Until recently, Kari Ann Owen ran Horse Medical Farm in Montana. Now that he is focused on writing and political activism, he is less interested in video games. But she inherits her late husband. "He was a genius," Silas Warner said. "And he never received the praise or rewards he deserved."
Silas Warner’s most notable impact on architecture The castle Wolfenstein in 1981, which was the first game to feature digital speeches and the first example of both fake gambling and the Second World shooter. Three years later, he released a follow-up, Beyond castle Wolfenstein.
Warner died in 2004, aged 54 years. She had been in pain for over a decade.
Warner was one of the pioneers of inventing the first game. But unlike those who gain prestige and wealth in their work, he remains a certain number.
In part, that was his choice. Warner was trading as City Software during his great success. He was never a businessman, and the company broke up in 1987. Its assets, including the Wolfenstein name, were confiscated by the seller.
In 1992, id Software purchased Wolfenstein's name from a dealer for $ 5,000. Two of the company's founders, John Carmack and John Romero, both were lovers of the original game, and wanted the name of their new World War II shooter, Wolfenstein 3D.
That play was a forerunner to the ever-increasing popularity of first-person shootings, which continues to this day. Carmack and Romero continue to build The judgment, and making big money.
Bethesda Softworks bought id Software in 2009, so they acquired the rights to Wolfenstein. Since 2014, the company has released four Wolfenstein games, including this year Wolfenstein: Youngblood. Warner's creation is now one of the most recognizable names in gaming.
Following the demolition of the Museum, Warner has continued to work for various companies, including MicroProse and Virgin Interactive. Those who remember working with Warner, including Firaxis founder Sid Meier and the famous sports artist Tommy Tallarico, he says he was sometimes treated as a minority by his teammates who praised his games. Being 6-9 feet and over 300 pounds was added to the line that he was a huge figure. But many who knew him said he was unhappy in the community, and would often respond to praising his games with humility.
He didn't care about celebrities, only on computers. His roles in those companies were mainly as a coder and technology solver, not as a game designer.
In the end, Warner stopped coming out of the gaming world, using his talent and computers for various tasks. He was fluent in German, enjoyed composing sacred music and was a tireless campaigner for public transportation. But her life was not easy. At one point, he was on the verge of becoming homeless, living in cheap motel rooms. He married late in life – a happy partnership – but spent his last years in ill health.
Owen states: “He had diabetes that was dependent on insulin and kidney disease, arthritis and hypertension. "That's a combination. Silas had to sacrifice to survive and take care of her medical needs. It was just genes and luck. But Silas and I were very determined people."
& # 39; An attractive mind & # 39;
Speaking on the phone from his farm, Owen not only praises Warner as he talks about his life story. He says: “He was handsome, sensitive, moral, and understanding. "Silas's excellent character was built by his mother, who almost gave his life for her."
Warner spent his first seven years in Chicago. Owen says Warner's father, a wealthy economist, was violent and abusive to his young son and to the boy's mother. He says: “He threw Silas into the wall. "Later, Silas's mother, Ann, was traveling with her son on a Chicago highway. He struggled to find that the brakes were cut."
Ann and Silas fled to Indiana. She was struggling to raise a boy on her own, but had time to get a certificate to work as a teacher. “She was devoted to him,” says Owen. “She was supportive in every way, but he allowed her freedom. He spent a lot of time alone while working. She spent that time reading and learning about her interests, especially science and history. ”
Warner attended a laboratory school, where his intellectual ability was recognized and promoted. “They were kind to the gifted, talented children,” says Owen. “The teacher there worked very closely with Silas, who excelled in his studies. Unfortunately, his social skills were far ahead. So he needed help in many places. But he had a wonderful teacher who helped him and prepared him for his work. ”
At school, Warner's unusual physical size and his quirky personality made him a symbol of bullying. At one point, says Owen, "Silas had enough" and "cared" for the abuser, pushing him away.
