Mike Capps

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Michael Capps is the President of Epic Games as of April 2008, based in Cary, NC. Epic has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its Unreal series, and its latest game, Gears of War, broke sales records on Xbox 360, selling more than 3 million copies worldwide in the first ten weeks and winning Gamespot's overall "Game of the Year" award. Epic is also responsible for the Unreal Engine, which is the underlying technology for a wide range of games including Console Game of the Year winner "Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell" by Ubisoft, PC Gamer’s Game of the Year "Deus Ex" from EIDOS, "America’s Army: Special Forces" by the U.S. Army, and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone" (PC) by Electronic Arts.

Epic’s Unreal Engine 3[1], the underlying technology in Gears of War, is the current holder and three-time consecutive winner of Game Developer magazine’s Front Line award for "Best Game Engine". Epic Games was also awarded "Studio of the Year" at the 2006 Spike TV Video Game Awards. Additional information can be obtained through Epic’s Web site at http://www.epicgames.com.

Prior to entering the game industry, Michael served as a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School[2] in Monterey, California. He specialized in defense and entertainment collaboration, virtual reality, and computer graphics. For his work in these areas, he was one of fifty graphics pioneers interviewed for the ACM SIGGRAPH documentary, "The Story of Computer Graphics."

While at the Naval Postgraduate School, Dr. Capps was the producer, designer, and lead programmer of the America’s Army computer game. America’s Army is a 3D-action game, sponsored by the U.S. Army, that allows online players to enter into a virtual Army infantry unit. This unique project has been covered by print and televised media around the world, and the game was accessed over 30 million times in the first week of its release.

A departmental honoree in mathematics and creative writing, Professor Capps graduated summa cum laude from University of North Carolina. He holds master’s degrees in computer science and electrical engineering from the University of North Carolina and MIT, and a doctorate in computer science from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Capps speaks at many international conferences, including the Game Developers Conference and Games Convention Developers Conference. He serves on the Board of Directors of the IGDA and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.

[edit] Projects Involved With

• America's Army
• Gears of War
• Unreal Championship 2
• Unreal Tournament 3
• Unreal Tournament 2004

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