Michael Hicks (game designer) explained

Michael Hicks
Birth Date:1993 1, mf=yes
Birth Place:Mt. Vernon, Illinois
Occupation:Video game designer, musician, programmer, writer
Known For:The Path of Motus, Pillar

Michael Hicks (born January 3, 1993)[1] is an American game designer, musician, programmer and writer. His most notable works include 2018's The Path of Motus and 2015's Pillar. Described as a "lone auteur",[2] Hicks is noted for his innovative game concepts.[3] [4] [5] His soundtrack work has also been critically acclaimed.[2]

Early life

Hicks grew up in Mt. Vernon, Illinois and attended Mt. Vernon Township High School.[6] Hicks began programming games at 14 and taught himself the skills he needed by studying examples online. While attending High School he released his first published video game onto Xbox Live Indie Games at 18.[6] After High School he moved to Winter Park, Florida to attend Full Sail University.[7]

Career

After releasing his first published game in 2011, Hicks became active in the Xbox Live Indie Games community. He helped coordinate the third Indie Games Uprising in 2012, an event that included his own game Sententia.[8] After this he signed on with Sony and released Pillar for PlayStation 4 in 2015. Pillar was downloaded by over 320,000 players[9] and was showcased at the Game Developer's Conference.[10] He released The Path of Motus on July 17, 2018.

In 2017, Hicks started a YouTube channel with the goal of sharing knowledge with others wanting to learn game development.[11]

Games

Game Platform Release year
The Path of Motus 2018
Pillar 2015
Sententia 2012
Honor in Vengeance II 2011
Honor in Vengeance 2011

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Michael Hicks on Twitter. Twitter.
  2. Pillar Review. https://web.archive.org/web/20150306021055/http://www.gameinformer.com/games/pillar/b/playstation4/archive/2015/03/03/an-interesting-concept-fails-to-deliver-a-compelling-game.aspx. dead. March 6, 2015. Game Informer.
  3. Web site: Behan. Gary. Pillar PS4 Review – Cult of Personalities. PlayStation LifeStyle. February 25, 2015.
  4. Web site: Couture. Joel. IndieGames.com Pillar Creates Puzzles With Personality. indiegames.com.
  5. Web site: Roberts. David. Review: Pillar. Ulster Star.
  6. Web site: SOUTHERN. ADAM TESTA, THE. Student from Mount Vernon finding success creating video games. The Southern. September 16, 2012 .
  7. Web site: Kantrowitz. Sean. Game Development Grad Launches Indie Game on PS4 & Xbox 360. Full Sail University Blog.
  8. Rigney. Ryan. To Survive Microsoft's Apathy, Xbox Indie Developers Band Together. WIRED.
  9. Web site: The Path of Motus Announced. TrueAchievements.
  10. News: These 15 games will be in the Indie Megabooth Showcase at GDC – GDC News. Game Developers Conference (GDC). February 6, 2015.
  11. Web site: Making Video Games From Nothing (2017). . September 19, 2017.