Sheldon Pacotti

As a child Sheldon J. Pacotti wanted to be an inventor. In his own laboratory at the age of seven he devised many inventions, including "soap water," aged spider juice, and other smelly corrosive fluids. Learning in college that real scientists study only one small area of knowledge, he turned to science fiction, literature, and programming—haphazard and therefore excellent preparation for a career in video games.

The highlight of his gaming career is Deus Ex, which won a Quantum Leap award from Gamasutra for being the video game that has "advanced game storytelling in the largest way." Despite writing for games and literary magazines, Sheldon carries on a stormy affair with computer software, creating odd experiments like a language for generating stories and a "dynamic voxel" video game entitled Cell: emergence. An overview of his various projects is available at http://www.sheldonpacotti.com.