Difference between revisions of "Nasir Gebelli"
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'''Nasir Gebelli''' (Persian: ناصر جبلی) is an Iranian-American video game programmer. He is best known for programming several famous [[role-playing video games]], and first-person shooters on 1980s home consoles. | '''Nasir Gebelli''' (Persian: ناصر جبلی) is an Iranian-American video game programmer. He is best known for programming several famous [[role-playing video games]], and first-person shooters on 1980s home consoles. | ||
| − | Gebelli was born in Iran in 1957, but his parents moved to the USA in the late 1970s. He was inspired to take up computer programming because of his interest in video games. This led to him developing games on the [[Apple II]], which allowed him to start working for [[Sirius Software]] while still in college. He quickly churned out several games, most of which were clones of existing action games, before leaving Sirius to start his own company, [[Gebelli Software]], but a few poorly received games, and the crash of 1983 caused him to close his company. | + | Gebelli was born in Iran in 1957, but his parents moved to the USA in the late 1970s. He was inspired to take up computer programming because of his interest in video games. This led to him developing games on the [[Apple II]], which allowed him to start working for [[Sirius Software]] while still in college. He quickly churned out several games, most of which were clones of existing action games, before leaving Sirius to start his own company, [[Gebelli Software]], but a few poorly received games, and the video game crash of 1983 caused him to close his company. |
After taking a break from programming to travel the world, Gebelli was informed about the growing popularity of the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] by [[Doug Carlston]], owner of [[Brøderbund]], who introduced him to [[Masafumi Miyamoto]] of [[Square]]. Miyamoto was sufficiently impressed and hired Gebelli, even though he couldn't speak Japanese, and he went to work developing games with unique aspects like 3D effects and a first-person runner. Gebelli became mildly famous after he programmed ''[[Final Fantasy]]''. His last game for Square was ''[[Secret of Mana]]'', release in 1993, before he retired and used the royalties from the games to travel around the world. | After taking a break from programming to travel the world, Gebelli was informed about the growing popularity of the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] by [[Doug Carlston]], owner of [[Brøderbund]], who introduced him to [[Masafumi Miyamoto]] of [[Square]]. Miyamoto was sufficiently impressed and hired Gebelli, even though he couldn't speak Japanese, and he went to work developing games with unique aspects like 3D effects and a first-person runner. Gebelli became mildly famous after he programmed ''[[Final Fantasy]]''. His last game for Square was ''[[Secret of Mana]]'', release in 1993, before he retired and used the royalties from the games to travel around the world. | ||
Latest revision as of 10:32, 28 March 2024
Nasir Gebelli (Persian: ناصر جبلی) is an Iranian-American video game programmer. He is best known for programming several famous role-playing video games, and first-person shooters on 1980s home consoles.
Gebelli was born in Iran in 1957, but his parents moved to the USA in the late 1970s. He was inspired to take up computer programming because of his interest in video games. This led to him developing games on the Apple II, which allowed him to start working for Sirius Software while still in college. He quickly churned out several games, most of which were clones of existing action games, before leaving Sirius to start his own company, Gebelli Software, but a few poorly received games, and the video game crash of 1983 caused him to close his company.
After taking a break from programming to travel the world, Gebelli was informed about the growing popularity of the Nintendo Entertainment System by Doug Carlston, owner of Brøderbund, who introduced him to Masafumi Miyamoto of Square. Miyamoto was sufficiently impressed and hired Gebelli, even though he couldn't speak Japanese, and he went to work developing games with unique aspects like 3D effects and a first-person runner. Gebelli became mildly famous after he programmed Final Fantasy. His last game for Square was Secret of Mana, release in 1993, before he retired and used the royalties from the games to travel around the world.
Personal
I didn't become aware of Nasir Gebelli until after he had retired, but I was playing his games while he was still working. Having almost no access to an Apple II growing up, I never played any of his early games, but I don't think I missed out on much since they're mostly rehashes of arcade titles, just with interesting programming tricks. Even after his hiatus, his early work at Square was more arcade ripoffs with neat gimmicks. It wasn't until Gebelli teamed up with Hironobu Sakaguchi to make Final Fantasy that his talents as a programmer were put to good use. In my opinion, Gebelli's crowning achievement was his final game, Secret of Mana. It is a technically complicated game which takes advantage of a lot of the SNES's hardware abilities and runs beautifully.
Gameography
| Released | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1980-??-?? | Both Barrels | Programmer |
| 1980-??-?? | Star Cruiser | Entire game |
| 1980-??-?? | Phantoms Five | Programmer |
| 1980-??-?? | Cyber Strike | Programmer |
| 1981-??-?? | Gorgon | Programmer |
| 1981-??-?? | Space Eggs | Entire game |
| 1981-??-?? | Pulsar II | Programmer |
| 1981-??-?? | Autobahn | Programmer |
| 1982-??-?? | Horizon V | Programmer, designer |
| 1982-??-?? | Firebird | Entire game |
| 1982-??-?? | Zenith | Programmer, designer |
| 1982-??-?? | Eggs-It | Entire game |
| 1982-??-?? | Neptune | Entire game |
| 1983-??-?? | ScubaVenture | Entire game |
| 1983-??-?? | Mouser | Entire game |
| 1987-03-12 | 3-D WorldRunner | Programmer, designer |
| 1987-08-07 | Rad Racer | Programmer |
| 1987-12-07 | JJ: Tobidase Daisakusen Part 2 | Programmer |
| 1987-12-18 | Final Fantasy | Programmer |
| 1988-12-17 | Final Fantasy II | Programmer |
| 1990-04-27 | Final Fantasy III | Programmer |
| 1993-08-06 | Secret of Mana | Programmer |
Media
Pictures
Circa 1990.
1998-08-08 - Interview by John Romero at Ion Storm.
Circa 2017.
Video
Links
