Michael E. Moore is a 24-year veteran of the game industry. For the first 10 years (1979-1989), he designed, developed, and produced board games (mass market, role-playing, and military simulations). He then moved into computer games as a designer and producer, working for such publishers as Infocom, Activision, and 3DO. In addition, he helped start up several game development companies. Over the years, he designed and produced such games as Circuit's Edge, Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye and BattleTech II: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge for Activision, SpellCraft for ASCII Entertainment, and The Shadow of Yserbius/Fates of Twinion and Alien Legacy for Sierra. Michael joined the Game Software Design and Production Department at DigiPen Institute of Technology in January 2003 and taught game design and project management to undergraduate and graduate students. He acted as department chair for 3 ½ years. Michael was born in Minneapolis, MN, and received a double B.A. in English and Communication Arts from St. Mary's University in Winona, MN. He received an M.A. in Communication Arts from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL. With assistance from Jen Sward, he wrote a college textbook on game production, Introduction to the Game Industry (ISBN 0-13-168743-3).
Jeannie Novak is the lead author and series editor of the widely acclaimed GAME DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIALS series (with over 15 published titles), co-author of PLAY THE GAME: THE PARENT'S GUIDE TO VIDEO GAMES, and co-author of three pioneering books on the interactive entertainment industry—including CREATING INTERNET ENTERTAINMENT. She is also co-founder of Novy Unlimited and CEO of Kaleidospace, LLC (dbaIndiespace), providing curriculum development and consulting services for corporations, educators, and creative professionals in games, music, film, education, and technology.Novak served as director of the Game Art & Design and Media Arts & Animation programs at the Art Institute Online and has taught game courses at UCLA, Art Center College of Design, DeVry University, Westwood College, ITT Technical Institute, and the Academy of Entertainment & Technology at Santa Monica College. She holds a B.A. in mass communication/business administration from UCLA and an M.A. in communication management from the Annenberg School at USC. She also serves on the Online Gameplay Committee for the Academy of Interactive Arts &Sciences and has served on the executive boards of the International Game Developers Association (Los Angeles) and Women in Games International. An accomplished composer and performer, Novak was chosen as one of the 100 most influential people in technology by MicroTimesmagazine and has been profiled by CNN, Billboard Magazine, the Sundance Channel, Daily Variety, and the Los Angeles Times.
