral home.
• “His time at the studio as art director had a profound impact on our game,” it continued.
• Baer developed the very first console video game system, originally known as the Brown Box, but later licensed and sold as 1972’s Magnavox Odyssey, which laid the foundation for video games as we know them today.
• Todd Cravens shared some heartfelt words with RePlay Magazine and the AAMA.
• He passed away in his sleep on March 29, during the Amusement Showcase International show in Las Vegas.

Todd Cravens shared some heartfelt words with RePlay Magazine and the AAMA. “I would like to thank the members of the industry for their outpouring of support over the passing of my father,” said Cravens, on his experience at the final days of the ASI show. “My mother, brother, Ryan and I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to our family. I am truly humbled by the sheer amount of people that cared for my father. I believe the reason my father loved this industry so much was evident today,” he added.

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Gamasutra has learned that veteran game developer and programmer Joe Waters passed away on Tuesday. He was a longtime fixture of the Seattle game industry, and will be missed. Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.

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Game Developer has learned about the passing of UI engineer Patrick “Thor” Gass, a US Marines veteran who worked on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and several entries in the Call of Duty series. Her background is in teaching and tutoring kids from ages 9 to 19, and she’s led workshops for young women in STEM. Her first memory of gaming is when her dad taught her to play the first Warcraft when she was five.

Capitol Hill memorial planned for video game giant Joe Waters

He served as senior art director on Overwatch 2 before departing the studio for a second time. A heartfelt statement from the whole team at OnceLost Games, linked above because you really should read it in its entirety, has shared with the gaming community just how powerful an impact LeFay has had on this industry. The video, which included a touching statement from Peterson, explained that LeFay was stepping down from game development altogether in order to spend what time he had left with his loved ones. In a cruel twist that will leave so many of us reeling for years to come, Julian LeFay passed away just five days later. Eric Caoili currently serves as a news editor for Gamasutra, and has helmed numerous other UBM Techweb Game Network sites all now long-dead, including GameSetWatch.

Carter Lipscomb, a longtime game developer at Iron Galaxy and Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), has passed away. A cause of death was not disclosed, but VentureBeat noted his history of heart disease. “His time at the studio as art director had a profound impact game developer joe waters passes away on our game,” it continued.

• His impact on the Seattle Game Industry is monumental as he was the pioneer of Industry Night at the Garage.
• He returned to the company 2010 and was eventually asked to help steer production on Overwatch as art director.
• The news was shared by former colleagues on social media, prompting an outpouring of tributes from colleagues, friends, and players.
• At the time of writing, Hundred Heroes is still slated for release in April this year.
• Stumbling Cat co-founder and Seattle-based game developer Renee Gittins also published a tribute to Waters yesterday.
• Her background is in teaching and tutoring kids from ages 9 to 19, and she’s led workshops for young women in STEM.

As someone who started at the bottom of the video game totem pole, Joe always treated me as member of the team and a level of respect rarely provided. Julian LeFay’s career started with Amiga and NES, but he would go on to join Bethesda in 1987, which had been founded in 1986. He became Chief Engineer and directed the creation of iconic games like Elder Scrolls 1 and 2, Daggerfall, and Battlespire. In 2019, he co-founded OnceLost Games and started work on a new open world RPG, Wayward Realms, as a spiritual successor to Daggerfall. He returned to the company 2010 and was eventually asked to help steer production on Overwatch as art director.

Veteran Video Game Engineer Joe Waters Dies

“In the immediate future, Digital Extremes will be planning the first of many tributes on its scheduled October 25 devstream. Thank you, Mynki.” His interests outside of video games include fire, soccer, explosions, his dog Spike, and bacon. His impact on the Seattle Game Industry is monumental as he was the pioneer of Industry Night at the Garage. The connections, introductions, job offers, career advice, random encounters and more impacted so many people over 10 years or so it is hard to even put a number on it. You knew Industry Night started with a firm handshake from Joe and him selflessly asking you how you are doing and ending with the walk to Dunnes a Seattle bar before closing time.

When not working on video games, Gass collected “vintage and obscure gaming machines and consoles,” as well as vinyl records and antique and one-of-a-kind board games. The full Kotaku article is worth reading for further remembrances from Waters’ friends in the industry. Stumbling Cat co-founder and Seattle-based game developer Renee Gittins also published a tribute to Waters yesterday.

CHS was unable to confirm the details of the Melrose Ave resident’s death. Waters eventually settled at the Xbox advanced technology group, part of an internal Microsoft team that was dispatched to various developers working on Xbox games to ensure they were getting everything out of the hardware. “His impact on the Seattle game industry is monumental as he was the pioneer of Industry Night at the Garage,” Moore recently told Kotaku. “The connections, introductions, job offers, career advice, random encounters and more impacted so many people over 10 years or so it is hard to even put a number on it.”

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His family published a statement from him on his Facebook page, stating he “‘fell out’ for the last time, even though I was healthy and everything was goin’ great. I guess it was my time to go. Luckily, I was blessed to have my family nearby.” For nearly 35 years, Lipscomb worked at developers like Maxis, Sony Interactive, and Iron Galaxy. Digital Extremes also eulogized him, calling him “a dear friend, colleague, and pioneer of Warframe.” His family eulogized him as a “brilliant, humble artist with a gentle and kind soul. … He had a quiet resolve which allowed him to valiantly fight a battle against cancer for the past several years.” According to his obituary, Brennan joined Digital Extremes right out of college as a general artist in 2001.