In the fall of 1982, I became the producer at Electronic Arts for Dan Bunten. On my first day on the job at EA, the total headcount for EA was 7 people. Trip Hawkins held a draft of prospective developers amongst the 3 producers. We randomly chose the draft order, and I picked third. Dave [...]
Dani Bunten Berry President, Ozark Softscape 2915 Kavanaugh Blvd., #354 Little Rock, AR 72205 Objective: Use my game design and management skills to design and/or direct development of unique multi-user software products that emphasize accessibility and social interactions.
Microprose took up the cause of modern-based wargamming in a big way with the 1990 release, Command HQ, which boasted a simple, clean user interface that made historical strategy more accessible than ever, and racked up impressive sales.
M.U.L.E. was multiplayer from the ground up. It used the joystick array of the Atari 800 to connect four people in an unprecedented example of computer-moderated parlor gaming. By combining the resource management of Cartels and Cutthroats, the auctioneering of Wheeler Dealers and the futuristic setting of Cytron Master, M.U.L.E. sustained an exquisite play balance [...]
I try to have as little as possible to do with awards. So far I’m doing pretty well; nobody’s offered me any lately. However, tonight the organizers of this Conference have asked me to present the first of a distinguished category of award that I am delighted to support. The CGDA’s Lifetime Achievement Award honors [...]
I just read with great sorrow of Dani’s passing. I was stunned; had not heard anything from Ozark Softscape in years, and always wondered what happened to Dani. I was a beta tester for Global Conquest throughout its development. Though I never met Dani personally, I did converse with her online throughout the year or [...]
I must admit that I fell out of contact with Dani many years ago, several years before the big change. Actually, did not even know about the change until I read about it in a computer gaming magazine, and about fell out of my chair (more on why momentarily).
Tributes to creator of computer games turning up on Web By Andrew A. Green Online tributes are piling up for Danielle Bunten Berry, a Little Rock woman who colleagues say revolutionized the electronic game industry. Berry, 49, died of lung cancer on July 3 at a friend’s home.
“M.U.L.E. was part of the group of games that launched Electronic Arts in ’83. It won numerous awards (including Computer Gaming World’s Hall of Fame ) and sold reasonably well. Curiously, it happened as a result of the fact that Trip Hawkins (the founder of EA) couldn’t get SSI to sell him “Cartels and Cutthroats”. [...]
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