John O'Neill (artist)
| John O'Neill | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1948 |
| Residence | British |
| Occupation | Video game designer |
| Years active | 1980s - 2011 |
| Known for |
Lifespan The Dolphin's Rune |
John O'Neill (born 1948) is a British artist and video game designer best known for developing the games Lifespan and The Dolphin's Rune. He is one of the earliest art game designers, and his work has been compared to that of contemporary game designer, Jaron Lanier.
John O'Neill grew up in Northern England and began to experiment with painting at a young age. His interest in art continued throughout the 1960s, his academic career eventually leading him to study art at the Bath School of Art and Design and at London's Chelsea College of Art and Design where he would exhibit his work publicly. O'Neill's approach to art in his 20s was experimental in nature and he explored diverse media including painting, sculpture, and music. His experiences in exhibiting his work in London in 1971 at the age of 23, however, led him to make dramatic changes in the interest of gaining as broad an audience as possible. Turning to consumer channels (mass publication and broadcasting) in 1975, O'Neill developed a philosophy he called "Admcadiam" that was geared toward outreach to the general public and he formed Admacadiam – a company striving to serve as a "creative catalyst" in producing art for the masses. Alongside his work at Admacadiam, O'Neill would continue to display gallery art corresponding to his "Admcadiam" philosophy, and he also moonlighted as a guest lecturer at universities and art institutes.
As a reaction against institutional art, "Admcadiam" suggests that art is only important as it affects ordinary people and it promotes the enhancement of accessibility of art by emphasising mass production and affordability. Accordingly, Admacadiam's early art products included diverse items like postcards, board games, decals, cards, and books. Many of these products were commercially unsuccessful and the company struggled until a meeting with educator David D. Thornburg at Stanford University prompted O'Neill to relocate from London to Silicon Valley and to refocus his artistic efforts on interactive computer art.
Working as co-designer together with Childware's Ramone Zamora for a short time, the first video game O'Neill became involved with was Atari's E.T. Phone Home! where O'Neill served as the graphics designer.
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