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Cliff Johnson (born 1953) is an American game designer, best known for the early computer puzzle games The Fool's Errand (1987 Game of the Year) and 3 in Three (1990). Both games were notable for unique visual puzzles and a metapuzzle structure.
Biography
Johnson made Super 8 movies in high school and later attended University of Southern California's film school, where he became a teaching assistant in animation, and created some of the Monty Pythonesque animations for Nickelodeon's television series Out of Control.
In 1984, using his first computer, a 512K so-called "Fat" Mac, he learned to program, and created his first game, The Fool's Errand, which in 1987 won "Best Puzzle Game of the Year" from GAMES Magazine.
From 1990-1995, he directed the *FunHouse* production group for Philips Media, and from 1996-2001, he consulted with Mattel, Warner Bros. and Disney for online puzzles and treasure hunts.
In 2002, Johnson designed the $100,000 armchair treasure hunt for the book Mysterious Stranger by street magician David Blaine.
Authored games
- The Fool's Errand (1987)
- At the Carnival (1989)
- Disney's Cartoon Arcade (1990)
- 3 in Three (1990) — MacUser's Best Game of the Year; GAMES Magazine's Best Puzzle Game of the Year;
- Hanna Barbera's Cartoon Carnival (1993)
- Merlin's Apprentice (1994)
- Labyrinth of Crete (1995)
- The Fool and His Money (projected April 2006)
Other contributed works
- Game Design: Disney's The Hunt for the Lost Toy, website contest, 1996
- Game Design: Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy, 1998
- Treasure Hunt Design: David Blaine's Mysterious Stranger book, 2002
References
- Johnson's official website
- Inside Mac Games, March 31, 2003, "Cliff Johnson's April Fool's Treasure Hunt"
- GAMES magazine, November 2003, Cliff Johnson interview (archived copy)
- GAMES, June 2005, "Retrospective: Cliff Johnson" (PDF)