Andrew Gower
- "Gower" redirects here. For the other two Gower brothers, see Paul Gower and Ian Gower.
| Andrew Gower | |||
| Born | 2 December 1978 (age 33) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | British | ||
| Known for | Creator of RuneScape | ||
| Occupation | Co-founder of Jagex Ltd. | ||
| Net worth | £138 million with Paul Gower (2010)<ref name="The Sunday Times">Jagex duo climb rich list with £138m fortune. Develop Online (2010). Retrieved on 2010-08-05.</ref> | ||
| Relatives | Paul Gower (brother) Ian Gower (brother) | ||
| Website | http://www.jagex.com, http://www.runescape.com | ||
Andrew Christopher Gower<ref name="name">Cambridge University Reporter (12 July 2000). Congregations of the Regent House on 29 June, 30 June, and 1 July 2000. University of Cambridge. Retrieved on 14 September 2007.</ref> (born 2 December 1978) is the lead developer and co-founder of Jagex Ltd., a Java-based game distributor and creator. His most famous creation is the MMORPG game RuneScape, created during his time at the University of Cambridge.<ref name="guardian">"Rune to move", The Guardian, Guardian Unlimited, 11 December 2003. Retrieved on 25 March 2007. </ref>
Life and career
Gower has programmed a variety of games, often creating the graphics and music with the help of his brothers, Paul and Ian Gower. In 1995, he created a 3D platform game called Parallax Painter for the Atari ST.<ref name="atarilegend">Parallax Painter. Atari Legend (1995). Archived from the original on 16 December 2007. Retrieved on 25 March 2007.</ref> This was followed in 1996 by a 3D first-person shooter called Destruction Imminent for the same system.<ref name="atarilegend2">Destruction Imminent. Atari Legend (1996). Retrieved on 25 March 2007.</ref> He then began programming in Java, and created a series of Java games from 1997 to 1999, most of which appeared on the website Games Domain. This included several single player games and a 3D castle (called Games Domain Castle with an interface similar to that of Wolfenstein 3D) with a variety of classic multiplayer games.<ref name="webarchive">Single Player Web Games. Games Domain (2002). Retrieved on 25 March 2007.</ref> Games Domain was later bought out by Yahoo! and was eventually shut down.
He then created an isometric RPG, again in Java, called DeviousMUD. This game was the fore-runner to RuneScape, which he created from a similar concept, this time as an MMORPG, in 2001. The original version of RuneScape is now better known as RuneScape Classic, which is now kept online but only with limited access. With the help of the company he founded to develop and operate the game, Jagex, a graphical and engine rewrite was completed in 2004, which was named RuneScape 2 in development and is now commonly known as RuneScape.<ref name="runescape">RS2 Launched!. RuneScape News (29 March 2004). Retrieved on 6 April 2007.</ref>
In December 2010, Andrew left the Jagex board of directors.<ref>Jagex Ltd.: Board of Directors. Businessweek (2011). Retrieved on 9 October 2011.</ref> During 2011, he was the principal architect of Jagex. Since November 2011, he isn't listed in RuneScape Credits<ref name="GowerOnWiki">Andrew Gower. Wikipedia. Retrieved on 5 April 2012.</ref><ref name="RSCredits">About Jagex. RuneScape. Retrieved on 5 April 2012.</ref> and he doesn't have any holdings in Jagex anymore.<ref name="GowerOnWiki"></ref>
Currently, he's working on a new company, Fen Research Ltd<ref name="GowerOnWiki"></ref>, which he founded in 2010. According to the company website, they're working on a new online game, containing user created content.
Recognition
The Sunday Times Rich List 2007 ranked Andrew and his brother Paul as the 654th richest entrepreneurs in the UK, worth £196 million.<ref>Andrew and Paul Gower. Times Online (2007). Retrieved on 5 June 2011.</ref> In 2008, The Daily Telegraph listed them as the UK's eleventh richest young entrepreneurs.<ref name="telegraph">Tomkinson, Martin. "The UK's richest young entrepreneurs: 30-11", The Telegraph, 19 February 2008. Retrieved on 5 June 2011. </ref> Andrew and Paul Gower were awarded the Industry Legend prize at the 2010 Develop Awards.<ref name="awards">Will Freeman in Brighton. "Develop Awards: Gowers crowned Industry Legends", Develop, 15 July 2010. Retrieved on 5 June 2011. </ref>