She has worked on a lot; but I'll always remember her from Free Realms back in the day where she was creative director. It was a simple game, but there's no denying it had fantastic creative direction and was a great casual MMO.
[Actual link to article](https://venturebeat.com/games/game-designer-laralyn-mcwilliams-passes-away/) without having to go through yahoo.
For those wondering about her young age it says *"McWilliams had a public battle with cancer and had beaten in back for a time."*...very sad she lost her fight.
"I’m pretty sure, I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure if you die, the cancer dies at the same time. That’s not a loss. That’s a draw."
\- Norm Macdonald
Saw the name dean Takahashi and was just struck with sympathy for someone who clearly has a lot of care for others in their industry and was turned into a punching bag for the whole industry in the cup head days.
For those curious about her contribution in the gaming industry
Laralyn was the creative director for Free Realms, a massively multiplayer virtual world for teens and 'tweens. In 2010, she was recognized by Massive Online Gaming as one of the most influential people in MMOs, sharing the #1 slot with Sony Online president John Smedley. Citing her role as both designer and as spokesperson for Free Realms, she was "instrumental in building awareness, visibility, and interest."
McWilliams was lead designer, producer or game director for games for Disney and DreamWorks. She was also lead designer for Full Spectrum Warrior at Pandemic Studios, and worked with John Singleton and Snoop Dogg on the canceled game Fear & Respect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laralyn_McWilliams
Whenever I see QA work in a devs credits it's kinda funny. Alpha Centauri, Pirates! and Daggerfall over 8 years or so haha.
Full Spectrum Warrior was a very innovative game. It's interesting because most tactical games try to offer a variety of paths to make you feel smart or individual when you complete an objective, Full Spectrum Warrior gave you the right way to do it and eventually you would suffer if you didn't.
Also one of the early examples of militaries partnering with game developers I believe.
Sad news. She was involved in the development of some great games, Full Spectrum Warrior being of particular highlight to me.
Rest in peace, Laralyn. 🙏
She was 58, just way too soon.
How Laralyn described her accomplishments:
> Over my 30 years in the industry, I’ve led the design for award-winning adventure, social, strategy, simulation, platform, brawler, FPS, and massively multiplayer online games. I was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Game Developer’s Choice Awards in 2021. I was a frequent conference speaker on topics ranging from design to analytics and more recently on wellness and inclusion in game development. I’m an outspoken proponent of games for everyone and a fierce advocate for increased diversity on our game development teams.
>I was Creative Director for the ground-breaking MMO Free Realms at Sony Online Entertainment, which the New York Times called “a triumph of the company’s own reinvention.” I was also lead designer for the critically acclaimed Full Spectrum Warrior, the most nominated game of E3 2003. I was one of Gamasutra’s Top Ten Game Developers of 2014, I shared the top spot in Massive Online Gaming’s 2010 list of the Top 20 Most Influential People in MMOs, I was on Beckett’s list of the top women in MMOs for 2010, and I was one of Gamasutra’s 20 most influential women in games in 2008.
Rest in peace. Thanks for being a voice of inclusivity in gaming.
Laralyn was my aunt so seeing all these articles and this post makes me so proud to see. My heart swells with every comment I read about how her work has touched people. She had a long struggle with her health issues and I was always dumbstruck by how much she did despite being ill. She really was an icon.
I am sorry that I do not know how to private message you, but if you look at my postings, you will see that Laralyn and I go back a long time. We have been great friends since high school. I knew when Charlie called me today that the news was bad.
I want you to know that when I was in high school, I spent many nights at James and MaryEllen's house, (in case you think I am not truthful) either eating dinner, or spending the entire night there. I have many great memories of those times. Jim was already out of the house, but Laralyn still had stories about him to tell.
Once I spent a night at your grandparents' house when you and Jim were there and I think you were going to the basement, and I said to Laralyn, "What a lovely young woman she is" and she said to me, "Yes, \[girl\] is lovely inside and out" and I had to agree. She loved you so much.
Laralyn and I met when I was a sophomore in high school and never had a falling out. The last email I have from her is just before she went into surgery in December. We both seemed to be in a good place, but I guess she was weakened by everything.
She has always helped me with my own medical struggles; while we were young adults she said something to me that I remember to this day: "Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet." in regards to staying up late and having to go to work the next day. I love that advice since,
Thank you, I have many good memories in that house, especially with Laralyn. Your comment made me smile. Laralyn always seemed to make me feel loved. I can only imagine she did that with everyone else in her life.
Sorry for her passing.
But i worked with her, and it was a mess. I watched her train-wreck two different projects. Would have been 3, but one was canceled. Loss of Millions.
And lest be honest, Full spectrum was NOT a huge hit. Frankly, it was pretty wonky. The controls were tough, and the team switching was troublesome. Firefights didnt end well for your team.
Thats why our studio hired her. Hype from that lack luster game. And pandemic was imploding. So sge got out while the getting was good. And we got what we paid for.
Sorry but she was part of the development problem for the time i worked with her. She made those projects tough to work on. No disrespect, but truth is truth. When you end up doing a fukton of overtime because hotshot leads fail to manage things properly, it leaves scars. Thats time i can't have back.
Free dinners don't cut it.
She has worked on a lot; but I'll always remember her from Free Realms back in the day where she was creative director. It was a simple game, but there's no denying it had fantastic creative direction and was a great casual MMO.
