Legendary DOOM Co-creator to Direct Design and Art Departments, Co-head the Mobile Game Studio
SAN FRANCISCO – Oct. 30, 2013 – PlayFirst® Inc., the global leader in mobile games for family and friends, today announced that Tom Hall has been promoted to VP of Creative from Senior Director of Design and will also co-head the studio with Becky Ann Hughes. Having joined PlayFirst in April of this year, Hall brings proven experience in game design and character development and will ramp up his duties to oversee PlayFirst’s design and art departments. A huge fan of the Diner Dash® series and a leading force in PlayFirst’s official movie game Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Hall will level-up the company’s quality-focused portfolio.
“Tom Hall is a natural creative leader,” said Marco DeMiroz, president and CEO of PlayFirst. “He brings great energy and incredible design vision and skills to the team, and his promotion is a recognition of his major contributions to our success in a very short timeframe.”
Before joining PlayFirst, Hall worked on more than 100 games and won more than 60 industry accolades and awards. He is best known for developing global hits including DOOM, Wolfenstein and Commander Keen. Hall was originally drawn to PlayFirst because he and his wife are hardcore Flo fans (the bootstrapped, determined heroine of the DASH® series), and PlayFirst’s collaborative environment and talented staff have impressed him since joining the company.
“Everyone at PlayFirst is smart, clever, productive, and well, nice,” said Tom Hall, VP of Creative at PlayFirst. “Our number one goal is to make seriously fun games, and days like our Game Jam – where we all get into small teams and dream up new ideas with paper props – is just one example of the tangibly fun and creative energy here. I’m proud to be a part of this company.”
PlayFirst has ramped up from 4 to 15 million monthly active users in less than two years across iOS and Android devices and boasts more than 700 million downloads of its universally-loved Dash portfolio, which includes games like Diner Dash™, Cooking Dash™, Hotel Transylvania Dash™ and SpongeBob Diner Dash™. The mobile developer has plenty in store to continue the upward trend with Hall’s creative vision and expertise.
Industry colleagues and PlayFirst fans can hear from Hall at GDC Next on Nov. 6 in Los Angeles, speaking on “Designing Games for Fun and Profit: A Diner Dash Rush Perspective” at 11:15 a.m. For more information on the session, visit the GDC Next website here: http://schedule.gdcnext.com/session-id/825394
About PlayFirst
At PlayFirst, we believe you can have fun anywhere, any time and at any age. That’s why we’re committed to creating mobile games for everyone to enjoy, including the fan-favorite DASH® series of games like Diner Dash Rush®, Cooking Dash® and SpongeBob Diner Dash®. Whether you’re in line at the store, on your lunch break or lounging at home, you only need a minute to dive into a PlayFirst game—but you’ll find a lifetime of entertainment. PlayFirst games are played by tens of millions of fans worldwide, and we’re just getting started. To find out more about our talented team and our awesome games, please visit www.playfirst.com.
Media Contact
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Kristina Cheng
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