Ed Boon
Ed Boon | |
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![]() Ed Boon at E3 2013 | |
Born | Edward John Boon February 22, 1964 |
Occupation | Game programmer, director, voice actor and producer |
Years active | 1987–present |
Edward John Boon (Born February 22, 1964) is an American video game programmer, voice actor, and director who was employed for over 15 years at Midway Games and since 2011 has worked for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in its company NetherRealm Studios. Boon is best known for the widely popular Mortal Kombat series, which he created with John Tobias.
Life and career[]
Boon was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, on February 22, 1964 and graduated from high school at Loyola Academy in Wilmette. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and computer science from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.[1]
After graduation, he was employed by Williams Entertainment in their pinball department, working on approximately 20 pinball games over the next two years.[2] During this time, he was called the Mortal Master, an early indicator towards a future creation.
He is the co-creator of the Mortal Kombat fighting game series, along with John Tobias,[3] and served as the series' lead programmer, with Tobias the lead designer, until their partnership dissolved with Tobias' departure from Midway in 2000. Boon named series characters Sonya and Tanya after his sisters Sonia and Tania, while another character, Noob Saibot, was named after Boon and Tobias' reversed surnames. This is also elaborated in their Twitter handles, @noobde and @therealsaibot.[4][5]
Boon was ranked #100 in IGN's 2009 list of "Top 100 Game Creators" for his involvement in the Mortal Kombat series.[6] He continues to be directly involved with the MK franchise and its multimedia side projects, and has also provided voice acting and motion capture work for the games, most notably providing the voice for the "Come here!" and "Get over here!" catchphrases uttered by Scorpion in every installment of the series as well as all feature films. The 2008 edition of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition consequently awarded him a world record for the "longest-serving video game voice actor."
In 2018 Mortal Kombat was exhibited in an arcade cabinet at the Chicago New Media 1973–1992 exhibition, curated by jonCates.[7]
Works[]
Video games[]
Year | Title | Role(s) |
---|---|---|
1990 | High Impact Football | N/A |
1991 | Super High Impact | N/A |
1992 | Total Carnage | Voice of General Akhboob |
1992 | Mortal Kombat | Designer, programmer, voice of Scorpion, Reptile, Shang Tsung (announcer) |
1993 | Mortal Kombat II | Designer, programmer, voice of Scorpion, Smoke, Noob Saibot, Liu Kang and Jax |
1995 | Mortal Kombat 3 | Designer, programmer, voice of Scorpion, Smoke, Liu Kang and Jax |
1995 | Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 | Executive producer, designer, programmer |
1996 | Mortal Kombat Trilogy | Designer, programmer |
1997 | Mortal Kombat 4 | Designer, programmer, voice of Johnny Cage, Raiden, Kai, Scorpion and Jax |
1999 | Mortal Kombat Gold | Project lead, voice of Cyrax |
2001 | The Grid | N/A |
2002 | Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance | Team lead, game design, programming, voice of Scorpion |
2004 | Mortal Kombat: Deception | Project lead, game design, programming, voice of Scorpion, Reiko, Sub-Zero and Noob Saibot |
2005 | Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks | Executive producer, voice of Scorpion |
2006 | Mortal Kombat: Armageddon | Creative director |
2008 | Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe | Creative director, team lead |
2011 | Mortal Kombat | Team leader, creative director, additional voices |
2011 | Batman: Arkham City Lockdown | Creative director |
2013 | Injustice: Gods Among Us | Team leader, creative director |
2013 | Batman: Arkham Origins | N/A |
2015 | Mortal Kombat X | Creative director, team leader |
2017 | Injustice 2 | Creative director, team leader |
2019 | Mortal Kombat 11 | Creative director, team leader |
Pinball[]
- F-14 Tomcat (1987) - effects
- Space Station: Pinball Rendezvous (1987) - software and effects
- Banzai Run (1988) - effects
- Taxi (1988) - software and effects
- Black Knight 2000 (1989) - software and effects
- FunHouse (1990) - voice of Rudy[8]
Media[]
Year | Title | Role(s) | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | Mortal Kombat | Scorpion (voice) | [8] |
1997 | Mortal Kombat: Annihilation | ||
2006 | Drawn Together | Episode: "The One Wherein There Is a Big Twist: Part 2" | |
2011 | Mortal Kombat: Legacy | Ed Goodman | cameo appearance in first-season episode "Johnny Cage" |
References[]
- ^ "Universities of Missouri, Illinois hailed as tech's powerful colleges". St. Louis Business Journal. May 3, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
- ^ "Mortal's Master: Programmer Ed Boon". GamePro. IDG (86): 38–40. November 1995.
- ^ "E3 2010: Mortal Kombat Returns! See the New Trailer!". DreadCentral.
- ^ "Ed Boon's Twitter".
- ^ "John Tobias' Twitter".
- ^ IGN Games (February 23, 2009). "Top 100 Game Creators". IGN. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
- ^ Cates, Jon (2018). Chicago New Media, 1973-1992. Illinois, US: University of Illinois. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-252-08407-2.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Ed Boon | Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 27, 2019. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.CS1 maint: postscript (link)
External links[]
- Living people
- Male actors from Chicago
- American computer programmers
- American male video game actors
- American male voice actors
- American people of Dutch descent
- American people of English descent
- Pinball game designers
- University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign alumni
- American video game directors
- American video game programmers
- 1964 births