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Sunday, 20 February 2005 | Levent OZLER
Eugene P. Jarvis to Receive IGDA's Award
Legendary Arcade Game Developer Eugene P. Jarvis to Receive IGDA's Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 5th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards
The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) will be honoring Eugene P. Jarvis, legendary arcade game developer, with the game industry's most prestigious accolade, the Game Developers Choice Award for Lifetime Achievement. Jarvis will be recognized for his lifelong contribution to the development of games and the culture of gaming at the 5th annual Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony, Wednesday, March 9, 2005 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, Calif.
"It is a great honor to receive this award and to join the ranks of some of the industry's most revered game creators," said Jarvis. "We are clearly at the threshold of a new frontier and I can't wait to see how our community will forge ahead into the new era of game development."
Since his obsession with chess at the age of three, Eugene P. Jarvis has dedicated his life to playing and designing games. Twenty-five years ago, Jarvis' pioneering spirit revolutionized arcade games. In the 1980's his career was propelled by the debut of smash hit arcade game Defender, with groundbreaking graphics and mind numbing action that helped to seduce an entire generation. Jarvis' reputation for creating adrenalin pumping action games was validated in the late 1980's by two more hits: Robotron:2084 and NARC.
Jarvis' success continued into the 1990's when he created the all time highest grossing arcade driving series: Cruis'n USA, Cruis'n World and Cruis'n Exotica. Touting advanced 3D graphics and real world locations, the Cruis'n series became a cultural phenomenon. More recently Cruis'n Exotica appeared in pop culture when it was used as a cameo on the hit reality TV series "The Osbournes."
"To me, if you have nothing new and cool to bring to the table, then there is no sense in designing a game," said Jarvis. "If you are just doing it for the money and you can't even get yourself psyched about your project, then it's time to move on to something fresh. Why waste irreplaceable time in life just making money, when the alternative is having some fun exploring the unknown?"
Arcade games have become something of an afterthought in the era of the PC game and the home console, but Jarvis hasn't given up on the genre. In addition to creating some of the industry's greatest classics, Jarvis continues to invigorate interactive entertainment with his boutique arcade game design studio, Raw Thrills. In 2004, his studio released two action thrillers Target: Terror and The Fast and the Furious. Both debuted at the top of the arcade charts and brought life back into the ebbing arcade gaming space. At Raw Thrills, Jarvis is currently in the midst of developing Target: Terror 2 and a full-motion motorcycle racer.
The IGDA's award for Lifetime Achievement is considered the game industry's most prestigious award. Recipients are selected by the Choice Awards Advisory Board, comprised of a diverse set of developers from across the globe. Past recipients of this award include: Mark Cerny, Gunpei Yokoi (posthumous), Yuji Naka and Will Wright.
"Eugene Jarvis is one of a handful of names that comes up again and again as the inspiration for other game developers. He understands what is fundamentally fun and continues to impress us with his endless creativity and talent," said Jason Della Rocca, executive director, IGDA.
About the International Game Developers Association (IGDA)
The International Game Developers Association is a non-profit membership organization that advocates globally on issues related to digital game creation. The IGDA's mission is to strengthen the international game development community and effect change to benefit that community. For more information on the IGDA, please visit www.igda.org or e-mail info@igda.org.
About the CMP Game Group
A core provider of essential information and community to the professional game industry, the CMP Game Group includes the Game Developers Conference, Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra.com, the Independent Games Festival, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. For more information, please visit www.cmpgame.com.
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