Hit Points, in case you haven’t come across it before, is an incredible free newsletter from friend of Eurogamer and former Edge editor Nathan Brown, delivering insight and commentary on the videogame industry. We’re delighted to be partnering with Nathan to provide a platform for some of his pieces, starting with this profile of Tracy Fullerton – not a widely known dev, but someone whose work has had a profound impact on the industry. If you like this and would like more, do head over and subscribe!
Today’s subject is Tracy Fullerton, an experimental game designer, author and pioneering educator. I will be honest and admit I had never heard of Tracy until she popped up in my inbox a few months back, replying to that day’s edition of Hit Points to say it had struck a chord with her. We got chatting and I am honestly ashamed I did not know who she was before that email arrived. Now, after an hour-long video call with her, I am amazed she is not a household name. Her impact on the game industry has been pretty significant.
By the end of this piece, I believe that you’ll agree. But let us start, as is customary with these things, a little further back.
Tracy was born and raised in Los Angeles, and had a childhood of curiosity and creativity. Her father was a self-taught aerospace engineer, and their garage was filled with technological trinkets and toys. With her siblings and friends, she wrote and performed plays; she made comic books, kitbashed inventions, made films. When computers arrived at home, naturally, she fiddled around with coding, and started making games. “I got patted on the head a lot for being creative,” she recalls.