In memorial page in Warner, an old friend from those days remembers Ann and her son. “I can't guarantee it, but Ann said she got good marks on her SATs. He was deeply disappointed that Silas, being so gifted in such a wonderful way, was spending his life as a sports program manager. It seemed trivial to her, a quiet and humble woman raised by a Quaker. He would have liked to have seen her pursue a career in education. ”
Warner went on to attend Indiana University, where he received an alcohol intolerance. “It was a complete break,” says Owen. He did not drink any more. ”
Owen and Warner would never meet again for another 20 years. But at the time – this was in the late 1960s – Owen was studying at the University of California, Berkeley. He too turned away from alcohol after his bad experiences. “We were both diagnosed with diabetes that was last seen,” she says. "When we got married, our home was free of alcohol and our friends were very happy with the wonderful events we had, besides the provision of alcohol."
Another student, Ron Fields, who writes on the memorial page, remembers Warner. “Silas sat in the bedroom next to me. He was a different and annoying person. Silas was connecting discreetly to his limits despite his peers. While most of the boys in the dorm were concerned about the goals of free love and our state of correction, Silas often took off the earth's distraction, walking around the campus wearing his long black coat reading chemistry and physics books. ”
Warner is a graduate of physics; computer science was not taught at that time at Indiana University. But he knew he would work with computers.
A computer pioneer
Warner split his time at Indiana University between his studies, reporting news for the school's radio station, and working part time as a computer programmer.
According to computer historian Jimmy Maher at Digital Antiquarian, Warner has been working on developing risk analysis software on the IBM mainframe. After graduation, he got a job at the university, and introduced a new program called PLATO. This was the first computer-based learning program that guided students toward computer programming.
Warner created a handbook for PLATO users and participated in making and playing violent games. He helped build it State, which is sometimes referred to as the first multiplayer shooting game. Players take control of the Star Trek-style atmosphere and type instructions for changing directions and shooting. Warner then called his own shooter Victory called a multiplayer sim Air Race.
Speaking at KansasFest in 1992, Warner recalled working at PLATO. "It was the mainframe computer connected to a thousand terminals across the country," he said. "The biggest advantage of these centers is that they all had the same screen modes and the same commands.
In 1976, Warner was hired by a large insurance company in Baltimore called the eCommerce Card, where he developed computer-based computer games used by company agents to play certain customer games. Call Calls Simulator.
In his spare time, he made a called play Robot Wars, and play the game with some new friends who worked with computers. Players give their robots orders at the beginning of each game, and then watch as the battles play out.
The Rise and Fall of the Museum
Ed Zaron has also worked for eCommerce Credit, a credit management software that evaluates credit score. He went on to find Mdu and Warner. In a 1984 interview with Creative Computing, Zaron talked about how she and Warner became friends.
"He just didn't know, I told him I was going to buy an Apple computer that night and how excited I was about it," Zaron said. “But I don't know him well. After work I went to the computer store. I brought the computer home, and I took it out of the box when a door bomb exploded.
“It was Silas!” Continued Zaron. “I never knew him, and he just walked in and saw my computer. Yes, Silas is the kind of guy who can rub a booklet on his chest and understand it completely. (…) So he sat down in front of my computer and started writing programs. I just sat there and watched. ”
When Zaron mentioned that she was attending the event, Warner started the program. "When I got home around 1:00 a.m. Silas was there," Zaron said. “He had a few small computer games. One of them called The Apple Tree, and to play it you had to hold the apples that fell from the tree. ”
Warner bought his own Apple II the next day. "It was 234," recalled Warner in his KansasFest interview. “It was $ 1,399, but it was a huge machine. I met Ed Zaron and Jim Black, a former cost accounting officer. These guys and I got together last night and started producing tapes. ”
The three children started playing games and selling computers lining up on the East Coast.
Warner recalls: “We recorded the tapes all night, after working all day. “We drove up (to the computers) in a truck with a box of tapes, and we sold Wars of War and maze games at an amazing rate. We started to see that there might be something in this software business. ”
They have decided to devote themselves to software development, full-time, always attracting crowds of lovers of their stores. Muse created all kinds of Apple II software, such as audio tools and art programs. But it was a game that drew a lot of success.
