I'm Tom Sloper. This is an old photo of me that I still like. A designer and producer of computer and video games, I am perhaps
best known for my work on the Shanghai series of games for
Activision. I am an expert on the classic Chinese game of
mah-jongg. (And I'm humble, too.) (^_^) o Music - My SoundCloud page
STORIES FROM MY LIFE:
o I was the first Elvis impersonator (September 10, 1956)
An engineering designer and modelmaker/draftsman by
training, I began my entertainment career as a theater set and
lighting designer before becoming a game designer and
modelmaker in Southern California in the late 1970s. I
designed games for the legendary Vectrex game system
(Spike, Bedlam) and other platforms at Western Technologies
and Sega Enterprises before joining Atari Corp. in 1986 as Director of Product Development, where I was involved in the revitalization
of the 2600 and 7800 game systems after the Atari Crash of 1983. Then I worked at Activision for 12 years, 1988-2000. Then I freelanced and contributed to books, and spoke at numerous game conferences. You can see a complete list of my released games (from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s) here.
For 15 years, I taught video game and business information technologies courses at the University of Southern California and received a Master's degree in Social Entrepreneurship. I'm interested in helping develop games for social impact.
HOBBIES & INTERESTS:
o The American Civil War - Visit my Civil War site, BloodAndEarth.com,
to read about my Civil War ancestors!
o Astronomy and Cosmology - Click here to read my Wacky Theory Of Black Holes, Big Bangs, Universes, & Everything)
o Genealogy (especially as regards my Civil War ancestors
o I don't have a cat now, but I did have two cats, Bob & John - Click here to see pictures.
o Japan - Click here to see pictures.
o Mah-jongg - After 9 years of making Shanghai games, I learned a lot about mah-jongg. I wrote a book, and participated in mah-jongg
tournaments in Japan, Europe, China, and the US.
Maybe one of these days I'll even write those stories and make them available here. So much to do, so little time!
o I was at Woodstock (August 16, 1969)
o I was a Conscientious Objector during the Vietnam war (Nov. 1971-Feb. 1972)
o Riding the Tokyo subway system vs. Los Angeles' Expo Line