`
`Steve Meretzky
`851 Indiana Street #508 San Francisco, CA 94107
`(781) 690-2685 steve@boffo.us
`
`
`
`Career Highlights
` Acclaimed game designer with myriad awards
` Decades of experience leading teams, mentoring talent, and running a company
` Named one of the industry’s 25 “Game Gods” by PC Gamer in September 1999
` Winner of the 2008 Game Design Challenge at the Game Developers Conference
` Co-presenter of the long-running “Year in Mobile Games” GDC lecture
` Organizer of the annual Free-to-Play Games Summit at the GDC
`
`2018 – Current
`Game Design Consultant
` Help advise and steer games in development as well as live games
` Clients include Poker Stars, Social Point, Draft Kings, GameTime, Master Class,
`Google Stadia, and Google’s AI Lab
`
`San Francisco, CA
`
`
`
`King (a division of Activision)
`
`
`2016 – 2018
`Vice-President, Games
` Assembled and led a team to create games for new messaging platforms.
` Launched four games on Facebook Messenger (“Instant Games”).
` Gave design advice to teams across all of King’s European studios.
` Spearheaded a “North American Brain Trust” to improve the quality of SF-based
`and Seattle-based projects.
`
`San Francisco, CA
`
`GSN Games (a division of Sony)
`
`2013 – 2016
`Vice-President, Creative
` Led all design and art for GSN’s $200 million/year social casino business.
` In charge of creative for GSN Casino, a top-ten-grossing mobile game.
` Brought a new understanding of free-to-play design and retention techniques to
`GSN’s inexperienced casino studio.
` Worked with IP such as Wheel of Fortune, and talent such as Vanna White.
`
`San Francisco, CA
`
`Playdom (a division of Disney)
`2008 – 2013
`Vice-President, Game Design
` Creative leader for one of the pioneering companies in mobile/social gaming
` Incepted multiple projects; gave creative review and advice for many more
` Intimately involved in running live games to maximize retention and monetization
` Contributed to many hit Facebook games: Mobsters, Sorority Life, and Social City
`
`Palo Alto, CA
`
`
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`Supercell
`Exhibit 1006
`Page 1
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`2006 – 2008
`Senior Game Designer
` Lead designer for the Wii game World of Zoo and for several online projects
`
`Blue Fang Games
`
`Waltham, MA
`
`Floodgate Entertainment
`
`2005 – 2006
`Chief Game Designer
` Creative leader for an early developer of games for mobile devices
` Created one of the first real-time multiplayer mobile games, Pirates of the
`Caribbean Mobile
`
`Waltham, MA
`
`WorldWinner.com
`
`2000 – 2005
`Creative Content Director
` Responsible for all game content for a highly-profitable online skill-games site
` Led the design and development of over thirty online games
` Created tournament structures for online competitions; analyzed and revised
`tournament structures to maximize player satisfaction and company revenue
`
`Newton, MA
`
`1998 – 2000
`Senior Game Designer
` Project leader, responsible for all aspects of game design
` Managed an internal design staff, training several junior designers and producers
`
`GameFX (a division of THQ)
`
`Lexington, MA
`
`1997 - 1998
`Game Design Consultant
` Clients included Disney, Blizzard, Hasbro, and Harmonix
` Created an online children’s game, Escape from Planet Z, for JuniorNet
`
`Lincoln, MA
`
`Boffo Games, Inc.
`1994 - 1997
`Founder and Vice President, Creation
` Designer/Director of The Space Bar, a critically acclaimed big-budget graphic
`adventure game
` Designer/Director of Hodj 'n' Podj, a unique PC/Mac fantasy board game
`featuring 19 mini-games; one of the first casual games ever created
`
`Concord, MA
`
`1989 – 1994
`Game Design Consultant
` Designed, wrote, and coded four adventure games and role-playing games for
`Legend Entertainment including Superhero League of Hoboken and the
`Spellcasting Trilogy
` Designed and wrote Leather Goddesses of Phobos II for Activision
` Other clients included Microprose and Electronic Art
`
`Lincoln, MA
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`Supercell
`Exhibit 1006
`Page 2
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`
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`Infocom, Inc.
`
`Cambridge, MA
`
`1981 - 1989
`Senior Game Designer
` Designed, wrote, and coded 7 adventure games, many now regarded as industry
`classics:
` The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (in collaboration with Douglas Adams)
` Leather Goddesses of Phobos (as seen recently in the movie “The Martian”)
` Zork Zero
` Planetfall
` Stationfall
` Sorcerer
` A Mind Forever Voyaging
` Full responsibility for all aspects of games from conception through code release
` A key role in package design and public relations
` Editor of Infocom's newsletters, The New Zork Times and The Status Line
`
`Buncha Lousy Construction Jobs
`1979-1981
`Assistant Project Manager
`Some really boring jobs for a bunch of stupid companies. Not really worth mentioning,
`except as a conversation piece for breaking the ice at interviews.
