Kris Johnson
| Kris Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967 |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| 💼 Occupation | Video Game Developer |
| Known for | Founder of WildWorks and Beyond Games |
| Notable work | Battlewheels (1993)
Animal Jam (2010) Animal Jam - PlayWild! (2015) |
Kris Johnson (born 1967) is an American video game developer.[1] He founded Beyond Games, Cobalt Interactive, and WildWorks (originally Smart Bomb Interactive).[2][3][4] At WildWorks, he directed the company’s award-winning online virtual world for children, Animal Jam, and its mobile-device counterpart, Animal Jam - PlayWild!.[5] As of late 2020, Animal Jam and PlayWild! had 3.3 million monthly active users and a combined lifetime total of 130 million registered players in 200 countries.[6] After leaving WildWorks in 2017, he founded ModStorm, a company developing a cross-device and instant social gaming platform.
Background[edit]
Johnson grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. During elementary school, he became interested in computers and programming as a path to create his own video games.[7] Initially learning how to program at the University of Utah’s Computing Lab, his first home computer was a RadioShack TRS-80.[2] Johnson frequented local arcades and conducted most of his early work on an Atari 800.[2] He studied computer science at the University of Utah and initially focused on developing game titles for the Atari Lynx and Jaguar.[2] BattleWheels, his first Lynx title, won the Consumer Electronics Show Innovation Award in 1993 for its 3D-simulated graphics and multiplayer capabilities.[2][7][8][9]
Companies[edit]
In 1992, Johnson founded Beyond Games, a company focused on multiplayer action titles for the Atari Lynx, Atari Jaguar, PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox.[3][4][10] The company was one of Utah’s early video game studios and continued operations until 2003 when its publishing partner 3DO filed for bankruptcy and failed to reimburse the company for months of production costs on a project.[2][3] With an infusion of venture funding, Beyond Games was reorganized as Smart Bomb Interactive in 2003 and retained its proprietary technology and some original team members to focus on family-friendly titles and educational gaming.[11] In 2010, the company launched its flagship MMORPG title, Animal Jam, in collaboration with National Geographic Society.[12] The company was rebranded as WildWorks in 2014.
In 1999, Johnson co-founded Cobalt Interactive to focus on the confluence of advertising, gaming, and education.[13] Cobalt produced Cap’n Crunch’s Crunchling Adventure for Quaker Oats Company, which was distributed in 2000 through 7.5 million CD-ROMs placed in boxes of Cap’n Crunch cereal, and Math-A-Thon 2: The Mystery of the Missing Laboratory, an educational game designed for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help the organization’s fundraising initiatives and improve K-12 math skills.[13] [14]
After leaving WildWorks in 2017, Johnson founded ModStorm, where he serves as Chief Executive Officer.
Games[edit]
- BattleWheels (1993, Atari for Atari Lynx)
- Ultra Vortek (1995, Atari for Atari Jaguar)
- Redline (1999, Accolade for PC)
- Motor Mayhem (2001, Infogrames for PlayStation 2)
- Hot Wheels Velocity X (2002, THQ for GameCube, PC, and PlayStation 2)
- Cap’n Crunch’s Crunchling Adventure (1999, Cobalt Interactive for Quaker Oats Company)
- Math-A-Thon 2: The Mystery of the Missing Laboratory (2006, Cobalt Interactive for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital)
- Snoopy vs. the Red Baron (2006, Microsoft for PC, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable)
- Pac-Man World Rally (2006, Bandai Namco for GameCube, PC, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable)
- Bee Movie Game (2007, Activision for Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 2, Wii, and XBox 360)
- Snoopy Flying Ace (2010, Microsoft for Xbox)
- Animal Jam (2010, WildWorks for PC)
- Tunnel Town (2013, WildWorks for PC)
- Animal Jam - PlayWild! (2015, WildWorks for Android and iOS)
References[edit]
- ↑ "Kris N. Johnson Video Game Credits and Biography". MobyGames. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Hawken, Kieren (November 2016). "From The Archives: Beyond Games". Retro Gamer. No. 160. Future Publishing. pp 64–69.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Clifton, David (June 23, 1995). "Salt Lake Video-Game Maker Finds Business Is Not All Fun and Games". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "GameSpy: Beyond Games". www.gamespy.com. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- ↑ "Animal Jam - A Wild & Crazy Game". MMORPG.com. 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- ↑ "WildWorks' Animal Jam online playground hits 130 million registered players after a decade". VentureBeat. 2020-09-11. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 pcwzrd13 (2018-06-30). "Interview with Kris Johnson, Founder of Beyond Games, Developer of the Cancelled Redline Arena". Dreamcast Live. Retrieved 2021-04-27. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Beyond Games". infinitgamer.com. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- ↑ "AtariAge - Atari Lynx Manuals - BattleWheels (Beyond Games)". atariage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
- ↑ "The Beyond Games, Inc. Company Profile". 1997-01-17. Archived from the original on 1997-01-17. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- ↑ "National Geographic virtual world Animal Jam hits a million kids". VentureBeat. 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- ↑ "Online game by SLC developer reaches million players". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Horiuchi, Vince (May 1, 2000). "The Surprise Inside". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- ↑ Cobalt Interactive, St Jude Children's Research Hospital (2006), Math-A-Thon 2: The Mystery Of The Missing Laboratory, retrieved 2021-03-09
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