Warner & # 39; s 3D Maze, Escape, it had hit something great. It was popular, the game was said to have an influential product at Apple because most of the workers were playing for themselves. Ultima's composer, Richard Garriott, who was also embarking on a game-planning project, said so Escape it was a great inspiration "it changed my life. ”
It is inspired by the success of Escape and Ed Zaron Wars of War, Muse's team is expanding and relocating to larger offices, opening a nearby store where it sells computers and software. This helped the company buy new gear at bargain prices, and see exactly how its games were received by customers.
"We were able to put our products in the Muse Computer Center and see what they were like, and see how they would play," Warner said. “We have also ordered our own competitive software; not just to keep the store but to see what they are doing. So we participated well in this competition. ”
As the market for home computers grew, Muse was always ready to take advantage. When the Apple II disk drive came out, the company built its own integrator, reducing the production line. The City has also started developing games for the Atari 2600 and Commodore 64. The company acquired the software. By 1983, it had turned over $ 6 billion a year (about $ 16 million in 2019 dollars).
One night, Warner visited 7-11 and played an arcade hit Robotron 2084, by Eugene Jarvis. "It was a great puzzle … robots and science fiction and all the illusion of that time," said Warner, blurring the character.
“I wondered, what else can you do about it? And then I saw (the film World War II 1961) Navarone guns and I saw what I could do about it. So The castle Wolfenstein got out six months later. ”
It was a great company project. "We're putting everything in there," Warner said, referring to the City's store for programming information and software tools. “We have been working with a professional recording center. We were down there one day and I spent many hours in the pipe saying, & # 39; Achtung! & # 39; ”
Those who have memories of The castle Wolfenstein they often remember the shocking, fierce voice that came out of the game as they tried to defeat the Nazi enemies.
"I played really well and I played and played that game in tone," recalls Seth Mendelsohn, who later worked with Warner at Virgin Interactive. “It's actually a time-trial exercise as a precursor The judgment and The quake. I remember the digital voice acting. It was ahead of its time. It made the game so much fun. It was an amazing game. ”
Sid Meier also remembers playing The castle Wolfenstein. "It's not like the kind of (military) games we were doing (on MicroProse), but we realized the importance of it as a technology component. Wolfenstein, we saw a game with an equal amount of frame and a clear 3D pseudo design. It has great gameplay, ”he said.
“It was exploring an exciting new way that led to all the archers today,” he adds. “At the time, it felt like a future window, like SimCity a few years later. It was something new, and many people loved playing it. ”
Speaking in 1992, after the introduction of the ownership Wolfenstein 3DWarner said: “That game supports our company until the time of its collapse. We are now supporting a new generation of people. "
The later popularity of Wolfenstein
John Romero recalled in an email how id came to buy Wolfenstein's name.
"About mid-April 1992, we decided we couldn't get a better name than Wolfenstein," she tells Polygon. “We decided to find out how to get the name rights. Jay Wilbur was our business executive at the time, and he downloaded the remaining assets of MusE Software. (…) It cost Jay $ 5,000 to buy the rights on behalf of Wolfenstein. "
Romero, Carmack, and other people of id Software will see Warner deliver a speech at KansasFest (the same one quoted throughout the article).
“We came out of Dallas with our new Toshiba color laptop in hand, which we just finished. Wolfenstein 3D shareware in it, ”remembers Romero. “We are listening to Silas give a historic talk about the City and the wonderful things he has planned.
“After his talk we showed him Wolfenstein 3D and he loved it. We have asked him to sign a booklet from the game that is displayed at the id offices. We spent hours at night, in the college dorm hallway, talking to him about Muse, Apple II, and everything we could hope to hear him talk. It was a great day. ”
During a KansasFest talk, Warner acknowledged his loved ones. “I got a call from some manufacturers who wanted to build a new kind of The castle Wolfenstein in 3D, using modern technology, ”he said. "In fact, I've seen their product and it's very impressive on IBM."
Warner also spoke about the decline in the smoke. "All of a sudden and it was unexpected," she said. “Our sales manager, who was in charge of our growth, has left us. The man we hired came from the consumer electronics business. He was as smart and enthusiastic as our sales manager was enthusiastic. ”
The new sales manager became ill, and he died shortly thereafter. In the immediate context of the early game industry, this has been the fate of the City. “We couldn't sell. There is none. And developing a product is not so good when you have nothing to support at all, ”says Warner. The company applied for bankruptcy: "Close the doors, lock, party is over."
