I was working at Dreamworks Interactive (DWI), in pre-production for a game based on the Goosebumps book Beast from the East.  What DWI wanted to do, considering the available technology and budget, was unrealistic.  It was clear the project was going to be cancelled.

In fact, I was recommending they cancel it.  In anticipation of this, with no guarantee of employment, I began looking for another job.

Back in 1997, the World Wide Web had yet to reach critical mass.

There was no Google.  There was Yahoo, which was not so much a search engine, as it was a large directory of known websites.

One such directory was...
Computer Game Companies / Developers and Publishers

One-by-one, I checked each available website, looking for a Careers/Jobs page, and any listing for Game Designer.  This included ‘nwcomputing.com’ or New World Computing (NWC).

I was very familiar with Might and Magic, as Might and Magic 3 was one of my all-time favorite games.  However, their job listing was for a Lead Game Designer for Heroes of Might and Magic.  While I had played and finished Might and Magic 3, 4, and 5, I was less familiar with Heroes of Might and Magic, having only played the campaigns of HoMM2.

Over a weekend, I refamiliarized myself with HoMM2, by marathoning a number of single player maps.  While I didn’t like the art style, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the game.

In the end, I decided, “What have I got to lose?”

So, I sent in my resume, and a week later, I got an email from NWC, asking for two things.

What would be a good time to visit for an interview?

Could I bring in a list of my suggestions for the next Heroes of Might game?

I had three days before my interview.  Three days to write up what I wanted to do with the next HoMM.  It just so happened, I was in the middle of moving from one apartment to the another, but I found the time to sit down, analyze HoMM, and produce 1.5 pages of suggestions.

When the day arrived, I drove to a small, nondescript office building in Agoura Hills.  At 10am, I went inside, up the stairs, and found a small plaque adjacent to a pair of wooden doors.  It read, ‘New World Computing’.

I stepped inside and addressed the young, red headed, lady Receptionist, “Hi.  I’m here for an interview.”

Receptionist, “What’s your name?”

Me, “Greg Fulton.”

Receptionist, “Do you know with who?”

Me, “Actually, I don’t.”

She smiled, “Have a seat.  It’s gotta be either Mark or John.”

The Receptionist made a quick call, “There’s a Greg Fulton here for a job interview?  Okay.  I’ll call him.”

The Receptionist made another quick call, “There’s a Greg Fulton here for a job interview?  Okay.”

The Receptionist addressed me, “John will be right out.”

After a couple minutes, a man walked into the reception area, put out his hand and said, “You’re Greg?”

I replied, “Yep.”

He replied, “Hi, I’m John.  Follow me.”

Keep in mind, up to this point, I had worked at Activision and Dreamworks Interactive.

Activision was Activision in name only.  Its founders, the gaming pioneers Dave Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller, and Bob Whitehead... they were long gone.  It was now being run by Bobby Kotick, a pure businessman.

Dreamworks Interactive was staffed by former Microsoft and Dreamworks Pictures people.  Within the halls of DWI, hardcore game developers were rare, and only on one occasion did I see Steven Spielberg (from a distance).

As for New World Computing, I was aware 3DO had purchased the company in 1996.  In my mind, NWC was going to be like all the other places I had worked... another corporate puppet with absent founders.

I followed John into his large office, where he took a seat behind his desk.  There were two chairs in front of John’s desk, and I sat in the one giving me a clear line of sight with John.

John, “Do you have your suggestions sheet?”

I pulled my printed ‘suggestions’ document, from my carrier.  As I handed it to John, I was immediately distracted by the bookshelves along the wall behind John’s desk.  On the shelves were numerous physical awards from various computer magazines of the day.  There were also copies of every game New World Computing had ever published.  I easily recognized Might and Magic 3, 4, and 5.

Realizing I was avoiding eye contact with John, I apologized, “I’m sorry, I’m just scanning your bookshelves for the games I’ve played.”

John smiled, “Oh, okay.”

I continued, “Might and Magic 3 is my favorite.  I played 4 and 5, but I have a soft spot for 3.”

John set my document aside and replied, “Yeah.  Three was the best reviewed, but the worst selling.”

I also spotted Heroes of Might and Magic 2... and King’s Bounty for the Sega Genesis.

Perplexed, I asked, “New World made King’s Bounty?”

I had no idea King’s Bounty was made by NWC.  I’d completely missed it.

John, “You didn’t know that?”

Me, “No, I didn’t.  I played it on the (Sega) Genesis.”

John, “That’s not surprising.  We sold more copies on the Genesis than the PC.  When we started the second one, I thought it would be easier to market if we tied it to Might and Magic.  So, I renamed it Heroes of Might and Magic.”

