He is also co-editor for beloved handheld gaming blog Tiny Cartridge, and has contributed to Joystiq, Winamp, GamePro, and 4 Color Rebellion. Waters worked in the game industry for 15 years, with companies like Monolith Productions, Hidden Path Entertainment, and 343 Industries. Joe Waters, a senior development lead at Xbox’s advanced technology group, unexpectedly passed away last night. An engineer who worked on everything from Counter-Strike for the original Xbox to this year’s visually stunning Rise of the Tomb Raider, Waters contributed technical expertise for more than a decade.
CHS Capitol Hill Seattle News
The OnceLost Games team shared a touching post announcing the passing of Julian LeFay. He worked on franchises such as StarCraft and World of Warcraft during his first stint at the studio, which began in the 1990s and ended in 2005 when he departed to establish Red 5 Studios Inc. Former Blizzard senior director of story and creative development, James Waugh, described Petras as a “huge hearted and genuine” person who cared deeply about those around him. “Billy was an amazingly gifted artist who worked at Blizzard Entertainment for almost two decades. He was immensely proud of the work he did there, most notably as the art director for World of Warcraft and Overwatch.
Capitol Hill memorial planned for video game giant Joe Waters
Ryan Cravens mentions that his father’s name is painted in the background of a Street Fighter stage, such was his connection to the industry. The news was shared by his family through an obituary shared via a Wisconson funeral home. In it, his loved ones described how a passion for video games and programming landed him a job in Nevada programming slot machines before joining Middleton-area developer Raven Software. He left the Activision Blizzard-owned subsidiary studio in 2022 for a job at Insomniac Games, where he helped implement the UI and accessibility features seen in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. The news comes courtesy of several of Waters’ friends and compatriots in the game industry, including veteran game developer George Broussard and Microsoft’s Collin Moore, commiserating and sharing memories of Waters on social media this week. Ralph Baer, a true pioneer of video games, has passed away at the age of 92, Gamasutra can confirm via independent sources close to Baer.
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Overwatch and World of Warcraft art director Bill Petras has passed away. Brandon Sheffield is creative director of Necrosoft Games, former editor of Game Developer magazine and gamasutra.com, and advisor for GDC, DICE, and other conferences. Longtime arcade game retailer Bill Cravens, who worked for or distributed games for such companies as Capcom, Nintendo, Cinematronics, and Universal, has passed away in his sleep on March 29, during the Amusement Showcase International show in Las Vegas. Gass is survived by his son Noble, Noble’s mother Yvonne, as well as his mother Donna and brother Timothy, as well as extended family and friends. The goal of /r/Games is to provide a place for informative and interesting gaming content and discussions.Submissions should be for the purpose of informing or initiating a discussion, not just with the goal of entertaining viewers.
Coin-op Legend Bill Cravens Passes AwayCoin-op Legend Bill Cravens Passes AwayCoin-op Legend Bill Cravens Passes Away
- Eric Caoili currently serves as a news editor for Gamasutra, and has helmed numerous other UBM Techweb Game Network sites all now long-dead, including GameSetWatch.
- Tic Games Network is your go-to source for all things gaming, entertainment, tech, and pop culture.We deliver the latest breaking news, exclusive interviews.
- “I’m writing to share some heartbreaking news. Bill Petras, a game development legend, has unexpectedly passed away,” said former Blizzard cinematic project director, Harley D. Huggins II, on Linkedin.
- Bill Cravens was involved in the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) and at one time served as president of its charitable branch, the American Amusement Machine Charitable Foundation.
- Julian LeFay, the former chief engineer of Bethesda and father of Elder Scrolls, has died at the age of 59 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
His family published a statement from him on his Facebook page, stating he “‘fell out’ for the last time, even though I was healthy and everything was goin’ great. I guess it was my time to go. Luckily, I was blessed to have my family nearby.” For nearly 35 years, Lipscomb worked at developers like Maxis, Sony Interactive, and Iron Galaxy. Digital Extremes also eulogized him, calling him “a dear friend, colleague, and pioneer of Warframe.” His family eulogized him as a “brilliant, humble artist with a gentle and kind soul. … He had a quiet resolve which allowed him to valiantly fight a battle against cancer for the past several years.” According to his obituary, Brennan joined Digital Extremes right out of college as a general artist in 2001.
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On the right is Microsoft community manager Colin Moore, who worked with Waters several times over the years. Based on the people I spoke to, Waters was known as a feisty but friendly person with a penchant for sticking out his middle finger whenever game developer joe waters passes away a photo was taken.
Bethesda Legend And Elder Scrolls Developer Julian LeFay Has Died
- When not working on video games, Gass collected “vintage and obscure gaming machines and consoles,” as well as vinyl records and antique and one-of-a-kind board games.
- Former Blizzard senior director of story and creative development, James Waugh, described Petras as a “huge hearted and genuine” person who cared deeply about those around him.
- He served as senior art director on Overwatch 2 before departing the studio for a second time.
- He is also co-editor for beloved handheld gaming blog Tiny Cartridge, and has contributed to Joystiq, Winamp, GamePro, and 4 Color Rebellion.
- As someone who started at the bottom of the video game totem pole, Joe always treated me as member of the team and a level of respect rarely provided.
He served as senior art director on Overwatch 2 before departing the studio for a second time. A heartfelt statement from the whole team at OnceLost Games, linked above because you really should read it in its entirety, has shared with the gaming community just how powerful an impact LeFay has had on this industry. The video, which included a touching statement from Peterson, explained that LeFay was stepping down from game development altogether in order to spend what time he had left with his loved ones. In a cruel twist that will leave so many of us reeling for years to come, Julian LeFay passed away just five days later. Eric Caoili currently serves as a news editor for Gamasutra, and has helmed numerous other UBM Techweb Game Network sites all now long-dead, including GameSetWatch.
Todd Cravens shared some heartfelt words with RePlay Magazine and the AAMA. “I would like to thank the members of the industry for their outpouring of support over the passing of my father,” said Cravens, on his experience at the final days of the ASI show. “My mother, brother, Ryan and I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to our family. I am truly humbled by the sheer amount of people that cared for my father. I believe the reason my father loved this industry so much was evident today,” he added.
When not working on video games, Gass collected “vintage and obscure gaming machines and consoles,” as well as vinyl records and antique and one-of-a-kind board games. The full Kotaku article is worth reading for further remembrances from Waters’ friends in the industry. Stumbling Cat co-founder and Seattle-based game developer Renee Gittins also published a tribute to Waters yesterday.
Waters worked on several top selling titles, including Tomb-Raider, Halo, and Half-Life. Friends and coworkers mourned Waters on social media as news of his passing spread last week. Clever Dunne’s will be holding a private memorial for Waters on January 6th. Murayama worked on multiple entries in the Suikoden series as a writer, director and producer before eventually leaving Konami in 2002 to explore the world of freelance development. At the time of writing, Hundred Heroes is still slated for release in April this year.
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