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[[File:Jeff-strain1.jpg|thumb|125px|Jeff Strain]]
'''Jeff Strain''' worked at [[Blizzard Entertainment|Blizzard]] from in the late 1990s and contributed to [[DiabloI]], [[Diablo 2]], Starcraft [[StarCraft]] and [[World of WarcraftWarCraft]]. He left Blizzard in 2000, along with other long time employees [[Mike O'Brien]] and [[Patrick Wyatt]], in order to form [http://www.Arena.net Arena.net], creators of [[Guild Wars]]. After nearly a decade there, Jeff joined [[NCsoft]], and then moved on in late 2009 to found [http://www.undeadlabs.com UndeadLabs], where his team is creating a zombie-themed [[MMORPG]].
==Comments on Diablo 1==
Jeff was interviewed by PCGames.de in May 2010 and asked about his role in the development of [[Diablo 1]], and the reboot it provided to the dying RPG genre. [http://www.pcgames.de/Diablo-3-PC-27763/Specials/Diablo-war-die-Wiedergeburt-des-PC-Rollenspiels-Bill-Roper-und-Jeff-Strain-ueber-die-Entstehung-einer-Legende-748530/4/]
<blockquote>'''''PCGames.de:'''When you hear the word "Diablo" today you immediately have to think of ... ?''
<br><br>
'''Jeff Strain:''' Nothing less than the rebirth of the PC [[RPG]]. Everyone thought we were crazy at the time, because the RPG genre was presumed dead. It would be tantamount to betting your company on a traditional adventure game today. When I hear "Diablo" I feel proud that I was part of the team that rescued my favorite genre.
<br><br><br>
<br><br>
'''Jeff Strain:''' Sometimes you have to plug your ears and go your own way. Diablo would never have happened if we had designed for a focus-test group. Everyone thought we were crazy -- the press, publishers, even a good chunk of vocal gamers who couldn't understand why we weren't cranking out another RTS -- but we could see what it could be and we just barreled on. It's always important to listen to your fans, but you also can't be a feather being blown on the wind. It gets harder for companies to continue to innovate when they grow very large, but I still believe that true excellence requires that we push boundaries and challenge assumptions. </blockquote>
==Career Highlights==
A quick summary from Jeff's page on LinkedIn. [http://www.linkedin.com/in/wjstrain]
* Senior Programmer, [[Blizzard Entertainment]], January 1996 - March 2000* Founder and President, [[ArenaNet]], April 2000 — July 2008* President, Product Development, [[NCsoft]], July 2008 — August 2009 * Founder, [[Undead Labs]], October 2009 - Present.
Jeff Strain has worked on numerous AAA titles during his career in the gaming industry. A few highlights from his online bio. [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,9171/]
* [[Diablo I]] -- Installer Programming* Starcraft [[StarCraft]] -- Campaign Editor * Guild Wars [[GuildWars]] & Expansions -- Executive Producer* [[Aion ]] -- Executive Producer {{Game navbox|other_p}}
[[Category:Ex-Blizzard]]
[[Category:D1 Team]]