It suddenly dawned on me.  He didn’t say ‘When New World made King’s Bounty’ or ‘When we made King’s Bounty’... he said, ‘When I made King’s Bounty’.  I was thinking ‘John’... not ‘Jon’.

THIS WAS THE GUY.

This was the guy who made Might and Magic 3, one of my all-time favorite video games.

This was Jon Van Caneghem (JVC).

I never thought he would still be running the company, yet here he was, sitting directly across from me.

I was immediately star struck, but somehow, I managed to maintain my composure, and for the next 30 minutes, Jon and I chatted about Might and Magic, Heroes of Might and Magic, the computer game market, and my background.  Eventually, our discussion reached a natural conclusion.

Jon, “Would you be willing to come back for a follow-up interview?”

Me, “Sure.”

Jon, “Okay.  One moment.”

Jon picked up his phone and made quick call, “Got a minute?  Yes.”

A minute later, Mark Caldwell walked into Jon office and took the seat next to mine.  My first impression of Mark?  Energy.

Jon, “Greg, this is Mark.”

I shook Mark’s hand.

Jon addressed Mark, “Are you available for the three of us to have lunch in day or two.”

Mark addressed Jon, “Wednesday or Thursday?”

Jon, “I was thinking an eleven o’clock lunch on Thursday, and I’d go home afterwards.”

Mark turned to me, “Sound good?”

Me, “Shouldn’t be a problem.”

Two days later, I returned to NWC.  Jon, Mark, and myself went to lunch.

While JVC still had final word on everything happening at NWC, it was clear he was taking a lesser role in running the company.  I didn’t know it at the time, but JVC’s participation was basically oversight.  He came into work 2 or 3 days each week, and with NWC now under the wing of 3DO, Mark was taking over the day-to-day duties of running the company.

Our lunch session was really for Mark to size me up, and possibly veto JVC’s selection.  Mark had been with JVC since Might and Magic 2.

During our lunch, I queried them about ‘the old days’.  They reminisced and joked about their previous office location, in a bad section of Van Nuys, where they routinely heard gun fire.  JVC added, when they were making Might and Magic 2, Mark was the only person who could successfully operate the plastic wrap machine.  Everyone else either got the wrap too loose or too tight.  For some reason, Mark had the magic touch, and was able to wrap each box just right.

Mark asked a number of basic ‘who are you and where are you from’ questions, but the real ‘let’s get to it’ question came when he referenced the file name for my ‘suggestions’ document.  He had seen my document, and its filename listed on the header... HeroesOfMightAndMagic3_BS.doc.

Mark, “Your suggestions document was named Heroes of Might and Magic B S.”

I replied, knowing exactly what he was implying, “Brainstorm.  Not bull shit.”

Mark smiled.

After lunch, we returned to NWC.

Outside the office building, Jon asked Mark, “So, what’s next?”

Mark, “He needs to talk to Trip."

Jon turned to me, “You’ll need to talk on the phone with Trip Hawkins.”

Mark looked at me, “It’s just a formality.  Unless you find a way to offend him.”

Jon addressed me, “Do we have your phone number?”

Me, “Yeah.  It’s on my resume.”

Mark, “I’ll set up your meeting with Trip and send you an email with a list of potential times.”

Two days later, at Dreamworks Interactive, Trip Hawkins called me on my office phone.  It wasn’t another interview, so much as it was Trip talking for 30 minutes, laying out his new vision for 3DO.

3DO was getting out of the hardware business and going into strict software development.  I don’t think I said more than 30 words the entire time.  Trip did all the talking.

Thirty-minutes after our ‘conversation’ concluded, my phone rang.

Mark was on the other end of the line, “Ok.  Trip is happy.  For your salary, I’ve got 50k budgeted.  Is that acceptable?”

At the time, I was making the equivalent of 30k at DWI.

Me, “Uh... yeah.”

Mark, “Where do you want me to send the offer letter?”

Me, “My office here.  I’ll send you an email with the address.”

The next day, an offer letter arrived at my DWI office.  I signed it and sent if off.  Two days later, Mark emailed me with my start day... in two weeks.

It was done.

Several days prior, Beast from the East had been officially cancelled.

Myself, and my producer (Barbara), were in limbo, waiting for DWI to fire us, or roll us onto another project.

I went to Barbara’s office, and told her, in anticipation of the project being cancelled, I had been looking for another job.

Me, “I got an offer from New World Computing.”

Her, “Who’s New World Computing?”

In a nutshell, her answer was one of core problems with DWI.

Me, “They’re known for the Might and Magic RPG’s.  I’ll be working with Jon Van Caneghem.  He made one of my all-time favorite games.”

Barbara smiled at me, seemingly envious, “I’m happy for you.”