Curt Schilling - Celebrity Byte

by John Gaudiosi

There are a lot of famous people who play video games, but there are only a handful who have taken that passion and channeled it into game development. Curt Schilling is the first professional athlete to have opened his own game company. Founded in September 2006, 38 Studios comprises a team of game makers led by former Electronic Arts creator Brett Close, and utilizes the talents of fantasy scribe R.A. Salvatore and comic book creator Todd McFarlane. They're creating a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that will be unleashed in about three or four years.

When he's not busy developing an MMORPG, Curt Schilling enjoys playing professional baseball.

How long have you been playing video games?

I've been playing video games forever. I'm dating myself here, but I started playing when the old Apple came out. Wizardry was the first one I really played.

What non-massively multiplayer games do you play?

I like military simulations. I've been hooked on Rome: Total War and the expansion pack -- I've been playing that a lot. I'm a guy gamer. I pick one and I stick with it until I'm done with it and then I move on to something else.

Do you ever play the baseball video games?

Almost never. That's one thing I don't play. I spend all day at the baseball park and play baseball. The only sports games I play are football.

That's one of the things I'm having to learn -- it's not throw the ball and get an out. The business world is a plotting, methodical thing. There's no instant gratification here.

Curt Schilling duels his son in Everquest.

How did you get started with MMO games?

I gravitated to PC games. I got started with Ultima Online. That was my first real online game and then I went to EverQuest and have been with EverQuest ever since. I've played some of the other ones on and off, but EverQuest is the one I stuck with.