Alex Seropian was following his interest in computer programming by pursuing a degree in mathematics with a concentration in computer science (the Department of Computer Science didn\u2019t offer undergraduate degrees at the time). Shortly before graduating, he says, he was living on his father\u2019s couch, debating whether to get a job or strike out on his own and form his own video-game company. Seropian asked his father for advice. \u201cHis advice to me was to take a job with another company to get experience first. The next day I went out and started a company. My dad is a master of reverse psychology.\u201d
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Seropian\u2019s company, Bungie Software Products Corporation, eventually set up shop in an apartment on Hyde Park Boulevard. It had a pair of successes in the form of the games Oni and Marathon; in 2000 Microsoft bought the company\u2014and hired Seropian. Microsoft wanted Bungie\u2019s next project, a first-person shooter, to become the flagship game for their new X-Box game system. That game, Halo, became a major success, spawning two sequels and solidifying Microsoft\u2019s place in the video-game market.
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\u201cHail to the Chimp started as this idea that we can make a game for everyone that shared a lot in common with the things that we have developed during our past making a competitive action game,\u201d says Seropian, adding that he wanted a video game he could play with his children. As the development team sifted through ideas in early 2006, they realized that an election theme could be fertile\u2014and timely\u2014grounds for comedy. The Philadelphia Inquirer called it \u201cinsanely enjoyable.\u201d
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Although video games have become commonplace with the young, they as yet have limited currency with older generations. Despite Seropian\u2019s best efforts, the electronic pastimes he creates may always remain so. But if you end up playing a party game on an Xbox or a Nintendo Wii at your great-uncle\u2019s retirement party in a few years, you\u2019ll know who had a hand in making it a reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Alex Seropian was following his interest in computer programming by pursuing a degree in mathematics with a concentration in computer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":29937,"template":"","class_list":["post-15267","famous-phis","type-famous-phis","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n