`
`Boston, MA
`
`Education
`Cambridge, MA
`Massachusetts Institute of Technology
`1975 - 1979
` Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering and Project Management
` Minor in Creative Writing
` Co-ran the extensive campus movie and lecture program
` Managed a large graphic arts facility
`
`Other Stuff
` Founding member of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA);
`former member of the association’s Board of Directors
` Founder of Post Mortem, the monthly meeting of Boston area game development
`professionals, which later became one of the first IGDA chapters
` Organizer of the Game Designers Workshop, an annual conference for the
`industry’s most elite designers
` Regular speaker at the GDC and other industry conferences
` In the inaugural group of “50 over 50”, a list of veteran game industry leaders
` Member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America
` Author of 4 juvenile novels set in the Zork universe, published by Tor Books:
` Zork: The Forces of Krill
` Zork: The Malifestro Quest
` Zork: Conquest at Quendor
` Zork: The Cavern of Doom
`
`Supercell
`Exhibit 1006
`Page 3
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`
`
`Resume: Steve Meretzky
`
`Page 4
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`Award Highlights
`
`British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Best Online Game:
`Hitchhiker’s Guide (20th Anniversary Edition)
`PC Gamer: Named one of the industry’s 25 “Game Gods”
`PC Gamer Editors Choice Award: The Space Bar
`Computer Games Strategy Plus Stamp of Approval: The Space Bar
`Computer Games Strategy Plus One of the 12 Highlights of E3: The Space Bar
`Computer Gaming World Top 15 Funniest All-Time Games: Spellcasting 101
`Computer Gaming World Top 15 Funniest All-Time Games: Leather Goddesses
`Computer Gaming World Top 15 Funniest All-Time Games: Hitchhiker’s Guide
`Computer Gaming World Best Role-Playing Game: Superhero League of Hoboken
`Strategy Plus Best Multi-Character Role-Playing Game, Runner-Up: Hoboken
`Games Top 100 Games of the Year: Superhero League of Hoboken
`Computer Game Review Golden Triad Award: Superhero League of Hoboken
`Strategy Plus Top Ten All-Time Adventure Games: Planetfall
`Compute! Best All-Time Role-Playing/Adventure Game: Hitchhiker's Guide
`MacReview Best New Adventure Game: Zork Zero
`Entertainment Software Association (Great Britain) Best Adventure: Stationfall
`Newsfield Publications (Great Britain) Best Adventure: Leather Goddesses
`Happy Computer (Germany) Best Text Adventure: Leather Goddesses
`SPA “Codie” Award for Best Software Packaging: Leather Goddesses
`CHIP (Germany) Entertainment Software of the Year: Hitchhiker's Guide
`Family Computing Best All-Text Adventure: Hitchhiker's Guide
`CES Software Showcase: Award of Merit: Planetfall
`Computer Games Best All-Text Adventure: Planetfall
`InfoWorld Best Adventure Game: Planetfall
`Video Review Best Computer Game Designer
`Software Publishers Association:
`Certified Platinum: Hitchhiker's Guide
`Certified Gold: Leather Goddesses of Phobos
`Certified Gold: Planetfall
`
`Supercell
`Exhibit 1006
`Page 4
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`
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`Resume: Steve Meretzky
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`Page 5
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`Review Highlights and Magazine Profile Highlights
`
`
`“Meretzky’s resume reads like the contents of a ‘Best Of’ compilation.”
`
`-PC Gamer (in their article “Game Gods”)
`“Finally… a comedy CD-ROM that’s genuinely funny!”
`
`-People
`“An uproarious role-playing romp that heralds a new breed of computer games.”
`
`-Newsweek
`“Steve Meretzky has created some of the funniest, most memorable, and most
`challenging adventure games of all time… The Space Bar is a first-rate title that
`showcases a master designer at the top of his game.”
`
`-Computer Gaming World
`“If you’re a Meretzky fan, you should be scampering to your local software store. If
`you’re not a fan, you should be.”
`
`-Computer Game Entertainment
`“Hilariously funny… a true delight.”
`-Electronic Entertainment
`“One of the finest adventure games ever created.”
`
`-Strategy Plus
`“You ought to be on your way to the store by now… the best Meretzky yet.”
`
`-PC World
`“The must-play computer role-playing game of the year.”
`
`-Strategy Plus
`“It’s colorful, silly, & challenging. It’s extremely well-written. It’s a Steve Meretzky game!”
`-Computer Gaming World
`“…a bizarre but delightful sense of humor. Ignore it at your own peril.”
`-Computer Shopper
`“It is hilarious, from the opening scene to the fine print in the manual.”
`
`-Associated Press
`“…proves he is still the funniest man in the business…”
`
`-Zero (Great Britain)
`“Steve Meretzky, whose game credits read like a ‘Best Of’ adventure gaming list…”
`-Computer Gaming World
`“The most enjoyable game yet in the Zork series.”
`
`-Games
`“A masterpiece. Hilarious.”
`
`-Punch
`“A riotous jaunt through time and space.”
`
`-Omni
`“If you don’t laugh, see a doctor.”
`
`-Enter
`“Planetfall is just about worth the purchase of a computer. No fooling.”
`
`-Memphis Magazine
`“A feat for which Meretzky can’t get enough praise… A stroke of genius.”
`-Video Review
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`
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`Supercell
`Exhibit 1006
`Page 5
`
`