Greg Coomer
For other uses, see Coomer (disambiguation). |
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| Greg Coomer | |
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1997 - Present[2] |
Greg Coomer is a designer currently working at Valve.
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Biography[edit]
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Greg has worked on a variety of graphic design, multimedia, and web projects for Nintendo and Microsoft. He worked with Gabe Newell at Microsoft before joining Valve in 1997 as one of its first employees.[2] He helped to name the company Valve, designed the company's website, and then led Valve's first cancelled video game project, Prospero.[3] He left Valve to work as a freelancer some time after they shipped Half-Life, but still worked with them on several occasions. He later rejoined Valve. He studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign where he graduated with a degree in Visual Communication.[4] Greg's sister, Christen Coomer, is also a designer at Valve.
Work[edit]
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Greg was in charge of the alien world, Xen, for Half-Life.[5] He did art direction prototypes of a few levels, mostly for Xen levels. He designed the heads-up display, done the visual design for the launcher/menu application, helped to art direct and produce marketing materials, product packaging with Lisa Mennett,[6] also spent some time on texture decisions in the game with Karen Laur.[7]
He created the heads-up display elements for Half-Life 2.
Greg worked on an early concept for the Valve intro that runs in-game with Steve Theodore, and Doug Wood.[8]
Trivia[edit]
Greg's surname appears in Half-Life as an Easter egg in the Anomalous Materials laboratory on a locker and can be heard in announcements. His face was one of the several to be used for the head model of Gordon Freeman for Half-Life 2, which was used for marketing materials and packaging.[9]
Selected gameography[edit]
- Half-Life (1998)
- Half-Life: Opposing Force (1999)
- Half-Life 2 (2004)
- Half-Life 2: Episode One (2006)
- Half-Life 2: Episode Two (2007)
- Portal (2007)
- Portal 2 (2011)
- Half-Life: Alyx (2020)
Gallery[edit]
Half-Life heads-up display.
Concept art for Aleph/The Librarian from Prospero.
Ditto.
Coomer's face used for the head model of Gordon Freeman.
Company biographies[edit]
- Greg Coomer - Product Design / Communications
- Prior to joining Valve, Greg helped Microsoft design various software products. Before that, he worked with Nintendo, started and ran a user interface design company, and spent several years as a freelance product designer. Greg helped to name the company "Valve", and then led the first game project that Valve ever cancelled. His secret dream is to create a game called 'Akzidenz-Grotesk'. You know, for kids.
- Gregg Coomer - Game Designer/Art Director
- Gregg has worked on a variety of graphic design, multimedia, and web projects for Nintendo and Microsoft. Resident art-boy, he'll critique your shoes, interior decoration, and interface design, in that order. His secret dream is to create a game called 'Aksidenz Grotesk'. You know, for kids.
References[edit]
- ↑ About the Valve team on Valve's official website (archived)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 At Valve "three people can ship anything" on GamesIndustry.biz (October 30, 2012)
- ↑ Biography on Valve's official website (December 7, 2003) (archived)
- ↑ Seattle Interactive Conference 2012 Speakers (archived)
- ↑ Interview with Lisa Mennet on Halflife.org (July 1998) (archived)
- ↑ Interview with Gabe Newell on The Gaming Nexus (March 16, 1998) (archived)
- ↑ Interview with Greg Coomer on Halflife.net (February 7, 1998) (archived)
- ↑ The Lost Valve Intro on Half-Life Editing Resource Center (November 19, 1999) (archived)
- ↑ Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, page 145
