Brian Fargo American video game designer and developer, founder of Interplay Entertainment Date of Birth: 15.12.1952 Country: USA

Biography of Brian Fargo

Brian Fargo is an American designer and video game developer, best known as the founder of Interplay Entertainment. He began his career in the gaming industry in 1982 and founded Interplay Productions in 1983, which is now known as Interplay Entertainment. The company gained recognition for its development of popular games such as "The Bard's Tale" and "Wasteland," which were published by Electronic Arts.

Born in Long Beach, California, on the Pacific Coast, Fargo grew up in Whittier and Newport Beach. As the only child of Frank Byron and Marie Curtis Fargo, he attended Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, where he actively participated in athletics, particularly track and field. Fargo developed a passion for video game design after receiving an 8-bit Apple II computer as a gift from his parents in 1977.

Fargo's first foray into the gaming industry was with his self-designed and self-sold game, "The Demon's Forge." He later developed educational games for World Book Encyclopedia. In 1983, he founded Interplay Productions and signed a contract with Activision to develop a game called "Mindshadow" for the Apple II and Commodore 64, although it did not achieve great success among players.

Following the release of "Mindshadow," Fargo enlisted the help of his high school friend and began working on a role-playing game (RPG) for the Apple II and Commodore 64, this time for the new publisher Electronic Arts. This RPG, titled "Bard's Tale," featured color graphics and a musical score. It was followed by "Bard's Tale 2" and "Wasteland," which earned a place in the Hall of Fame of the American gaming magazine "Computer Gaming World." "Wasteland" offered players a vast open world where their character's actions had a significant impact on the game's universe.

During the late 1990s, Interplay Productions continued to expand and acquired licenses for its own developments, including the rights to create games based on the "Star Trek" universe, which achieved unprecedented commercial success. Fargo's talent for identifying promising development teams led him to discover "Parallax Software," whose demo version of the game "Descent" became a number one hit. Parallax was eventually acquired by THQ and renamed "Volition," where they developed games such as "Red Faction" and "Saints Row."

In 1996, Interplay formed a sports division, and by the mid-1990s, the company had grown significantly. One of its most successful subdivisions during that period was "Black Isle," responsible for developing RPGs. However, in 2003, all employees of Black Isle were laid off, and many joined companies like Obsidian Entertainment, Troika Games, and BioWare. Black Isle's creations, including "Baldur's Gate" and "Fallout," became hits for Interplay.

In 1998, the company changed its name to Interplay Entertainment Corp. due to changes in the securities market, but it faced financial losses in the following years. Fargo stepped down as CEO of Interplay in 2002, and the company was taken over by French game publisher Titus Interactive. However, Fargo continued to pursue his creative ideas and founded a new company, inXile Entertainment, in 2003. Many former Interplay employees joined inXile, which became successful in developing flash games and iPhone games.

Overall, Brian Fargo's contributions to the gaming industry, both as a designer and a developer, have left a lasting impact. His passion for creating innovative and immersive gaming experiences has brought joy to millions of players worldwide.