Ed Boon
{{short description|American video game producer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ed Boon
| image = Ed Boon by Gage Skidmore.jpg
| caption = Boon in 2023
| birth_name = Edward Boon
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|2|22}}
| years_active = 1987–present
| spouse =
| occupation = Game programmer, director, philanthropist, voice actor and producer
}}
Edward Boon (born February 22, 1964){{cite mag|url=https://www.hola.com/us/celebrities/20231013351537/the-dominican-american-visionary-creator-of-mortal-kombat/|title=Meet Ed Boon: The Dominican-American visionary behind Mortal Kombat|author=Shirley Gomez|magazine=¡Hola!|date=October 13, 2023|access-date=January 30, 2025|archive-date=October 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014054012/https://www.hola.com/us/celebrities/20231013351537/the-dominican-american-visionary-creator-of-mortal-kombat/|url-status=live}} is an American video game programmer, voice actor, and director. Boon was employed for over 15 years at Midway Games. Since 2011, he has worked for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for one of its Subsidiaries, NetherRealm Studios.
Boon is best known for the widely popular Mortal Kombat series, which he created with John Tobias, and the Injustice series. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time.{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/top/game-creators/100.html |title=IGN - 100. Ed Boon |website=IGN |language=en |access-date=2023-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420025418/http://www.ign.com/top/game-creators/100.html |archive-date=2014-04-20}}
Life and career
Boon graduated from high school at Loyola Academy in Wilmette. Boon is of Hispanic descent, from the Dominican Republic. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.{{cite web |date=May 3, 2010 |title=Universities of Missouri, Illinois hailed as tech's powerful colleges |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2010/05/03/daily4.html |publisher=St. Louis Business Journal |access-date=June 3, 2010 |archive-date=April 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411084727/http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2010/05/03/daily4.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Borrelli |first=Christopher |date=May 1, 2013 |title='Mortal Kombat' creator Ed Boon back with DC superhero game |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-ed-boon-mortal-kombat-20130501-column.html |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=December 5, 2015 |archive-date=November 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105001326/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-ed-boon-mortal-kombat-20130501-column.html |url-status=live }}
After graduation, he was employed by Williams Entertainment in their pinball department, working on approximately 20 pinball games over the next two years. During this time, he was called the Mortal Master, an early indicator towards a future creation.{{cite magazine|title=Mortal's Master: Programmer Ed Boon|magazine=GamePro|issue=86|publisher=IDG|date=November 1995|pages=38–40}}
He is the co-creator of the Mortal Kombat fighting game series, along with John Tobias,{{cite web |url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/17787/e3-2010-mortal-kombat-returns-see-the-new-trailer/ |title=E3 2010: Mortal Kombat Returns! See the New Trailer! |last=Barton |first=Steve |date=June 10, 2010 |website=Dread Central |access-date=June 10, 2010 |archive-date=August 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806033742/https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/17787/e3-2010-mortal-kombat-returns-see-the-new-trailer/ |url-status=live }} and served as the series' lead programmer, with Tobias as the lead designer, until their partnership dissolved with Tobias' departure from Midway in 2000. Boon named series characters Sonya and Tanya after his sisters Sonia and Tania,{{cite web |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/mortal-kombat-x-roster/ |title=Mortal Kombat X gets the Xenomorph, Leatherface, and a few old favourites |date=December 4, 2015 |website=GamesRadar+ |access-date=December 5, 2015 |archive-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018010344/http://www.gamesradar.com/mortal-kombat-x-roster/ |url-status=live }} while another character, Noob Saibot, was named after Boon and Tobias' reversed surnames.{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/22391732/mortal-kombat-noob-saibot-name-origin-john-tobias-ed-boon-easter-eggs|title=The origin of Noob Saibot|author=Michael McWhertor|website=Polygon|publisher=Vox Media|date=April 19, 2021|access-date=January 30, 2025|archive-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419214010/https://www.polygon.com/22391732/mortal-kombat-noob-saibot-name-origin-john-tobias-ed-boon-easter-eggs|url-status=live}} Programmer Mike Boon is Ed's younger brother and has been a part of his team since Mortal Kombat 4. The Boons are Hispanic and Dominican by ethnicity.
Boon was featured in IGN's 2009 list of "Top 100 Game Creators" for his involvement in the Mortal Kombat series. He continues to be directly involved with the MK franchise and its multimedia side projects and has also provided voice acting and motion capture work for the games, most notably providing the voice for the "Come here!" and "Get over here!" catchphrases by Scorpion in several games of the series as well as the first two feature films Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat Annihilation. The 2008 edition of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition consequently awarded him a world record for the "longest-serving video game voice actor."{{cite book |last=Glenday |first=Craig |date=2008 |title=Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OJQFSlyMEfAC&pg=PA16 |page=79 |publisher=Guinness World Records |isbn=978-1904994206}}
In 2018, Mortal Kombat was exhibited in an arcade cabinet at the Chicago New Media 1973–1992 exhibition, curated by jonCates.{{Cite book|title=Chicago New Media, 1973-1992|last=Cates|first=Jon|publisher=University of Illinois|year=2018|isbn=978-0-252-08407-2|location=Illinois, US|pages=9}}
Works
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year ! Title ! Role(s) |
| 1990
| High Impact Football | {{N/A}} |
| 1991
| Super High Impact | {{N/A}} |
| 1992
| Voice of General Akhboob |
| 1992
| Designer, programmer, voice of Scorpion, Reptile, Shang Tsung (announcer) |
| 1993
| Designer, programmer, voice of Scorpion, Smoke, Noob Saibot, Liu Kang, and Jax |
| 1995
| Designer, programmer, voice of Smoke, Liu Kang and Jax |
| 1995
| Executive producer, designer, programmer, voice of Scorpion |
| 1996
| Designer, programmer |
| 1997
| Designer, programmer, voice of Johnny Cage, Raiden, Kai, Scorpion and Jax |
| 1999
| Project lead, voice of Cyrax |
| 2001
| The Grid | {{N/A}} |
| 2002
| Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance | Team lead, game design, programming, voice of Scorpion |
| 2004
| Project lead, game design, programming, voice of Scorpion, Reiko, Sub-Zero and Noob Saibot |
| 2005
| Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks | Executive producer, voice of Scorpion |
| 2006
| Creative director |
| 2008
| Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe | Creative director, team leader |
| 2011
| Team leader, creative director, additional voices |
| 2011
| Batman: Arkham City Lockdown | Creative director |
| 2013
| Creative director, team leader |
| 2013
| Creative director, team leader |
| 2015
| Creative director, team leader |
| 2017
| Creative director, team leader |
| 2019
| Creative director, team leader |
| 2023
| Creative director, team leader |
=Pinball=
=Media=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year ! Title ! Role(s) ! Note(s) | |||
| 1995 | Mortal Kombat | rowspan=3|Scorpion (voice) | |
| 1997 | Mortal Kombat Annihilation | ||
| 2006 | Drawn Together | Episode: "The One Wherein There Is a Big Twist: Part 2" | |
| 2011 | Mortal Kombat: Legacy | Ed Goodman | cameo appearance in first-season episode "Johnny Cage" |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://twitter.com/noobde Ed Boon] on Twitter
- {{moby developer|id=3325|name=Ed Boon's profile}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0095460}}
{{NetherRealm Studios}}
{{Fighting game community}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boon, Ed}}
Category:American male video game actors
Category:American male voice actors
Category:American people of Dominican Republic descent
Category:American people of Dutch descent
Category:American people of English descent
Category:Pinball game designers
Category:University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
Category:American video game directors
Category:American video game programmers