Adam Powell (game designer) facts for kids

Adam James Powell was born on December 20, 1976. He is a computer programmer, game designer, and businessman from Wales. He is best known for being the co-creator of the popular website Neopets. He also co-founded another gaming company called Meteor Games.

Adam Powell's Career Journey

Adam Powell studied computer science at the University of Nottingham from 1995 to 1998. During his time there, he helped create a text-based online game called Dark Heart. This game was a type of DikuMUD, which is a very early kind of online role-playing game.

Before creating Neopets, Adam started a few other companies. In 1997, he launched Shout! Advertising. This company was later bought by ValueClick, Inc. in 2000. In 1999, he also started Netmagic and Powlex. These companies focused on online advertising and designing web pages.

Creating Neopets

Adam first thought of the idea for Neopets in 1997. He was still studying at the University of Nottingham at the time. He and Donna Powell (who was then Donna Williams) began programming the website in September 1999. They launched Neopets just two months later, on November 15, 1999. Adam programmed the entire site himself. He also created most of the first games and activities on Neopets.

In April 2000, Neopets.com received a big investment. The company then moved from the UK to Los Angeles, USA. After the move, Adam stayed on as the creative director and technical leader. Under his guidance, Neopets grew incredibly popular. It went from its launch to having over 140 million accounts. The site also had 5 billion page views every month! On June 20, 2005, a large company called Viacom bought Neopets, Inc. for $160 million.

Adam continued to work for Neopets.com until June 2007. He helped with the changeover after Viacom bought the company. He also kept developing new ideas for the site.

Adam Powell also helped design and write for many Neopets products. These included the 2006 PlayStation Portable game Neopets: Petpet Adventures: The Wand of Wishing. He also worked on the Wizards of the Coast Neopets Trading Card Game from September 2003. And he contributed to the 2005 PlayStation 2 game Neopets: The Darkest Faerie.

Starting Meteor Games

In 2007, Adam and Donna Powell started a new company called Meteor Games. This was an independent studio focused on making online games. They wanted to create exciting games for the web, social media, and mobile phones. Meteor Games was located in Los Angeles. By 2010, it had 100 employees. This included another former Neopets developer known as "TPOSG."

Meteor Games' first big project was Twin Skies. This was a 3D online game that mixed casual gaming with social networking. It also had elements of traditional massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Meteor Games released its first web-based game, Vikings, Pirates and Ninjas, in March 2009. This game was free to play on the web and Facebook.

The company then shifted to making games for the fast-growing social gaming market. They released several games and apps mainly for Facebook. These included Island Paradise, Serf Wars, and Ranch Town. The company was profitable and did not need outside investment. However, in late December 2011, Meteor Games closed down its operations.

The Moglings Project

Around June 2013, Adam announced that he, Donna, and TPOSG were working on a new game. In May 2014, Donna shared that the project's working name was Moglings. On September 22, 2014, Adam posted that the Moglings project would be paused for a while. He hoped it might be started again in early 2016.

See also

In Spanish: Adam Powell para niños