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 writing work on 2008's Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir and her design work on the 2012's Guild Wars 2, and DoubleBear Productions' Dead State and PANIC at Multiverse High!.

Annie VanderMeer
Born
Annie VanderMeer
NationalityAmerican
Other namesAnnie Carlson, Annie VanderMeer Carlson, Anne VanderMeer, Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda
OccupationGame designer, writer
Known forNeverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir
Guild Wars 2
Destiny
Dead State
PANIC at Multiverse High!
Astroneer

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. While there, she spent her spare time with the local gaming society,[1] further inspiring her. After the discovery that there are limited opportunities to study and teach English/gaming in graduate school,[2] she started her path back to the games. After a brief stint at a local GameStop, VanderMeer (then Annie Carlson) started work at Papaya Studio in the summer of 2004,[3] where she worked on Taxi Driver, the ill-fated videogame "sequel" to the film of the same name.

Soon after Taxi Driver was cancelled,[4] VanderMeer joined Obsidian Entertainment in January 2006, beginning work on "Project New Jersey" (a rumored unreleased RPG[5]). When Project New Jersey was cancelled, VanderMeer joined the Neverwinter Nights 2 team, where she worked on handling the in-game items,[6] and presented on Neverwinter Nights 2 at Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) 2006.[7] After Neverwinter Nights 2 was released, VanderMeer began work as a writing assistant on Alpha Protocol, working with creative lead Brian Mitsoda, where she was credited with helping create some of the characters.[8] While working on Alpha Protocol, VanderMeer assisted with additional design for the first expansion to Neverwinter Nights 2, Mask of the Betrayer.[9] 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[10] and spoke at the 'Women in the Game Industry' panel at the PAX 2008[11] before she left the company in October 2008 to move to Seattle. She has since spoken at other PAX Panels over the years, including "The Agony and the Ecstasy of RPG Writing" in 2011,[12] "From Tabletop to Digital: Crafting Stronger Interactive Narratives" in 2013,[13] "Be So Good They Can't Ignore You: Tales of Successful Indies" in 2014,[14] "CLASSIC RPGs FOREVER!"[15][16] and "Surviving Success: How to Handle a Winning Kickstarter" in 2015,[17] "Choose Your Own Adventure: Women in Video Game Writing" in 2016,[18] and "Real Feels: Crafting Meaningful Relationships in Games"[19] and "That's It, That's the Joke: Humor, Games, and Humorous Games."[20] in 2017.

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".[21][22] VanderMeer has worked part-time as a game designer for DoubleBear,[2] and full-time as a game designer at Bungie on Destiny.[23] From April 2014 to January 2018, VanderMeer was a full-time member of DoubleBear Productions, and worked as a writer and designer on their first title, Dead State, and as the project lead on their second, PANIC at Multiverse High!.[24] In January 2018 she joined at System Era Softworks as a content designer on Astroneer,[25] shipping the game and multiple updates before her departure in October 2019. Additionally, she mentioned in a tweet that she would continue working at DoubleBear in a part-time capacity[26]).

She has also 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),[27] and Legacy of Dragonholt, a narrative adventure game set in the Runebound universe.[28]

In September 2019, she founded the Tiamat Collective, a group of freelancers from multiple disciplines available for hire on upcoming creative projects.[29] In December 2019, she rejoined ArenaNet as a senior game designer on the Living World for Guild Wars 2.[30]

References
  1. "Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda's LinkendIn". Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  2. ""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.
  3. "MobyGames Developer Profile - Annie Carlson". MobyGames. July 31, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  4. Adams, David (2006-01-19). "Majesco Sees Red, Titles Dead". IGN. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  5. "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.
  6. "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.
  7. "Obsidian Entertainment and Neverwinter Nights 2 Appearing at PAX". Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  8. "RPG Vault: Alpha Protocol Interview". IGN. November 14, 2008. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  9. "An evening with Annie Carlson". Iron Tower Studio. March 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  10. ""GameStar: Annie Mitsoda: "I'm a game omnivore"". Dec 7, 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-06-03. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  11. "PAX 2008: Women in the game industry". GameSpot. Aug 30, 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  12. Maxwell McGee. "RPG writers spill their secrets". GameSpot. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  13. "From Tabletop to Digital: Crafting Stronger Interactive Narratives". Guidebook. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  14. "Be So Good They Can't Ignore You: Tales of Successful Indies". Guidebook. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  15. "CLASSIC RPGs FOREVER!". Guidebook. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  16. "Pax Panels 2015: Classic CRPGs". YouTube. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  17. "Surviving Success: How to Handle a Winning Kickstarter". Guidebook. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  18. "Choose Your Own Adventure: Women in Video Game Writing". YouTube. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  19. "Schedule: PAX West - Seattle, WA - Sept 1-4 - "Real Feels: Crafting Meaningful Relationships in Games"". Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  20. "Schedule: PAX West - Seattle, WA - Sept 1-4 - "That's It, That's the Joke: Humor, Games, and Humorous Games"". Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  21. "Twitch". Twitch. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  22. ""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.
  23. "News > International Mail Sack of Mystery - Bungie". Bungie. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  24. "PANIC at Multiverse High! (Steam page)". Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  25. "@astroneergame on Twitter". 30 January 2018.
  26. "@Murderblonde on Twitter". 30 January 2018.
  27. "The Investigators of Arkham Horror". Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  28. "Legacy of Dragonholt Rulebook" (PDF). Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  29. "Welcome to the Tiamat Collective". Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  30. "Annie VanderMeer's LinkedIn". Retrieved 11 December 2019.
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