Raph Koster: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|American video game designer and entrepreneur}}

[[Image:Raph Coster, Web 2.0 Conference.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Raph Koster at the Web 2.0 Conference, 2005]]

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2013}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Raph Koster

| image = Raph Koster at GDC 2017 (33298678235) (cropped).jpg

| caption = Koster in 2017

| birth_name = Raphael Koster

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1971|9|7}}

| birth_place = [[Long Island, New York]], U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = [[Game designer]]

| spouse = {{marriage|Kristen Koster |1992}}

| children = Ben Koster<br />David Koster

}}

'''Raphael "Raph" Koster''' (b.born [[September 7]], [[1971]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[entrepreneur]], [[computer game designer|game designer]], and [[author]] of ''[[A Theory of Fun for Game Design]]''. Koster is widely recognized for his work as the lead designer of ''[[Ultima Online]]''<ref>{{cite and the [[creative director]] behind ''[[Star Wars Galaxies]]''. Since July 2006, he has been working as the founder and president of [[Areae]] on an unannounced product.book

| last = Bainbridge | first = William Sims | author-link = William Sims Bainbridge

| title = Berkshire Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interactionß

'''Ralph''' is a common misspelling of his abbreviated name <em>Raph</em>.

| publisher = Berkshire Publishing Group

| year = 2004

| isbn = 0-9743091-2-5

| volume = 2

| pages = 474

| quote = UO set new standards in virtual environment design. Its visionary lead designer, Raph Koster, introduced many innovations [...]

}}</ref> and the creative director behind ''[[Star Wars Galaxies]]''.<ref name="dog">{{cite book

| last1 = Mulligan | first1 = Jessica

| last2 = Patrovsky | first2 = Bridgette

| year = 2003

| title = Developing Online Games: An Insider's Guide

| publisher = New Riders

| pages = 145–146

| quote = At the 2002 Game Developer's Conference, an audience member asked the panel on "Building the Next-Generation PW" how he, as a writer, could ensure the integrity of his story in a PW. The reply came from panel member Raph Koster, the creative director on ''Star Wars Galaxies'' and former lead designer of ''UO'': "Get over yourselves; the rest of the world is coming. Okay? People value self-expression. Is 'story' going to go away? No. Is careful crafting going to go away? No. Are the professionals engaged in that going to go away? No. Well, except that IP—the concept of intellectual property—may, but that's a whole other side discussion. The thing is that people want to express themselves and they don't really care that 99% of everything is crap, because they are positive that the 1% they made isn't. Okay? And fundamentally, they get ecstatic as soon as five people see it, right?"

| isbn = 1-59273-000-0

}}</ref> From 2006 until 2013 he worked as the founder and president of [[Metaplace]] (previously operating as [[Areae]] and acquired by social gaming company [[Playdom]] in 2010, which was in turn acquired by [[Disney]]) producing a [[Facebook game]] platform.

==Biography==

RaphKoster attended [[Washington College]] in [[Chestertown, Maryland]], receiving a Bachelorbachelor's degree in [[English language|English]] ([[Creativecreative Writingwriting]]) and [[Spanish language|Spanish]] in [[1992]]. The same year he became involved with [[Multi-Useruser Dungeondungeon|MUD]]s as ana [[implementor]]developer inof ''[[LegendMUD]]Worlds of Carnage'', wherethen hein was1994 knownmoved ason '''Ptah'''.to Onbecome [[10implementor May]] 1992, he marriedof ''[[Kristen KosterLegendMUD]]'', whowhere wouldhe laterwas work alongside him at [[Origin Systems]]known as aPtah.<ref gamename="bartle">{{cite designer.book

| last = Bartle | first = Richard | author-link = Richard Bartle

| title = [[Designing Virtual Worlds]]

| publisher = New Riders

| year = 2003

| isbn = 0-13-101816-7

| pages = 21

| quote = That people did play is a tribute to the game's design team, led by Raph Koster. Raph had a background in virtual world design, having worked on 1992's ''Worlds of Carnage'' (the first DikuMUD to have an embedded scripting language) before moving on to found ''LegendMUD'' in 1994 with Kristen Koster (his wife), Rick Delashmit, and others. [...] ''LegendMUD'' was itself an innovative game, boasting a number of features to promote role-playing that had never been implemented before. For example, unlike other ''DikuMUD'' derivatives, ''LegendMUD'' was ''classless'' (players don't elect to be fighters, magic-users, healers, thieves, or whatever); this concept was to shape the design of ''Ultima Online'' powerfully. The wide-ranging playing experience of the designers meant that they could draw on ideas from many other codebases, too.

