Jon Van Caneghem is a video game designer, programmer and producer, and the creator of the Might and Magic series. Van Caneghem founded New World Computing in 1984 with his wife, Michaela Van Caneghem, and soon released Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum. Van Caneghem went on to spearhead and co-create the next successive seven installments in the series.
Game development[]
Van Caneghem designed King's Bounty, which was released in 1990 and spawned sequels along with the Heroes of Might and Magic series; he also actively participated in the direction and creation of content for the first four Heroes installments. Ubisoft Entertainment reportedly offered him a position on the Heroes of Might and Magic V design team, which he ultimately declined.[1] He was inducted into Computer Gaming World's Hall of Fame in 2005.[2]
After The 3DO Company's bankruptcy, Van Caneghem joined NCSoft in 2004 (alongside his friend, Ultima creator Richard Garriott), but left a year later.[3] In 2006, he co-founded Trion World Network alongside Lars Buttler, where he worked on Heroes of Telara.[4] Van Caneghem has since left Trion World Network, and as of 2009 was reportedly part of Electronic Arts' design team working on Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, though has not been credited in the finished game.[5] He was also the general manager of Victory Games between 2010 and 2013 and led the development of the subsequently cancelled Command & Conquer (2013). In 2014, Jon Van Caneghem founded VC Mobile Entertainment, also in Los Angeles, and unveiled its first title, Creature Quest, in January 2016.
Trivia[]
- The character Sir Caneghem is named after Van Caneghem, and the Data Keeper of Might and Magic I was apparently intended as a parallel to his role as creator of the series and manager of New World Computing.[6] His initials, "JVC", also appear in several Might and Magic titles as easter eggs.
- In addition to game design work, Van Caneghem is an occasional race car driver, a hobby which reportedly detracted from his input on Heroes of Might and Magic IV.[7]
Videos[]
Sources[]
- ↑ Interview with Jon Van Caneghem following the demise of 3DO
- ↑ The Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame
- ↑ GameSpot Q&A with Van Caneghem
- ↑ Report of Van Caneghem's departure from Trion
- ↑ Industry Gamers interview with Van Caneghem
- ↑ Al Giovetti's Dark Messiah review
- ↑ Interview with Tim Lang at Celestial Heavens
External links[]
- Jon Van Caneghem (Wikipedia)
- Jon Van Caneghem at MobyGames
- Jon Van Caneghem on IMDb
- Jon Van Caneghem at RAWG.io