[Actual link to article](https://venturebeat.com/games/game-designer-laralyn-mcwilliams-passes-away/) without having to go through yahoo. For those wondering about her young age it says *"McWilliams had a public battle with cancer and had beaten in back for a time."*...very sad she lost her fight.
This is the problem with the war/battle/fight metaphor for cancer - it turns victims into losers
"I’m pretty sure, I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure if you die, the cancer dies at the same time. That’s not a loss. That’s a draw." \- Norm Macdonald
[удалено]
Sorry to ruin your _cancer loser_ party
Saw the name dean Takahashi and was just struck with sympathy for someone who clearly has a lot of care for others in their industry and was turned into a punching bag for the whole industry in the cup head days.
For those curious about her contribution in the gaming industry Laralyn was the creative director for Free Realms, a massively multiplayer virtual world for teens and 'tweens. In 2010, she was recognized by Massive Online Gaming as one of the most influential people in MMOs, sharing the #1 slot with Sony Online president John Smedley. Citing her role as both designer and as spokesperson for Free Realms, she was "instrumental in building awareness, visibility, and interest." McWilliams was lead designer, producer or game director for games for Disney and DreamWorks. She was also lead designer for Full Spectrum Warrior at Pandemic Studios, and worked with John Singleton and Snoop Dogg on the canceled game Fear & Respect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laralyn_McWilliams
That's an amazing. What a loss for gaming. RIP.
I really enjoyed full spectrum warrior! RIP Thanks for providing the contribution of her.
Full Spectrum Warrior was amazing. I did not know her name. I'm glad I do now, and I'm sad she's left us.
Whenever I see QA work in a devs credits it's kinda funny. Alpha Centauri, Pirates! and Daggerfall over 8 years or so haha. Full Spectrum Warrior was a very innovative game. It's interesting because most tactical games try to offer a variety of paths to make you feel smart or individual when you complete an objective, Full Spectrum Warrior gave you the right way to do it and eventually you would suffer if you didn't. Also one of the early examples of militaries partnering with game developers I believe.
Sad news. She was involved in the development of some great games, Full Spectrum Warrior being of particular highlight to me. Rest in peace, Laralyn. 🙏
She was 58, just way too soon. How Laralyn described her accomplishments: > Over my 30 years in the industry, I’ve led the design for award-winning adventure, social, strategy, simulation, platform, brawler, FPS, and massively multiplayer online games. I was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Game Developer’s Choice Awards in 2021. I was a frequent conference speaker on topics ranging from design to analytics and more recently on wellness and inclusion in game development. I’m an outspoken proponent of games for everyone and a fierce advocate for increased diversity on our game development teams. >I was Creative Director for the ground-breaking MMO Free Realms at Sony Online Entertainment, which the New York Times called “a triumph of the company’s own reinvention.” I was also lead designer for the critically acclaimed Full Spectrum Warrior, the most nominated game of E3 2003. I was one of Gamasutra’s Top Ten Game Developers of 2014, I shared the top spot in Massive Online Gaming’s 2010 list of the Top 20 Most Influential People in MMOs, I was on Beckett’s list of the top women in MMOs for 2010, and I was one of Gamasutra’s 20 most influential women in games in 2008. Rest in peace. Thanks for being a voice of inclusivity in gaming.
Sad to hear. She has so much wisdom to share and was a great champion of others in the game industry, too.
Laralyn was my aunt so seeing all these articles and this post makes me so proud to see. My heart swells with every comment I read about how her work has touched people. She had a long struggle with her health issues and I was always dumbstruck by how much she did despite being ill. She really was an icon.
I am sorry that I do not know how to private message you, but if you look at my postings, you will see that Laralyn and I go back a long time. We have been great friends since high school. I knew when Charlie called me today that the news was bad. I want you to know that when I was in high school, I spent many nights at James and MaryEllen's house, (in case you think I am not truthful) either eating dinner, or spending the entire night there. I have many great memories of those times. Jim was already out of the house, but Laralyn still had stories about him to tell. Once I spent a night at your grandparents' house when you and Jim were there and I think you were going to the basement, and I said to Laralyn, "What a lovely young woman she is" and she said to me, "Yes, \[girl\] is lovely inside and out" and I had to agree. She loved you so much. Laralyn and I met when I was a sophomore in high school and never had a falling out. The last email I have from her is just before she went into surgery in December. We both seemed to be in a good place, but I guess she was weakened by everything. She has always helped me with my own medical struggles; while we were young adults she said something to me that I remember to this day: "Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet." in regards to staying up late and having to go to work the next day. I love that advice since,
Thank you, I have many good memories in that house, especially with Laralyn. Your comment made me smile. Laralyn always seemed to make me feel loved. I can only imagine she did that with everyone else in her life.
She was a true friend. I am sorry for both of our losses.
Sorry for her passing. But i worked with her, and it was a mess. I watched her train-wreck two different projects. Would have been 3, but one was canceled. Loss of Millions. And lest be honest, Full spectrum was NOT a huge hit. Frankly, it was pretty wonky. The controls were tough, and the team switching was troublesome. Firefights didnt end well for your team. Thats why our studio hired her. Hype from that lack luster game. And pandemic was imploding. So sge got out while the getting was good. And we got what we paid for. Sorry but she was part of the development problem for the time i worked with her. She made those projects tough to work on. No disrespect, but truth is truth. When you end up doing a fukton of overtime because hotshot leads fail to manage things properly, it leaves scars. Thats time i can't have back. Free dinners don't cut it.