Lead Designer at Microsoft Game Studios LIVE
Greater Seattle Area
- Current
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- Lead Designer at Microsoft Game Studios LIVE
- Past
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- Producer at Microsoft Xbox Live Arcade
- Producer at Flying Lab Software
- Content Lead & Game Designer at Flying Lab Software
- Freelance Writer (Self-employed)
- Founder and Editor-in-Chief at Tynes Cowan Corporation
- Line Editor at Daedalus Entertainment
- Game Designer and Continuity Coordinator at Wizards of the Coast
- Education
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- University of Missouri-Columbia
- Recommended
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6 people have recommended John - Connections
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- Industry
- Computer Games
- Websites
John Tynes’s Experience
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Lead Designer
Microsoft Game Studios LIVE
(Computer Games industry)
May 2009 — Present (7 months)
I oversee design for all XBLA titles originated and funded by MGS LIVE. I come up with new game concepts, provide feedback on design issues for games in progress, and dive in to help titles that need temporary hands-on design leadership.
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Producer
Microsoft Xbox Live Arcade
(Public Company; MSFT; Computer Software industry)
February 2008 — May 2009 (1 year 4 months)
I'm now a Producer for Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox Live First Party Experiences, developing new downloadable games and hiring indie studios to bring them to life.
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Producer
Flying Lab Software
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Computer Games industry)
April 2006 — February 2008 (1 year 11 months)
I was the Producer of Pirates of the Burning Sea, a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game in development for several years at Flying Lab Software.
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Content Lead & Game Designer
Flying Lab Software
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Games industry)
October 2002 — April 2006 (3 years 7 months)
As Content Lead I'm responsible for building the game world, writing the storylines, designing the missions, and implementing content. I also built and managed a team of mission designers.
As Game Designer I collaborated on the core vision for the game with the Lead Designer and also designed numerous major and minor features, including the mission system and the user content system. -
Freelance Writer
Self-employed
(Self-Employed; Myself Only; Entertainment industry)
April 1991 — April 2006 (15 years 1 month)
I've been a professional writer, editor, and print production designer since I was in college with many books and articles in my credits. My clients have included Chaosium, Steve Jackson Games, Atlas Games, Acclaim Entertainment, Bungie, Moviemaker magazine, WRQ Software, Nintendo America, and many more. Recently I was the film critic for Tablet newspaper for two years and then the videogame critic for the Stranger newspaper for a year and a half. I also wrote videogame-related columns for the Escapist online magazine and the X360 UK print magazine. My essay "Prismatic Play: Games as Windows on the Real World" appears in the MIT Press anthology Second Person: Role Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media.
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Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Tynes Cowan Corporation
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Entertainment industry)
September 1990 — January 2003 (12 years 5 months)
Founder of this publishing company which is better known through its imprints, Pagan Publishing and Armitage House.
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Line Editor
Daedalus Entertainment
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Entertainment industry)
July 1995 — July 1996 (1 year 1 month)
I managed the Feng Shui roleplaying game product line, from editing the original rulebook by Robin D. Laws to planning, assigning, and editing three books by my stable of freelance writers. Those books were Marked for Death, Back for Seconds, and Thorns of the Lotus. I also did assorted tasks at Daedalus, including typesetting and color-correcting the Flashpoint expansion for the Shadowfist CCG.
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Game Designer and Continuity Coordinator
Wizards of the Coast
(Public Company; 51-200 employees; Entertainment industry)
May 1994 — June 1995 (1 year 2 months)
I was the first content lead for the Magic: The Gathering trading card game, where I created characters and wrote card flavor text for the Ice Age and Homelands expansion sets. I worked with licensees including Acclaim and Microprose to review and approve Magic: The Gathering content usage in comic books and computer games.
I also worked in the roleplaying R&D group where I contributed to the Everway and Ars Magica product lines.
John Tynes’s Education
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University of Missouri-Columbia
Bachelor , Journalism , 1989 — 1993
While in college I founded Pagan Publishing at the age of 19. I incorporated it as Tynes Cowan Corp. in 1994.
- Activities and Societies:
- production editor and columnist for Stir magazine
Additional Information
John Tynes’s Websites:
John Tynes’s Groups:
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GamesProducers -
Video Game Editorial
John Tynes’s Honors:
ENnie Award for Best Non-Open Gaming Product, "Unknown Armies 2nd Edition," 2003 (with Greg Stolze)
Origins Award for Best Graphic Design, "The Hills Rise Wild," 2000 (with Jesper Myrfors)
Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Supplement, "Delta Green: Countdown," 1999 (with Dennis Detwiller and Adam Scott Glancy)
Origins Award for Best Game-Related Novel, "Delta Green: The Rules of Engagement," 1999
Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Supplement, "Delta Green," 1997 (with Dennis Detwiller and Adam Scott Glancy)
John Tynes’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- expertise requests
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
