Chris Metzen
| Chris Metzen | |
|---|---|
Metzen at the 2009 BlizzCon
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| Born |
Christopher Vincent Metzen November 22, 1973 |
| Occupation |
Game designer, artist, author, voice actor |
| Years active | 1993–2016 |
| Employer | Blizzard Entertainment |
| Title | Senior Vice President, Story and Franchise Development |
| Spouse(s) | Kat Hunter (m. 2013) |
| Children | 3 |
Christopher Vincent "Chris" Metzen (born November 22, 1973) is an American game designer, artist, voice actor and author known for his work creating the fictional universes and scripts for Blizzard Entertainment's three major award-winning media franchises: Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft. On occasion, Metzen has published his art under the alias "Thundergod". Metzen was hired by Blizzard Entertainment as an animator and an artist; his first work for the company was with the video game Justice League Task Force.
Metzen was the Senior Vice President of Story and Franchise Development at Blizzard Entertainment and assisted the company's projects by providing voice talent for a number of characters, as well as contributing to artistic character design. Outside of Blizzard Entertainment, Metzen authored a graphic novel series based on a futuristic second American civil war. Metzen retired in September 2016 to spend more time with his family.
In his most recent work, Metzen co-authored graphic novels, Transformers: Autocracy and Transformers Monstrosity with author Flint Dille and artist Livio Ramondelli.
Metzen began his career in design after applying to Blizzard Entertainment, then known as Chaos Studios, on the recommendation of a friend who had seen his work. He was quickly recruited by the company, although Metzen states that at the time he did not really know what Blizzard Entertainment dealt with, assuming it was a graphic design studio rather than a video game developer.
Metzen's first work for the company was with the game Justice League Task Force, in which he provided artwork and character animation. Around the same time, Metzen also contributed to 1994's Warcraft: Orcs and Humans by working on artwork, illustrations and the game's documentation. Later video games by Blizzard Entertainment would frequently include Metzen's work in manual design, illustration and concept art. However, Metzen's role in developing later Warcraft games increased significantly with 1995's Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, which gave him the opportunity to work on the game's fantasy-based fictional universe in addition to designing the game's various scenarios and missions.
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