}}</ref><ref name="cgw">{{cite magazine

|last = Scott

|first = Ryan

|magazine = Computer Gaming World

|date = April 2006

|issue = 261

|title = The CGW Interview: Raph Koster

|page = 37

|url = http://cgw.1up.com/

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081123122551/http://www.cgw.1up.com/

|archive-date = November 23, 2008

|quote = 1994: The award-winning ''LegendMUD'', codesigned by Koster, launches (www.legendmud.org—still active today).

|url-status = dead

|df = mdy-all

}}</ref> He also played ''[[MUME]]'' for a time. On May 10, 1992, he married Kristen<ref>{{cite web

| last = Koster | first = Raph

| url = http://www.raphkoster.com/2009/05/10/17th-wedding-anniversary/

| title = 17th Wedding Anniversary

| work = Raph's Website

| date = May 10, 2009

| access-date = 2009-11-26

}}</ref> who would later work alongside him at [[Origin Systems]] as a game designer.

In [[1995]], he received a [[Master of Fine Arts]] in [[Poetry]] from the [[University of Alabama]] in [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama]], and joined Origin Systems as the lead designer of Ultima Online. RaphKoster was also the lead designer of ''[[Ultima Online: The Second Age]]'', ''[[Ultima Online Live]]'', and an unannounced and cancelled title until [[2000]], when he joined [[Verant Interactive]] in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] as the [[creative director]] of ''[[Star Wars Galaxies]]''.

Promoted to [[chief creative officer]] in [[2003]], he relocated to [[Sony Online Entertainment]] in [[San Diego,<ref>{{Cite web California|Sanlast=Varney Diego]]|first=Allen Varney Legacy |date=2006-07-25 |title=Raph Koster on Fire |url=https://www.escapistmagazine.com/raph-koster-on-fire/ |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=The Escapist |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Raph Koster's website |url=http://www.raphkoster.com/2003/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060627021043/http://www.raphkoster.com/2003/ |archive-date=2006-06-27 |url-status=dead |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=swap.stanford.edu}}</ref> where he spent three years primarily responsible for [[business development]]. In March [[2006]], Raph Koster left the company to pursuework other opportunities. As ofon [[July 2Metaplace]] which, heat isthe currentlyend, workingwas ona "somethingsocial indiegaming ...platform somethingfor that[[Facebook is [hopefullygame]]s. disruptiveSince and2013 differenthe andis notan gamesindependent asdesigner usual."and [http://wwwconsultant.raphkoster.com/2006/07/01/a-big-day/]<ref>{{cite This venture was revealed as [[Areae]] on [[web|last=Koster|first=Raph|title=CV|date=December 15]]18, 2006. [2013|url=http://www.raphkoster.com/2006about-raph/12cv/15}}</announcing-areae/]ref>

Koster is a charter member of the [[Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences]], and a member of the [[IGDA]], [[ASCAP]], and [[Omicron Delta Kappa]]. He is also a frequent speaker at game industry conferences such as the [[Game Developers Conference|GDC]],<ref name="dog" /> [[D.I.C.E. Summit|DICE]], State of Play, and [[E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo)|E3]]. He presently lives in San Diego, California with his wife, daughter, and sonfamily.

In 2019, Koster and [[Eric Goldberg (game designer)|Eric Goldberg]] founded a new company, Playable Worlds, focused on producing the MMORPG, [[Stars Reach]].

==Credits==

===Games===

* ''[[LegendMUD]]'' (emeritus implementor, 19981994)

* ''[[Ultima Online]]'' (lead designer; [[Origin Systems]] [[1997]])

** ''[[Ultima Online: The Second Age]]'' (lead designer; Origin Systems [[1998]])

* ''[[Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided]]'' (creative director; [[Verant Interactive]] [[2003]])

** ''[[Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed]]'' (chief creative consultantofficer; [[Sony Online Entertainment]] [[2004]])

** ''[[Star Wars Galaxies: TheEpisode TotalIII ExperienceRage of the Wookiees]]'' (chief creative consultantofficer; Sony Online Entertainment [[2005]])

** ''[[Star Wars Galaxies: Trials of Obi-Wan]]'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 2005)

* ''[[EverQuest II]]'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 2004)

** ''[[EverQuest II: Desert of Flames]]'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 2005)

** ''[[EverQuest II: Kingdom of Sky]]'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 20052006)

* ''[[Untold LegendsChampions: BrotherhoodReturn ofto the BladeArms]]'' (chief creative officer and [[editing|editor]]; Sony Online Entertainment 2005)