Kari Ann Owen has a distinctly different genius. He says: “He was financially illiterate. "If Silas were a good businessman as a computer scientist, life would have been very different for us."
MicroProse and Virgin
After Muse, Warner returned to active life. He started working at MicroProse, where he met Sid Meier. “Sid was like a mentor to him,” says Owen.
“We knew about Silas because Wolfenstein, and he was still in Baltimore and the sports business was small in the world at the time, ”recalls Meier. “He had an interview with (Brigeale president of the company) Bill Stealey. They had a conversation. I talked to Bill afterwards and he said, & # 39; You know, I'm not sure if you are the right person. & # 39; Silas returned a day or two later and said, & # 39; Well, I've decided to take that job. & # 39; ”
Warner has been working on converting various games into different platforms that were emerging at the time. “He picks up a new computer, such as the Atari ST or Commodore Amiga, and becomes an expert at it almost every night,” said Meier.
"Like many of us who were computers at the time, he liked working independently," Meier said. “She was uncomfortable. He was in a professional nerd camp: focused, focused on his work and his computers. But when I talked to her about something interesting, often technical, she was knowledgeable and amazing.
“If he does something cool, he'll show it off, and we're all happy. And that made him happy because he liked what he did. He was a good man. But I don't think he really cared about being a game designer. I think you view them as technological challenges. ”
As PC began to expand, demand for Warner's technical skills decreased. In the early 1990s, he joined Virgin Interactive, which needed someone to work on their CD-ROM technology and get full-fledged video and video compression.
Stephen Clarke-Wilson worked with Warner in Virgin, as a major producer of similar games The forum, Free Spot, again 7th Guest. "As a program presenter, Silas completed the task," Clke-Wilson said. “He also spoke in the language of designers, which was very important. At that time, the idea of the Construction Department was something new. ”
"What I remember most is that he used two monitors and two keys, one on top of the other," said Mendelsohn, who worked at marketing at Virgin at the time. “He was typing with one hand on one keyboard and one hand on the other. I was surprised and asked her about it. He just said that's how they worked. ”
Mendelsohn asked Warner if he had ever planned to do another Wolfenstein game. “She looks surprised. She didn't think anyone cared. He's been modest about it and doesn't talk much about the old days. ”
Mendelsohn sometimes came to the office on weekends. He often found Warner on his computer. “You came in after hours to play (Sid Meier & # 39; s) The Tycoon train. He loved the game. ”
In the years that followed
In the mid-& # 39; 90s, Warner suffered a stroke, and was diagnosed with blood sugar and various other ailments. He moved to San Francisco and took on various planning jobs. She has also met Kari Ann Owen.
He says: "We met in May 1995." We were both born in 1949. We were close to 46. I don't think he was expecting to get married. He had a lot of body and he wasn't very confident about his appearance, but I thought he was beautiful. He asked me to marry him. "
Owen is a short woman, and was also a grandma at the time. The couple's good looks mean they are cutting an impressive amount. He remembers the cruelty of strangers. “Silas supported me in defense of the insults, despite the humor. We had what most people needed: a spiritual, physical, and sentimental home in which they were deeply and deeply shared. ”
Despite kidney treatment, Warner continued to work until his arrest in 2002. After that, his health deteriorated and he was unable to work, he and Owen moved from San Francisco. He spent his last years in Paradise and then in Chico in the central California state.
“He fought hard,” recalls Owen. “My only regret is that Silas did not have the financial acumen to make sure he was paid well for his work and intellectual property. Neither of us had a good handle on that, and I regret it, because it would have helped eventually. ”He said they were discussing trying to get one of the applications on Wolfenstein's behalf, but were advised that the legal process would be too expensive.
Owen says his time with Silas Warner is the best years of his life. He supported her as she struggled to lose weight, and to become a horse trainer. He helped her get her first horse and medical teaching certification.
He says: “He was a very brave and courageous man. “I am proud of all his achievements, including helping start the video game industry. I just wish he had the right reception. ”
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