Amazing Games, Everywhere
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The journey to the creation of Studio Cypher began with the following words: “Let’s figure out how to retell the story of Little Red Riding Hood using the strengths of the internet.”
That was in 2003, when Will Emigh turned to Nathan Mishler and uttered those words in a class they shared. We’ve yet to retell the story of Little Red Riding Hood but we have let a worldwide audience experience life on a space station, help a lonely robot find his father, and learn about innovation in ancient American civilizations: all through games.
If you have a story to tell, a fact to teach, or an audience to talk to, we want to help you make that happen.
Here are the three men at the center of Studio Cypher’s operations:
Ian graduated college prepared to be an opera singer. From there he became a composer, then a composer of video game soundtracks. Now he creates the games themselves. He has taken on numerous design roles at Studio Cypher, from game to graphic to web to audio. His game designs are often marked by his desire to help the players be as personally creative as possible.
Ian makes use of his operatic training by singing with a local choral group as a baritone. He also knows how to play piano, tuba, most kinds of percussion, and Guitar Hero. He cannot play the banjo.
An individual of diverse interests and talents, Nathan Mishler is most at home helping people of different backgrounds and professional roles communicate with each other. As a Computer Scientist, Nathan understands implementation of both hardware and software systems. As an artist, he realizes the importance of style and soul of content. His desire is to help make the world a better place through interaction and communication.
Nathan is also interested in the more physical aspects of interpersonal communication. He teaches the martial art Aikido several times a week. He focuses on teaching people to be alert to the world around them and cultivate an attitude of harmony with the universe. He is also a cat person.
Will has always been interested in rules, so his undergraduate work at NCSU in Computer Science and Philosophy seemed like a natural fit. Since then, he’s used his powers for good by designing games for children, journalists, artists, and millions of people on the Internet. He designs both the technical systems that make the game work and the game systems that make playing it fun.
With his wife and rescued dog, Will attempts to make his life as sustainable as possible while still enjoying life. He thinks that games are great at teaching us how to have fun doing things that need to be done. Will has written in the third person, but never the second. Will is jealous that he didn’t invent the game Set.