* ''[[Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade]]'' (chief creative officer and editor; Sony Online Entertainment 2005)

* ''[[GripShift]]'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 2005)

* ''[[Frantix]]'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 2005)

* ''[[Champions:Field Return to ArmsCommander]]'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment 20052006)

* ''[[Field Commander]]'' (chief creative officer; Sony Online Entertainment [[2006]])

===Discography===

* ''After the Flood'' ([[1999]])

===Writing===

* ''[[A Theory of Fun for Game Design]]'' &mdash;— [[Foreword]] by [[Will Wright (game designer)|Will Wright]] ({{ISBN |1-932111-97-2}})

* [http://www.raphkoster.com/gaming/playerrights.shtml "Declaring the Rights of Avatars"]

* [http://www.raphkoster.com/gaming/essay1.shtml A Story About A Tree], (May 1998), revolving around the ''[[A Story About A Tree|Karyn incident]]''

* [http://www.raphkoster.com/gaming/lawsindex.shtml "The Laws of Online World Design"] (GDC 1999 presentation)

* Koster, Raph. "Geek Fun Isn't Frivolous; Alien Swarms of Thundering, Flashing Games Hit Town This Week. They're Here to Make Us Smarter." <u>Los Angeles Times</u> May 15, 2005, sec. M1.

* [http://www.raphkoster.com/gaming/essay1.shtml "A Story About a Tree"] (May 1998)

* [http://www.penny-arcade.com/2007/10/10/ "As Seen In Modern Lair"] (October 2007)

==Awards==

* ''Hot 100'' ([[Next Generation Magazine|Next Generation]] 2006)

* ''100 Greatest Developers'' ([[Game Informer]] 2006)

==References==

{{reflist|2}}

* ''Computer Gaming World'', "The CGW Interview: Raph Koster", April 2006

* ''Real People, Virtual Worlds'', 2002 film documentary by [[Tracy Spaight]]

==External links==

{{Commons category|Raph Koster}}

* [http://www.raphkoster.com/ Raph Koster's Website]

* {{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080801121803/http://www.areae.net/ |title=Areae, Inc. |date=2008-08-01}}

* [http://www.theoryoffun.com/ ''A Theory of Fun for Game Design'' official website]

* {{MobyGames developer|id=327570}}

* [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId=19434/ MobyGames Biography]

* [httphttps://www.gamasutragamedeveloper.com/phpgame-binplatforms/news_index.php?story=8677raph-koster-leaves-sony-online-entertainment "Raph Koster Leaves Sony Online Entertainment"] ([[Gamasutra]]){{Dead link|date=January 2023}}

===Interviews===

* Pham, Alex. "Game Design; Building a Community—Even a Virtual One—Takes Work." Los Angeles Times Sep 6, 2001, sec. T5.

* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012112523/http://ambernight.org/2006/12/21/exclusive-interview-with-raph-koster-areae-doing-microtransactions/ |title=Interview: December 21, 2006 |date=2007-10-12}} (Amber Night)

* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723015525/http://www.stratics.com/content/exclusives/general/raph_koster.php |title=Interview: December 25, 2006 |date=2008-07-23}} (Stratics)

* [http://www.gamestudies.org/0501/pearce/ Interview: March 22, 2006] (Game Studies)

* [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/55/9 Interview: July 25, 2006] ([[The Escapist (magazine)|The Escapist]]){{Dead link|date=January 2023}}

* [http://www.gamezombie.tv/?page_id=52 Interview: March 10, 2007](GameZombie.tv) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705045929/http://www.gamezombie.tv/?page_id=52 |date=July 5, 2007 }}

* [http://www.stratics.com/content/exclusives/general/raph_koster.php Interview: December 25, 2006] ([[Stratics]])

*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019230950/http://www.mmo-gamer.com/?p=273 |title=Interview: October 11th, 2007 |date=2007-10-19}} (The MMO Gamer)

===Wikimania 2014===

[[File:Wikipedia is a Game - Raph Koster - Wikimania 2014.webm|thumb|''Wikipedia is a Game'', presentation by Raph Koster at [[Wikimania 2014]]]]

===In the news===

* [[BBC]]: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7002479.stm Virtual worlds opened up to all] (September 19, 2007)

{{Origin Systems}}

[[Category:American non-fiction writers|Koster, Raph]]

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[[Category:Video game designers|Koster, Raph]]

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