Edmund McMillen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Edmund McMillen
McMillen at the Game Developers Choice Awards in March 2012
Born	(1980-03-02) March 2, 1980 (age 45) Santa Cruz, California, U.S.
Occupation	Video game designer, artist
Known for	Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac (Rebirth), The End Is Nigh, The Legend of Bum-bo
Spouse(s)	Danielle McMillen (m. 2005)
Children	2

Edmund Charles McMillen, born on March 2, 1980, is an American video game designer and artist. He is famous for creating games with unique art styles. Some of his well-known games include the 2010 side-scroller Super Meat Boy. He also created the 2011 roguelike game The Binding of Isaac, and its updated version, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, released in 2014.

Early Life and Inspiration

Edmund McMillen was born on March 2, 1980. He grew up in Watsonville, California, which is part of Santa Cruz, California. From a young age, he loved to draw, especially monsters. His grandmother was a big supporter of his creative ideas. She even kept all of his childhood drawings. Many of these drawings can be seen in his game Aether, which is part of The Basement Collection.

McMillen's childhood experiences have inspired many of his games. This is especially true for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. He has shared that his family faced challenges. These experiences led him to express his feelings through his art and games.

Game Design Career

McMillen started his creative journey by making independent comics. While he now focuses mostly on video games, he has made comics featuring Meat Boy. This character is from his popular game Super Meat Boy. His most famous games include the original Meat Boy and its sequel, Super Meat Boy. This game was released on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 4.

McMillen is also known for other games like Gish, Aether, The Binding of Isaac, and Coil. Gish won the Adventure Game of the Year award in 2004. His game Coil was nominated for an Innovation Award in 2009. McMillen also helped create the characters and animations for the game Braid. Braid won several awards, including Best Platformer from GameSpot.

Creating Super Meat Boy

Edmund McMillen and programmer Tommy Refenes formed their own game company called Team Meat. They wanted to make games without needing a big publisher. Their first game, Super Meat Boy, came out on October 20, 2010, for the Xbox 360. It was also released on Steam for PC on November 30, 2010. A version for the Nintendo Wii was planned but later canceled. This was due to file size limits on the Wii's game store.

A physical version of Super Meat Boy was released on April 5, 2011. The game was very successful. The story of McMillen and Refenes making Super Meat Boy was even shown in the film Indie Game: The Movie. In 2017, it was shared that McMillen was no longer part of Team Meat. He did not work on the game's sequel, Super Meat Boy Forever, which was released in late 2020.

The World of The Binding of Isaac

The Binding of Isaac is an indie roguelike video game. Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl designed it. It first came out in 2011 for Microsoft Windows and later for OS X and Linux. The game's name and story are inspired by an old story from the Bible. In the game, a boy named Isaac runs into his monster-filled basement. He must fight to survive against many creatures.

Players control Isaac or other characters. They explore a different dungeon every time they play. This is like games such as The Legend of Zelda. Players fight monsters, collect items, and gain power-ups. The goal is to defeat bosses and eventually Isaac's mother.

McMillen and Himsl created the game in just one week. McMillen wanted to share his thoughts about religion through the game. He felt it was a risk, but one he could take after Super Meat Boy was so successful. The game became very popular, partly because many people shared videos of themselves playing it online. An expansion, "Wrath of the Lamb," was released in 2012.

In 2014, a company called Nicalis worked with McMillen to make a new version. This remake was called The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. It added many new features and improved the graphics. It also allowed the game to be played on many other systems. These include PlayStation 4, Vita, Xbox One, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and the Nintendo Switch. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has received three big updates. These updates added more bosses, items, and areas to explore. The latest update, The Binding of Isaac: Repentance, was released on March 31, 2021.

In 2016, McMillen announced a game that takes place before The Binding of Isaac. It is called The Legend of Bum-bo. He developed it with programmer James Interactive. The game was released on Steam on November 12, 2019. It later came out on iOS, Epic Games Store, GOG.com, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X & Series S in 2022.

Exploring The End Is Nigh

The End Is Nigh is a platform adventure video game. Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel developed it. The game was released on July 12, 2017, for Microsoft Windows on Steam. It later came out for macOS, Linux, and Nintendo Switch. A version for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita is also being developed. Many people see this game as a follow-up to McMillen's Super Meat Boy.

The ideas in The End Is Nigh came from McMillen's own experiences. He thought about whether he wanted to keep making games. These thoughts inspired the game's story and challenges. McMillen designed The End Is Nigh to make players wonder if their efforts would be rewarded. He described the main character's struggles as a "life falling apart."

Games Created by Edmund McMillen

Upcoming Games

Unreleased Games

See also

In Spanish: Edmund McMillen para niños