Joshua "J.E." Sawyer is a video game designer for Obsidian Entertainment. Formerly, he worked for Interplay Entertainment. He's famous for his work on video games in Forgotten Realms setting, Fallout series, Pillars of Eternity series, and other projects.
Education[]
Sawyer received his B.A. degree in history from Lawrence University.
Work on the Forgotten Realms setting[]
Black Isle Studios (1999-2003)[]
Josh Sawyer presenting Icewind Dale II
From his initial role as a web designer at Black Isle Studios in 1999, he rapidly climbed the professional ladder, achieving the roles of associate designer for Icewind Dale and lead designer for Icewind Dale II.[1][2] Josh was the one who introduced the "American presidents" project naming system.[citation needed]
He later became the lead designer of Project Jefferson, later known as Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound, but its development was stopped because of Interplay's loss of rights to the Dungeons & Dragons license.
On November 7, 2003, Josh announced him leaving Black Isle Studios on November 21, 2003.[3] Following the closure of Black Isle Studios by Interplay, numerous team members found themselves at Obsidian Entertainment, eventually welcoming Josh Sawyer among them.
Obsidian Entertainment (2005-Present)[]
In 2005, Sawyer became part of Obsidian Entertainment to work on Neverwinter Nights 2 (together with Eric Baudoin).
Video Games[]
- Designer
- Icewind Dale (2000)
- Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter (2001)
- Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer (2007)
- Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition (2016)
- Lead Designer
- Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound (cancelled)
- Icewind Dale II (2002)
- Neverwinter Nights 2 (2006)
- Web Master
- Planescape: Torment (1999)
- Icewind Dale (2000)
- Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition (2017)
- Credited Special Thanks
- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (2002)
- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (2004)
- Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir (2008)
- Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition (2016)
Appendix[]
Trivia[]
Personal Projects[]
Josh Sawyer is known as a modder who worked on several mods for different games, including Neverwinter Nights 2. His The Black Hound mod was an attempt to let gamers get acquainted with the plot of the cancelled Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound. In January 2009, Josh also launched a blog called The Herald of Archenbridge where he reported the progress made on his mod. The mod hasn't been released due to unknown circumstances.
External Links[]
- Josh Sawyer's interview reflecting 20 years working on RPG games.
- Josh Sawyer's Twitter.
- Josh Sawyer's tumblr.
Josh Sawyer article at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.- Joshua Sawyer article at the Nukapedia, a Fallout wiki.
- Joshua Sawyer article at the Independent Fallout Wiki, a Fallout wiki.
- Josh Sawyer article at the Official Pillars of Eternity Wiki, a Pillars of Eternity wiki.
References[]
- ↑ Ooi, Will (September 25, 2011). An Interview with JE Sawyer - game developer, biker, and cat lover. Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb.
- ↑ (July 2005). "The Arcade Classic Is Back, and It'd Better Be Good", Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (94): 38.
- ↑ Thorsen, Tor. J.E. Sawyer bolts Black Isle. GameSpot.